Chiarello Chocolate Chili Con Carne

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef chuck 
• 36 ounce beer 
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate cut into large chunks
• 12 servings pepper black freshly ground
• 36 ounce black beans canned
• 1 quart chicken stock see 
• 2 tablespoons chili powder 
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 4  jalapeño peppers with seeds, stems removed sliced thin
• 12 servings i would have liked to use an version of masa but i couldn't find one at the time of making the tamal Mexican corn flour
• 0.5 cup olive oil extra-virgin
• 2 teaspoons oregano dried
• 4  onions red minced peeled
• 12 servings gray salt 
• 12 ounce tomato in juices diced canned
• 0.3 cup tomato paste 
• 0.3 cup lard Manteca
• 0.3 cup lard Manteca

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• pot
• stove
• slotted spoon
• dutch oven
• tongs
• pepper grinder

Directions

1. Cut the chuck into -inch pieces, or, to save time, have your butcher do this for you.
2. Place the chuck in a large bowl. Season liberally with pepper (about 20 turns of the pepper grinder) and grey salt to taste remember half of this will come off in the pan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, and 2 tablespoons of the chili powder.
3. Mix this well and coat the meat with the masa harina (this is a ground hominy flour common to Mexican cuisine and easily found in the Mexican food sections of many grocery stores). The flour will thicken the sauce and give it a specific, Mexican taste.
4. Preheat a cast iron Dutch oven on the stove over medium high heat.
5. Add the olive oil and then the coated meat, spreading it evenly so it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven in 1 layer. Leave it alone, without turning it, so the meat will brown and caramelize. Meanwhile, add the lard. The meat has a lot of moisture in it, so a good amount of steam will come from the pan before it is caramelized. As it browns, slowly turn each piece with tongs. Once all sides are caramelized, remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a cookie sheet to cool, leaving juices in the Dutch oven to saute vegetables.
6. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat until they start to caramelize and get soft.
7. Add the jalapenos and allow to cook for 2 more minutes until soft.
8. Add the tomato paste. Some of the same spices as were used on the meat will be used in the sauce.
9. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, the oregano, and 2 heaping tablespoons of the chili powder.
10. Add beer. Stir to incorporate everything.
11. Add diced tomatoes, and stir. Then add the reserved meat.
12. Add chicken stock. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours until meat is wonderfully tender. Strain juice from the black beans, add the beans to the chili pot and bring up to simmer. Then add chunks of bittersweet chocolate. Stir until it melts.
13. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.