This chili won 2nd place at the Chillin' at Main event (and was the top non-veggie entry). The recipe shown here (a double recipe) is slightly adapted from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. The original recipe (in its single form) calls for six jalapeno peppers and no beans. This book and recipe stem from the days when the Frugal Gourmet was fun to watch and an inspiration for all would-be chefs. If I had had time, I would have made sopapillas.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 pound low sodium bacon, diced
• 4 pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat, cut into 1/8-inch dice. I started with 5.75lbs of beef chuck roast then flash froze it for about four hours to make it easier to trim off the fat and dice. This was definitely the most time-intensive part of the whole recipe, but it results in a much better chili than if you start with ground beef (different texture)
• 6 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
• 12 cloves garlic, diced fine
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I would have put in 2-3, but the grocery store only had 1; as a result, I used about an eighth teaspoon red pepper to spice things up a bit afterwards)
• 4 teaspoons salt - no extra salt was added (or, in my mind, needed)
• 8 tablespoons plain powdered chile, or more to taste(Seed and grind your own chiles in a food blender.) OR 8 tablespoons commercial chili powder, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoon whole oregano leaves, crumbled
• 2 cans (28 oz. each) low-sodium tomatoes

Directions:

1. Place the cumin seeds in a pie pan and toast in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. When cool, use a mortar and pestle to grind a little.
2. Heat a 6-quart kettle and saute the bacon until clear. Add the diced meat and brown over high heat along with the onions, garlic, and jalapenos (Note: with the double recipe, it may be necessary to cook things in shifts, but you will get a better result if you cook things together).
3. When the meat is brown and the onions clear, add the remaining ingredients. Mash up the tomatoes with your hands (Note: canned tomatoes sometimes have a hard part at the top where the stem attaches; my wife doesn't like these, so I sliced this part off and then chopped each tomato into about four pieces), but add the juice as well. Simmer for 1 hour and correct the seasoning (Note: I actually cooked the chili on low in a slow cooker overnight, then cooled it in ice baths and refrigerated. The chili was then allowed to sit in the refrigerator for a day before being reheated the morning of the event.). Cooked beans can be added to this, but they are strictly optional (Note: Soak black beans in water overnight then simmer until tender, drain and then add to the chili.)--real Texas chili doesn't have beans (but they help to stretch out the chili to serve move people). In adjusting the seasoning, you may want to add a touch of sugar to offset the acidity.

Serves 12, at least.