Dutch oven Texas Style Pedernales Chili and Cornbread
We have a special guest today! Steve Howard from “Grilling Your Grub” and the “Grow Your Own Grub” podcast fame.
I have been a big fan of his gardening podcast for awhile now.
Originally from Texas, he has moved to my neck of the woods and we got together to make some Dutch oven Texas Style Pedernales chili and Broccoli, Jalapeno, Cheddar Cheese Cornbread!
(Closed Captioning available on this video)
Texas Style Pedernales Chili
If cutting your own Chili Grind, trimmed chuck or sirloin is best
2 pounds coarsely ground beef (chili-grind- important)
1 medium or small chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons chili powder more to taste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 (16-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (1 1/2 cups canned Tomatoes)
dashes of favorite hot sauce to taste
Salt to taste
1 cup beef stock
Broccoli, Jalapeno, Cheddar Cheese Cornbread
2 cups cornbread mix (Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Cornbread Mix)
1/2 cup whole milk
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
8 oz cottage cheese
1 med onion chopped
4 eggs
Video Transcript:
Presenter:
Hey, everyone, it’s a special day today because I have a guest on the Cooking Everything Outdoors show.
Gary House with the outdoor cook Cooking Everything Outdoors show, I hope you try this at home.
My guest is none other than Steve Howard from the Grow Your Own Grub podcast.
Steve, welcome to the Cooking Outdoors Show.
Steve Howard:
Thanks for having me, Gary.
Presenter:
Absolutely.
This is exciting for me.
You’re the first ever, first ever, guest on the show and I couldn’t be happier.
Steve and I’ve known each other via the phone and online for a couple of years now.
We’ve talked back and forth about video and such and just kind of got this brainstorm because you moved out here recently.
Steve Howard:
Yeah, yeah.
Presenter:
From Texas.
Steve Howard:
San Antonio, yes, sir.
Presenter:
San Antonio, Texas.
Out to Northern California which is not too far from where I am.
And we just say, “Hey, let’s shoot a video,” and here we are.
Take a minute or minute and a half…actually I’ll give you a minute and a third and tell us about yourself.
Steve Howard:
Okay, well, as you said, I’m Steve from Grow Your Own Grub podcast.
We’ve been podcasting about Growing Your Own Grub by mostly vegetables and organic and getting away from commercial food movement and of course, part of that is cooking that food.
And in the process for that over on YouTube I started just dabbling around in Cooks Garden channel, which is a mix of gardening and a little bit of cooking and that got me to be interested and start following your show and here we are today.
Presenter:
And we’re cooking up chili and cornbread.
Wait ‘til you check this out.
So the first thing on our menu is cornbread.
I got this recipe, oh, roughly about 3 years ago at a cornbread contest that I was judging here locally.
And some friends of mine, Tom and Joyce Reese, they came out with this recipe.
They called it the Broccoli, Jalapeno, Cheddar Cheese Cornbread and it is so good and it’s so flavorful.
We’re using Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal mix on this and broccoli and jalapeno and cheddar and a few other goodies, so it’s really delicious.
We’re cooking it in the Camp Chef 10 inch Dutch oven.
Going to get a little hype on that so to be more cakey and get a tall rise which I really like on my cornbread, so this little flat pancakes you just don’t get enough of, right?
And then secondly, we’re going to make chili.
And, Steve, what kind of chili what we’re making?
Steve Howard:
This is a True Texas Chili.
It’s not mine.
It’s inspired by its change modify a little bit, but it actually was called a Pedernales chili, it’s from President Lyndon Johnson.
And we are using what’s called a chili grind meat, not ground beef.
It’s simply a sirloin or ground around that’s 1/2 inch, 3 1/4 inch cubes and I think you’ll find it has a…
Presenter:
Cubes are grind.
Steve Howard:
Well, grind, but if you don’t can get a ground…
Presenter:
You cube it.
