Everything You Need To Know About Chilli Beef Recipes

These are the best chilli and beef recipes that I either come across in my travels, or have been using for years.

Meatballs In Peppered Sherry Sauce

Jalapeno Stuffed Steaks

Asian Flavoured Beef Roast

Beef Koftas With A Cream Sauce

These meatballs fall into a class of tapas called "cosas de picar." Named after the picks that the picadors use during a bull fight, the term refers to those tapas that are served with toothpicks. Traditionally these are made with paprika, but since I like my foods a little more spicy, I also add ground cayenne.

Meatballs:

• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped capsicum
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 slices stale bread, crusts removed
• ½ pound ground beef
• ½ pound ground pork
• 2 tablsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teasp ground paprika
• ½ teasp ground cayenne
• ½ teasp ground nutmeg
• ½ teasp ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten
• plain flour for dusting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for frying

Sherry Pepper Sauce:

• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
2 tablsp olive oil ½ red capsicum, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 teasp paprika 1/4 teasp cayenne powder 2 tablsp plain flour 2/3 cup dry sherry 1 cup chicken stock

Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

To Make the Meatballs:

In a bowl cover the bread with milk and soak until the bread is soft, then drain the bread and squeeze to remove the liquid.

In a large bowl, combine the beef and pork, add all the meatball ingredients and mix them together well.

Form about 1 tablsp of the mixture into small balls and roll them in the flour.

Reheat the frying pan and add additional oil, if needed, and proceed to brown the meatballs in batches over medium heat, moving them around frequently so they retain their round shape.

Remove and drain.

To Make the Sauce:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, capsicum, and garlic until soft and then add the cayenne, paprika, and the flour. Cook for an additional minute or so.

Stir in the sherry and chicken stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the meatballs to the sauce and let simmer, turning the meatballs occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes until they are cooked and sauce has thickened slightly.

Serve the meatballs with the sauce, garnished with the parsley and speared with a toothpick.

Any type of chilli can be substituted for the jalapenos in this recipe. Also, the stuffing can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated.

I've used fillet steak below because it is really nice, however, any thick steaks you can get your hands on will be fine.

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 10 jalapenos, seeds and stems removed, chopped
• ½ cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
• 1½ kg fillet of beef, cut into 6 thick steaks
• Freshly ground black pepper

Saute the onion, jalapenos, and garlic in a little oil until just soft. Remove from the heat, let it cool, and then mix in the cheddar.

Slice into the steaks from the edge, creating a pocket for the stuffing. Push in the chilli-cheese mixture and close the opening with a toothpick, if necessary.

Season each steak with salt and pepper and then grill to the desired doneness.

This chilli beef recipe is an absolutely amazing, yet simple dish. It is adapted from a recipe put out by the Two Fat Ladies and is perfect to do in a hooded barbecue, or the oven if you prefer.

As you'll see below the choice of chillies for this recipe is up to you - it alls depends how hot you like it !

• 4 tblsp olive oil
• 8 spring onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 900g piece of fillet or sirloin of beef
• a piece of ginger, roughly the size of your thimb, chopped
• 1 tblsp dark soy sauce
• large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 of your favourite chillies, chopped (jalapeno, fresno, poblano, anaheim, cayenne)
• 1 piece of lemon grass, finely chopped
• 400ml can of coconut cream
• juice of 1 lime

Heat a heavy frying pan and thoroughly seal the piece of meat all over, then put the meat aside. In the same pan heat the oil and saute the spring onions, garlic and ginger until soft. The add the soy sauce, half the coriander, the chopped chillies, the lemongrass and the coconut cream and gently heat through for five minute, stirring occasionally.

Place the sealed meat in a roasting tin and pour the vegetable and coconut mixture over the meat, then add the lime juice.

Cook at 180C for about 40-50 minutes.

Place the meat on a serving dish, pour the source over it and garnish with the remaining coriander.

Serve immediately and carve.

This is a classic north Indian dish - a bit fiddly to prepare but well worth the effort.

For those who haven't done a lot of Indian cooking there is one obscure ingredient in here that you may not have come across before. Amchur powder is green mango that has been dried and powdered. It adds a tartness to the dish. The best substitute is lemon or lime juice, but it's really not the same. Most Asian grocery stores will stock it.

You can substitute them if you like, but cayennes really are the chillies of choice for this recipe.

Beef Koftas

• 1kg minced beef
• 2 tblsp double cream
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1.5 teasp ground cummin seeds
• 1 teasp amchur powder
• 2 teasp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1.5 teasp ground coriander seeds
• 2 cayenne chillies, chopped
• 1.5 teasp garam masala

Cream Sauce

• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cayenne chillies, finely chopped
• 1 teasp cummin seeds
• 1 teasp vegetable oil
• 2 teasp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 300ml double cream
• 1 teasp amchur powder
• 1.5 teasp ground coriander seeds
• 0.5 teasp turmeric powder
• 1.5 teasp ground cummin seeds
• 0.5 teasp garam masala
• 1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

To make the koftas simply put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Then, using a spoonful at a time, shape the meat into a shape that resembles a short, dumpy sausage. You've just made a kofta. This is easier to do if you use wet hands. When you have shaped all the meat, place the koftas in a steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes until just cooked.

Once they've cooled a little, place the koftas into a ceramic oven dish.

OK, now to make the sauce. In a saucepan or frying pan, heat the oil on low heat and add the chillies, garlic, bay leaves, cummin seeds, and ginger for 3 or 4 minutes to get some flavour into the oil. Then stir in the cream, garam masala, ground coriander, turmeric powder, amchur powder and ground cummin and cook for 8-10 minutes. Stir constantly as you do not want to burn the cream.

Take the sauce off the heat, mix the fresh coriander through, add salt to taste and then gently pour it over the koftas.

Bake for 20 minutes at around 150C and you are ready to serve.