No.14 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Texas chili

Made famous by Frank X. Tolbert

Photo: Carstor, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

From A Bowl of Red, 1953.

Chili is one of the most cooked one-pot dinners in America; Tolbert's Bowl of Red started the chili cook-off movement and set the Texas rule: beef, chiles, no beans.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in A Bowl of Red.

Ingredients

• 6 dried ancho chiles and 3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 to 2 dried chiles de árbol (optional, for heat)
• 3 lb (1.4 kg) beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, patted dry
• 2 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• 3 tbsp lard, bacon fat or neutral oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin (from toasted seed if you can)
• 1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2 cups (480 ml) beef or chicken stock
• 1 tbsp masa harina (or fine cornmeal) mixed with 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• Chopped onion, shredded cheddar and saltine crackers, to serve

Steps

1. Toast the dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat, pressing each side for 15 to 20 seconds until fragrant and slightly puffed. Don't let them blacken or they turn bitter.
2. Put them in a bowl, cover with 2 cups boiling water and soak 20 minutes. Blend the chiles with 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid until completely smooth.
3. Season the beef with the salt. Heat the fat in a heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef in 3 batches, 5 to 6 minutes a batch. Set aside.
4. Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onion until soft, 6 minutes, then the garlic 1 minute. Add the cumin and oregano and stir 30 seconds.
5. Return the beef, add the chile purée and stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover partly and cook on low 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes and adding water if it gets too thick, until the beef is very tender.
6. Stir in the masa slurry and simmer 10 minutes to thicken. Add the vinegar and taste for salt.
7. Serve with chopped onion, cheese and crackers.

Chef's tips

• Ground beef works and takes about 1 hour.
• Like any stew, it's better the next day.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in A Bowl of Red by Frank X. Tolbert: get the book.

← No. 13Boeuf bourguignon→ No. 15Baked macaroni and cheese