Steve Howard:
You cube it.
By chili grind I mean that grind is big.
It’s by 1/2 inch cube.
But if you can’t get that, a nice knife and you can still make your own, don’t give up just because of that.
Presenter:
Okay.
Well, it’s time to start putting together our cornbread first is what we’re going to do.
And the ingredients are pretty…seems a little complex but it’s really pretty easy.
First and most importantly is I’m using Bob’s Red Mill stone ground cornbread mix, 2 cups of that.
I have 1/2 a cup of whole milk.
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
1 and 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese.
Roughly a 1/2 a bag of frozen broccoli.
2 jalapenos seeded and minced.
8 ounces of cottage cheese.
1 medium onion, chopped.
And then 4 eggs.
So first thing we need to do is get our batter mixed and then we’ll saute our vegetables.
And I’m going to show you a cheddar trick on that.
So let’s take our cornmeal mix.
And, you know what, I want you to crack some of these eggs in there, Steve, we’ll get those going.
Steve Howard:
Okay.
Presenter:
And I’ll add the milk.
And this is what we do, we’re cooking outdoors.
You got to throw things.
Steve Howard:
Oh, compost pit, that’s handy.
Presenter:
Yeah, there’s a compost, yeah…oh you know there’s a compost pile there now.
We’ll add our cottage cheese.
And let’s get our batter on mixed up.
Steve Howard:
There you go.
Presenter:
Okay, so here’s our batter, all mixed up.
Looking nice and cottage cheesy and eggy.
And it’s just a matter of mixing it well.
Steve saved me here.
What you’re supposed to add into the batter also is 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, reserving a 1/2 a cup of cheddar cheese because we’re going to sprinkle that on the top, baking.
So let’s get this blended in there.
Thank you, Steve.
So this recipe requires us to saute the onions, the jalapeno and the broccoli and typically you would take a skillet or in your Dutch oven and do that.
Problem with doing it in your Dutch oven is that you got to get Dutch oven really hotter than it’s going to need to be for baking.
And then you got to take the stuff out, then you got to, you know, mix it in your batter and pour the batter back in and some multi-step process and not always does it work out really well.
So we’ve got a charcoal chimney going here and it’s pretty darn hot.
And these lids make fantastic saute pans.
So when you get your charcoal good and hot like this, just take your lid, put it over charcoal chimney.
Now, it’s going to stifle some of that heat so we don’t have a lot of time to do this, but it’s going to work really well.
It’s going to get hot really quick and we’re going to be able to get this going.
We’re going to have a butter bath here.
And we’ll use it the rest in our Dutch oven.
And we’re going to start out with the onions.
And the jalapenos.
And we’ll start sauteing those and you’ll hear them go.
In just a couple of minutes we’ll get those things going to where we need to be softening those up and releasing all those essential oils and flavors together.
Well, our onions and the jalapenos are coming along really nice.
Do you smell that?
Steve Howard:
Oh yeah.
Presenter:
Is that good?
Steve Howard:
Smells great.
Presenter:
So about time we’re going to add our garlic in there.
We’re going to saute our broccoli, too.
Get that heated up.
We got some sizzle.
Steve Howard:
Oh boy, that smelled nice.
Presenter:
So things are sauteing where I want them to be now.
So what I want to do is I’m going to take my lid rivet, set it over here on my 12 inch because I’m not going to using that right this second.
I’m going to take my lid off of the coals and we’re just going to set that aside right now.
Time to place our coals where we need them.
So I’m going to need 7 coals on the bottom because we’re baking.
And making sure I don’t burn myself here I’m going to get about that many.
And put them in a nice little circle about the size of the bottom of the Dutch oven around the legs.
So I got 4/8.
And we’ll put the Dutch oven there.
So we need to add our sauteed vegetables into the batter.
I just want you to grab that, Steve.
Steve Howard:
Okay, finally putting me to work.
Presenter:
Finally putting you to work.
