This is my attempt at recreating the infamous Fred and Red chili recipe. I have talked to former employees and experimented with this recipe for quite a while. I also grew up on it. Please leave suggestions in the comments. I would love to hear from you so we can make this recipe better. One of the ingredients you will find missing from this list is suet. It was in the original recipe but I have left it out here. The chili suffers from not having it because you don't get the same mouth-feel. It's also not quite as rich as the original, but it's close. If you want to add some suet, I suggest getting it ground very finely and adding maybe 4 ounces when you're browning the ground beef. This chili is also good if not better if it has spent some time in the freezer. So feel free to make a big batch and freeze it in blocks like they did at Fred and Red's.
Cook time: 1 hour minimum (preferably longer)
Servings: 4 quarts - enough for about 12 plates of spaghetti red
Recipe can easily be halved
Ingredients:
5 lbs - Ground beef, 73/27 mix (I buy the 5lb plastic tube at Walmart)
4 ounces - Williams chili seasoning, about 3/4 cup (Sam's sells it in a big container for SUPER cheap) Link to buy online
1 tbsp - Garlic powder
2 tbsp - Paprika (not smoked paprika)
1 tbsp - Ground cumin
1 tbsp - Dried oregano
2 tbsp - Kosher salt (or 1.5 tbsp regular salt)
1 sleeve - Saltine crackers (Lance brand if you can find them)
Directions:
1 - In a large pot (at least 8 quarts), brown the ground beef until it's just brown. You don't want it crispy. I find it easier to do this in two pots, then dump it all into the biggest pot after browning. Make sure to break up the meat into a very fine texture. You don't want big chunks.
2 - Don't drain the grease!! I know there will be a lot of fat at the top but don't drain it.
3 - Add the garlic powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and 2/3 of the chili seasoning to the beef. Stir it up really well.
4 - At this point it will be dry, colorful and aromatic. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
5 - Get the crackers ready. If you have a food processor, add the sleeve of crackers to it and pulse until there are no pieces bigger than a pea. If you don't have one, mash the crackers with your hands or a potato masher until they are in really small pieces.
6 - Add 6 cups of hot water and the crackers to the chili.
7 - Stir well and bring to a boil.
8 - Once boiling, stir well so the chili doesn't burn at the bottom and reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer at least 30 minutes up to 3 hours. Stir every 15 minutes or often enough so the bottom doesn't burn.
9 - After the chili has been cooking for a while, there will be a nice layer of red grease at the top. If you are making spaghetti to go with this (and you better), ladle off about 1/3 cup of the grease and save to mix in with the spaghetti after it's cooked.
10 - About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the remaining 1/3 of the chili seasoning and stir well. Taste and add salt if needed. You can add up to 2 cups of water if the chili is too thick.
11 - After cooking the last 15 minutes, the chili is ready. Make sure to stir it thoroughly before serving.
This chili is served over a bed of spaghetti to make Spaghetti Red. You can also serve it over Fred and Red tamales (recipe coming soon). It's also good just by itself. Typical toppings are pickles, white onion, ketchup, saltine crackers, parmesan cheese, hot sauce and/or vinegar. You can also lay down some pinto beans on top of the spaghetti before adding the chili. The picture above shows a typical place setting.
If making spaghetti:
Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Don't let it get mushy. Drain well then add to a bowl and dump the reserved grease over. Mix well and keep warm.
