Smoke Brisket Chili Bake with Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
SERVES: 4 generously
YOU’LL NEED:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (with juice)
2 (14-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 cup beef broth
1 pound smoked brisket, shredded
For the chipotle cheddar biscuits:
2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chipotles, rehydrated in hot water, then drained
Heat a pan or dutch oven over medium heat on a stove burner. Add olive oil. Add onions, peppers and garlic; sautee, stirring, for 4 minutes until veggies start to soften. Add chili powder, cumin and garlic powder. Cook until veggies are soft.
Add crushed tomatoes, all the beans and the beef broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the shredded brisket. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Preheat oven to 450F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Cut the butter into the dry mix until it resembles cornmeal (I like to do this with my hands, you can also use knives or a pastry blender).
Mix in buttermilk until just integrated. Fold in shredded cheddar and chipotles.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out until it’s about 1-inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out biscuits. Reshape scraps and repeat.
When the beans are finished, spoon them into a deep cast iron skillet (drain off some of the excess liquid using a ladle – this will help prevent the biscuits from turning soggy). Top the beans with uncooked biscuits; bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
NOTE: The bottoms of the biscuits will still be slightly soggy. I like it this way. Mike prefers them firmer. For completely crispy biscuits, you can bake the biscuits separately and place them over the chili afterwards.
Adapted from droolworthydaily.com