No longer pretty face.
And let’s get these all in there.
Steve Howard:
Hmm, what a smell!
Oh.
Presenter:
Okay.
So let’s get this in there.
Nice thing about this recipe is it’s just a plopper.
We’re just going to plop it in.
Spread that out.
Make it look as pretty as I can make it.
This is not very pretty.
You get the lid on that, Steve, and we’ll start cooking.
This cornbread is going to take about 40 minutes to bake, so we might as well get that chili going.
What do you say, Steve?
Are you ready to make some chili?
Steve Howard:
Let’s go.
Presenter:
What are we doing here?
Steve Howard:
Well, we’re making, as we mentioned earlier, it’s called a Pedernales chili.
We’re going to saute up some onions.
We’ve got some diced tomatoes.
A little bit of garlic, fresh garlic of course.
All of this is fresh.
A little bit of oregano.
Teaspoon of cumin, ground cumin.
And a little bit of about a teaspoon of…
Presenter:
3 teaspoons.
Steve Howard:
3 teaspoons.
I’m a seed of the pants.
Gary is helping me correct here, so yeah.
Start with about 2-3 of the chili powder because you can have but it’s pretty hard to take it away.
Some hot sauce of your choice.
Salt and pepper.
And the original recipe, if you look it up online, is just add water.
I use beef stock and add a little bit of Worcestershire which really goes nicely with the beef.
Presenter:
Well, we’re going to use a 12 inch Camp Chef Dutch oven
And because we’re going to be sauteing the median onions we’re going to dump a bunch of coals on the bottom of that to get it hot enough to just saute.
We’re not going to use the lid trick this time.
So we got our coals.
We got a little pile there, probably about 20 coals.
That’s going to get our Dutch oven hot enough to saute.
And we’re not going to add any oil or anything because we’re going to use the fat from the beef, right?
Steve Howard:
Right.
Presenter:
Okay.
That’s 2 pounds of ground chuck in a chili grind.
Steve Howard:
The point is it’s a lot coarser.
Presenter:
Well, it’s already sizzling up.
Steve Howard:
Yeah, this is good.
Presenter:
Doesn’t take long with cast iron.
Steve Howard:
Well, we’ve browned our beef.
It’s all up looking good.
Next, we want to get the onion and garlic in there to get them softened up a little bit.
And they’ll start soaking up some of the juice and the flavor and that’s why I don’t do them separate.
Garlic.
And once our onions and garlic are all softened up, and starting to give a little aroma there, take a cup and a half, 2 cups or can of diced tomatoes and add them.
Then instead of water we’ll add about 2 cups of beef stock.
And then we’ll add our teaspoon of oregano.
Teaspoon of cumin.
And I think we started with…what did I tell you?
Presenter:
3 tablespoons of chili powder there.
Steve Howard:
They are chili powder.
Presenter:
So are you going to put all of it or some of it?
Steve Howard:
Well, I don’t know what you all like, so I’ll just start with some of it.
Presenter:
We’re both eating it, buddy.
Steve Howard:
Okay.
A little bit of Worcestershire to just give it a little more beef flavor.
I don’t know, a tablespoon.
Once this has cooked for a while we want to taste it.
Presenter:
Um-hmm.
Steve Howard:
And then we’ll adjust from there.
We’re going to add salt.
We’re going to a little pepper.
And optionally, you can add more hot sauce to bring it up a little bit.
The important thing is get this in there and get it cooking for a little while.
Presenter:
Okay, so how long at this point would you leave it in?
Steve Howard:
Well, actually the longer, the better.
But I would give it generally probably about an hour.
Presenter:
Okay, alright.
Okay, so you cook this typically with the lid on?
Steve Howard:
With the lid on, keeps the heat on.
Presenter:
Okay.
Steve Howard:
It’s like the old saying, “If you’re looking, it ain't cooking.”
Presenter:
Yeah.
