Anthony Sedlak's Signature Chili Recipe
Chili Con Carne | Cumin & Chive Sour Cream | Aged Cheddar & Lime
Anthony Lawrence Sedlak
Serves 6 - 8
Chili Con Carne
2 Tbsp good olive oil
2.5 lbs freshly ground lean Angus beef
1.5 lb freshly ground Berkshire pork
1 Tbsp good olive oil
2 medium Walla-Walla onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, pith and seeds removed, diced
1 medium Jalapeño pepper, pith and seeds removed, and finely chopped
1 clove organic garlic, minced
20 ml cumin powder
20 ml Mexican oregano
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp chile powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp roasted garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Ancho chile powder
1 tsp Cascabel chile powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 dried bay leaf
½ chipotle pepper blended with 2 tbsp adobo sauce
20 ml balsamic reduction
1 bottle of dark beer
2 oz bourbon
2 cups homemade chicken stock (or quality organic store bought)
3 cups strained tomato sauce
2 cups canned, diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp – BBQ sauce*
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp srirachia hot sauce
2 cups fresh corn kernels
5 roma tomatoes, roughly diced
2 x 14 oz can – pinto beans, drained & gently rinsed*
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
*OPTIONAL
Cumin & Chive Sour Cream + Additional Garnishes
250 ml full fat organic sour cream (drained in cheese cloth over night)
1 tbsp toasted cumin
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Juice of ½ a lime
Grated aged white cheddar as needed
Cilantro sprigs as needed
Fresh lime wedges as needed
Procedure:
Chili Con Carne
In a large ovenproof ceramic coated, or cast iron pot, brown beef & pork in olive oil, over medium high heat until well caramelized and crispy in places. Next, season the mixture generously with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from pot and reserve. Place pot back onto heat.
Add additional olive oil, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño pepper and garlic to pot. Cook until onions begin to caramelize, approximately 5 – 8 minutes.
Next, add cumin, oregano, cocoa powder, brown sugar, chile powder, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, Ancho chile powder, Cascabel chile powder and cayenne pepper. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes to toast spices.
Add chipotle pepper with adobo sauce, balsamic reduction, beer, bourbon, chicken stock, tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce and sriracha sauce. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper and bring to a simmer.
Cover and Place chilli into a pre-heated, 350 degree oven and bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Remove lid from pot, add corn, tomatoes and pinto beans. Return chilli to oven, turn down to 300 degrees and continue to cook uncovered for 1.5 hours.
Remove and allow the chilli to cool for 40 minutes. Top with a dollop of Cumin & Chive Sour cream and a pinch of aged white cheddar. Serve with a slice of lime and a few springs of cilantro.
Cumin & Chive Sour Cream
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill until ready to serve.
Chef Anthony Sedlak
Executive Chef, The Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe, Vancouver, Canada
Host, The Main, Food Network Canada
Author, The Main - Recipes
To say that Chef Anthony Sedlak is a precocious talent is an understatement.
At just 13 he traded a shift in a café atop Grouse Mountain ski resort in Vancouver, Canada for a snow boarding pass, and discovered a love of food and the restaurant experience that would rapidly shape his future. By 19 he completed both a Culinary Arts Program and his four-year apprenticeship and quickly emerged a leader in The Observatory, Grouse Mountain’s flagship dining room.
Knowing European kitchen experience would be critical to his development as a star Chef; the teenager spent almost two years at La Trompette, a southern French, and Michelin Star restaurant in London, England. As Sedlak worked up the line from his entry level role to, eventually executive Sous chef, he learned how a hardcore professional kitchen team works, refined his French culinary techniques and adopted La Trompette’s hard-bitten, uncompromising commitment to excellence.
At 23, Sedlak represented Canada at the Hans Bueschken World Junior Chef Challenge in Auckland, New Zealand, returning home with silver. Later that year Anthony competed in, and won Food Network’s Superstar Chef Challenge. He has since hosted four seasons of his own show on Food Network Canada called The Main. The Main is a stylish half-hour of mouth-watering, visually appetizing dishes. In each episode Anthony prepares a main course featuring one main ingredient. The food is rustic, the ingredients readily available and the recipes simple to follow – leaving the viewer inspired to recreate each main at home. Anthony went onto write a cookbook based on the series and just 9 months on the shelf sales have made Sedlak a Canadian Best Selling Author.
Now, at the ripe age of 26, he is the Executive Chef of The Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe. The menu is French at heart including such signature dishes as Terrine De Campagne with Onion marmalade or Crispy Pig’s Ear & Roasted Sweetbreads with Shallot & Parsley Sauce.
Anthony is putting his own kitchen dream team together and working closely with Corner Suite owners Andre McGillivray and Steve Da Cruz. Sedlak has a new Food Network series in development, and like all strong culinary brands, is planning his own product line.
“I am devoted to simple classics and top-shelf ingredients,” says Sedlak. “I’m passionate about simple flavors and flawless technique and want to wow the connoisseurs looking for a whole story behind the dishes we present. Trends come and go, classics are forever”
The Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe is set to open November, 2009. The Main is seen weekdays on Food Network Canada.