"Navajo Lamb and Golden Hominy Chili" -- Utah

This is the last night of skipping ahead to use up our habanero chiles. I am really becoming a fan of lamb. It isn't tough or grissly like many of the beef recipes and quite tender. This one had pasilla chiles, anchos and the habaneros. As you might guess, Ted thought Utah was too spicy; however, despite that in the mix, the chili scored a 3.7. Definitely on our menu for the chili party. We liked the addition of hominy.

I have to mention here that we had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Friday (since Mike works nights on Thursday). So we decided to make an untraditional dinner on Thursday. We chose a turkey mole from a magazine that used turkey drumsticks and dried guiajillo chiles. Of course, I had to send for these via mail order and, as usual, misinterpreted how many were in a bag and ended up with four huge bags of the things. Being food items, they are not returnable. So, if anyone has a need for these, please let me know and I will send you a large bagful. They are rated heat-wise on par with fresh jalapenos.

The recipe for Utah's chili is as follows:

1 dried pasilla chile
2 large dried ancho chiles
3 dried habanero chiles
1/4 c. chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons corn oil
2 pounds lamb, trimmed of fat and gristle and
 cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 tablespoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon sugar (we cut back on this)
One 15 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
One 10-ounce package frozen corn kernels
One 15 1/2-ounce can golden hominy, drained (I could only find white hominy; worked fine)
1 tablespoon masa harina dissolved in 1/4 cup water
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1) Place the chiles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes, until soft; then seed and stem them. In a food processor or blender, puree the chiles with 1 cup water. Set aside.
2) In a Dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in the oil. Cook until soft. Add the can full of water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook, partially covered, 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn and hominy. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for 15 minutes more. Add the masa harina mixture and cook 5 minutes more.
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Enjoy!!

By the way, we downed this chili with Dogfish Head Chicory Stout. It has Caffeine in it!!! Geoff said he actually tasted another beer recently that had caffeine added. Hm................................