Steve Howard:
Too much heat escaped.
So I like encapsulates in there.
Then when you get near an hour start checking 45 minutes or there about, pull it off.
And if it’s too thin yet leave the lid off, let evaporate, thicken up and…
Presenter:
Okay.
Steve Howard:
…turn down.
Presenter:
So while our chili is cooking our cornbread is actually really close to done and we’ll take a quick peek here.
Make sure that we can let it rest.
And well, you look at that.
Steve Howard:
Oh.
Presenter:
That is a thing of beauty.
So what I want to do here is get the coals out from underneath because it looks like I’m getting some browning here and I don’t want to burn it.
And this pot will keep on cooking while these coals are on here.
So I want to get those away and just very simply taking my shovel.
And I’m going to slide them away without making a big mess.
Put our pot down there.
Remember, our cheese, we had leftover about a 1/2 a cup, time to put that on there.
Just more or less accented, it’s not, you know, a heavy coating.
And then we want to put our lid back on, but I’m going to go knock off those coals because I don’t want it to do anything cook wise, I just want it to use its residual heat from the pot to finish this up.
Well, our cornbread is done.
That we know for sure.
Chili has s been cooking about an hour now.
Got it a nice simmer.
And I think we’re ready to serve up, right?
Steve Howard:
I sure hope so.
Presenter:
My stomach is ready.
Steve Howard:
I am, too.
Presenter:
You know?
So let’s take a look at your chili.
And take a look at that beauty right there.
Steve Howard:
Oh, looking good.
Nice, slow, simmer.
Presenter:
And that’s what it’s supposed to look like.
Steve Howard:
Yep.
Presenter:
Yep, nice and thick and meaty.
It’s a really hardy chili there.
It looks fantastic.
Steve Howard:
It maybe a little more liquid than we used to seeing if you are buying canned chilies and that sort of thing.
It’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Presenter:
Dinner served.
Lunch is served.
Fantastic fall meal, chili, cornbread all packed wonderful flavor.
And great guest Steve Howard.
Steve Howard:
Thank you for having me.
Presenter:
Amazing.
Steve Howard:
Appreciate it.
Presenter:
It’s been fantastic.
This is a huge, huge treat for me.
This chili, we’ve already sneaked in a couple of bites in there.
Sorry, it’s the way it is.
It’s absolutely packed full of flavor.
Steve Howard:
Yeah.
Presenter:
And I really, really like that.
Now, some people will violate it, put cheese on there, are you a cheese guy?
Steve Howard:
I have no problem with cheese, any of the above toppings.
The fact is we talked earlier about the beans, no beans, if you really…your friends, your family, you really got to have bean, throw in a can of pinto beans.
Presenter:
If, if you want.
Steve Howard:
Yeah.
Yes, there is no law.
The chili cops aren’t going to come get you.
Presenter:
No, not at all.
It’s cornbread.
If you can see that it’s just packed with cheese and jalapeno and onion and broccoli.
Reeses, you guys really did wonderful on this recipe.
And that’s it.
Man, this has been a great episode.
I hope you like it.
I hope you check things out.
Go see Steve at…
Steve Howard:
www.GrowYourGrub.com or on YouTube.
Presenter:
On YouTube.
Steve Howard:
Or on YouTube at Cooks Garden.
Presenter:
Alright, we’re out of here.
We’re going to eat some chili.
Steve Howard:
See you.
Presenter:
It’s been fun.
Thanks.
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Cooking Everything Outdoors show.
But without my sponsors none of this would be possible, Camp Chef and www.OutdoorCooking.com and Island Grillstone at www.IslandGrillstone.com.
Two great companies with really fantastic products.
Go visit them.
Go say hi and go buy something.
If you want to find out more about me, you can find me on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, and of course, www.Cooking-Outdoors.com where I’m always coming up with something crazy and new.
This is Gary House.
And I will see you when I see you.
