I married my husband because of his meatballs, and he married me for my Oklahoma Chili. It’s not actually my chili; it comes from my Mom, Martha Ann, known by many as M.A. M.A. experimented with a lot of chili in her life, and kept only the best recipes. About 40 years ago she spread all the recipes (cut out of newspapers and magazines) on the kitchen table, and took the best from the best. This is M.A.’s Famous Oklahoma Chili. (For more about how M.A. takes on life, please see MarthaAnnIsms: words of wisdom from my mom.)
What makes it Oklahoma chili, besides its origin story? Texas chili is often characterized by chunks of beef. California chili makes me think of chicken chili. The chili I’ve had in New Mexico was more like pozole, made with pork and hominy. And my home current home of Cincinnati has its own brand of chili, served over spaghetti. Oklahoma chili (at least in my mind) is made with ground beef, and is served over Fritos with cheddar cheese and raw onion. Oh my. So so good.
One last note: My daughter, a junior at college, recently asked me for this recipe and made it for her roommates. These are actually her photos. My heart is happy that three generations of Hill/Peraino woman are now making this chili their own. I hope you love it too.
M.A.'s Famous Oklahoma Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- About 1 T. olive oil or vegetable oil
- 2 C chopped raw onion
- 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-2 cans chopped chilis (I use Hatch if I can find them, but they are hotter than regular chilis)
- 1 can chopped jalapeno (optional)
- 4 T. chili powder
- 1 t. oregano
- 2 t. cumin
- 2 t. salt
- 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 t. sugar
- 1/2 t. red pepper
- 1 can Rotel tomatoes (mild, hot or regular)
- 1 can tomato paste
- 2 C beef broth, or a little more
- 2-3 cans chili beans
- Fritos
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Chopped raw onion
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large stockpot of dutch oven. Drain meat and remove. Set aside.
- In the same pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion until starting to soften. Add the garlic and chilis, and jalapeños if using. Saute for a couple of minutes.
- Stir in the chili powder, oregano and cumin, and cook for a few minutes for the spices to open up. If it starts to scorch, add a little beef broth to moisten.
- Add the Rotel tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook, stirring for a few minutes. It will be a thick paste.
- Stir the browned meat back in, and add the parsley, salt, sugar and red pepper.
- Add the beef broth.
- Stir and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer, for at least 30 minutes and as long as a couple of hours.
- At this point you can refrigerate to serve later.
- When ready to serve, bring to a simmer and add the chili beans. Drain off the extra liquid in the can, but do not rinse and drain. Heat to a simmer.
- Serve over Fritos, with grated cheese and chopped raw onions.
For more chili, see Crockpot Chicken Chili — Zero WW Points.
