Gluten Free, Bean Free Cyclone Chili Recipe

by Jen Springer

Ever had chili without beans?  Here’s your chance!

Yeee haw!  My Gluten Free White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe is one of my most shared recipes to date, but wait until you try this one.  This beef chili will be kind to your blood sugar and rev up your metabolism.

My dad used to make this unusual and distinctive meal.  This recipe came from an old Marlboro give-away printed in 1979 entitled Famous Chili Recipes from Malrboro Country. I am pretty sure the booklet was given away with an official Marlboro Chili Kettle, boy I’d love to have one of those!

Because this recipe is beef, spices, cactus, tomatillos and a splash of tomato – the flavor is an orchestra on your palate.

You make this once, I guarantee you’ll crave it again in the future.

Every now and then you’ll say, “You know what I have a taste for? That chili with the cactus and no beans.”  Well, that’s been my experience for the past 25 years.

This time around I made it with canned serranos, green tomatoes (tomatillos), and cactus (nopalitos) because that’s all I could find this time of year (winter). Boo hoo for me.

I recommend fresh ingredients if you can get them. Find these unique goodies in the Mexican  ingredient aisle or even a Mexican market.

Using fresh ingredients will give you a brighter flavor; the chopping and prep is well worth it.

I’m going to give you the recipe verbatim from my Marlboro cookbook.  As always, I tweak it to fit my snobby palate.

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of lard (yes, it calls for lard)

4 pounds of beef chuck, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 cup drained canned nopalitos (cactus) or cooked green peppers

12 canned (or fresh) Serrano peppers, seeded and chopped, or 12 tiny green hot pickled peppers, seeded and chopped

2 10-ounce cans of Mexican green tomatoes (tomatillos) or 3 cups of cut-up fresh tomatillos (about 10)

1 6-ounce can of tomato paste

1 1/2 cups of beef stock or canned beef broth (use MSG free)

1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) or 1 1/2 teaspoons of  ground coriander

5 teaspoons of crushed cumin seeds or ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Modifications I made with ingredients:

• I’d use bacon fat next time and not lard
• Use fresh cactus, not canned
• Use cactus over green peppers
• Use fresh tomatillos, not canned
• I used both fresh cilantro AND ground coriander
• I added 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Why not?
• Fresh serrano peppers all the way. Watch out, they are really hot!

Directions:

Heat lard in a large frying pan; add meat about 1 pound at a time, removing after each pound is browned.  After all four pounds are browned, put onions and garlic in kettle and cook until soft. Add all ingredients to a large crock pot.

Rinse cactus peices in cold water if using canned. If using fresh, chop cactus into long strips. Add to the beef.  Also add peppers, tomatillos, tomato paste, beef stock, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. If you’re daring and add cinnamon, do it now.  Cover and simmer about 2 1/2 hours.  During the last 1/2 hour, add the fresh cilantro. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

* If using fresh tomatillos, increase beef stock or broth to 3 cups.

Serve with sour cream if desired.

Make this fantastic recipe and please share your comments.  I love hearing from you!

Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients.  Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense.  She has a track record of  helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though  they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years.