Brisket Chocolate Chilli

This Brisket Chocolate Chilli is an adaptation of a Mexican Mole dish, something I detested as a child as I was never a fan of anything spicy. As I grew up and learnt to love spice, a Mexican Mole became something I learned to love. A Mole can be made with beef, but is more likely to be made with chicken or turkey normally. However, this slow cooked pulled brisket of beef cannot be beaten in my opinion!

The mole originates from Mexican cuisine and can be found in different variations all over Mexico, but it is established as originating in either the Puebla or Oaxaca regions.

I have used delicious brisket from Bannerman Butcher, a butcher I am very happy to be working with on a regular basis now due to their high quality meat and friendly service. I also bought some authentic Mexican dried chillies from Cool Chile Co to make this dish as traditional as possible. I highly recommend using both as your suppliers for this dish!

This dish consists of slowly cooked tender meat covered in a rich, thick and spicy sauce flavoured with the fruity and hot chillies Ancho and Guajillo. The special, albeit unusual, ingredient of chocolate is also added. A dark, bitter chocolate is used so not to make this a sweet dish. The chocolate adds a depth of flavour not found in your regular chilli con carne. The added dimension of chocolate also gives the sauce that added creaminess. Delicious! Have you ever had chocolate in a savoury dish? Let me know in the comments below. Also be sure to tag me in photos of your recreations on Instagram

RECIPE

Serves 4

Difficulty Level: Home Cook

Ingredients:

650g flat (unrolled) beef brisket
4 whole dried ancho chillies
4 whole dried guajillo chillies
4 garlic cloves
Mexican dried oregano (I got from Cool Chile Co)
1 tablespoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, ground cinnamon, smoked paprika and garlic powder.
Smoked salt (I used Cornish Sea Salt)
1 small onion, grated
3 tomatoes, skinned, seeds removed and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
50g dark chocolate
Olive oil

To serve:

Tortilla chips
Spring onions
Coriander
Rice (recipe below)
Juice from 1 lime
Jalapeños

Method:

First, make the chilli paste. Open up the whole dried ancho and guajillo chillies, discard the seeds and place in a hot frying pan. Toast them for 2 minutes or so and then remove from the heat and pour over boiling water to cover. Leave for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cover the brisket with a drizzle of olive oil and rub on the cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, smoked paprika and garlic powder. Rub about a tablespoon of Mexican oregano between your fingers and rub over the meat. Sprinkle the meat with a good pinch of smoked salt. Preheat the oven to 150C.

3. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Sear the meat on all sides until browned well. Place in an ovenproof dish with a lid, if you have one (if not you can use tin foil)

4. Drain the chillies but retain the water. Along with the garlic and a good glug of the drained water, place in a blender, food processor or use a hand blender and whizz to a paste. Pass through a sieve to make it super smooth.

5. Cover the beef with the paste and then add the grated onion, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and white wine vinegar to the dish. Pour in the water from soaking the chillies and top up with enough water to cover the beef. Cover the dish with the lid or make one from tin foil, and cook in the oven for 3-4 hours until the beef falls apart. Top up with water if needed.

6. Shred the meat with two forks (it’s best to do this in a separate dish)

7. Add the chocolate to the sauce, broken into small chunks, and stir through to melt. Taste the sauce and season if needed with salt. You might want to add a little more white wine vinegar too. If it is too thick, add more water to loosen. Add the sauce to the shredded meat.

8. For the rice: measure a mugful of rice. Place in a sieve and rinse with cold water for a minute. Place in a pan and use the same mug to measure double the amount of boiling water. Pour this into the pan with a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Turn down to simmer and cook until the water has all been absorbed by the rice. Stir through chopped coriander and spring Onions. Squeeze in the lime juice.

9. Serve the Brisket Chocolate Chilli with the rice, tortilla chips, jalapeños and coriander.

Tips

Make it in a slow cooker:simply follow the steps for the beef but instead of cooking in the oven, cook in a slow cooker for around 8 hours.

Use the beef as a topping for nachos or a filling for enchiladas.