After all of my car rustoration metal work and welding this winter, I managed to eek out a few fabrication skills and I knew I would need them for the things I wanted to add to the front storage area of the trailer itself. I did the research on what I could buy to fit that “A” shaped area and I figured it was going to cost another $500 bucks, So I decided to build what I wanted myself. The first thing I did was spec out the cooler and I ended up with two of them (32 cans, 25 Quart) Iggloo Marine Coolers and tie downs. I figured I could fab up a bracket and mount the tie down system, they are just 11 inches in depth, so they fit perfect. So tonight I fabricated the bracket out of 3/4 inch steel, square tube, welded it all up and measured it in. I have to clean up my welds, drill and tap all the brackets holes and then mount it on the trailer. The fit is cool and it will look great.

This weekend I fitted the new covers for the bed foam that I ordered a month back and they look really nice in that ‘70’s retro way…

Then I built a frame, boxed it and mounted my “under the seat” cooler and filled the interior with expansion foam. Now we have dry goods and pantry storage.

I haven’t posted in a while on any topics pertaining to cooking and it is partly because I have been spending most of my spare time cramming on technology for my job and working on the restoration projects for the Tent Trailer and the Porsche EV Project. Coming into the end of summer, the tent trailer is almost completed and I will start back on the Porsche in October, so I figured it is time to catch up on some cooking. I have continued to put up Brisket and Sauces, but since I covered those before (links at the end of this post), they are redundant. But I have been thinking about Chili and certainly as I get to my golden years, I plan to do a lot of BBQ and maybe some chili cook offs for fun.

So this week I planned out the chili and today I put it together. It is based on my BBQ Brisket, so that is a shameless plug to buy some from me @ $14.00 a LB…

Memphis Brisket Chili with Black Beans

Ingredients

• Peanut Oil
• 2 White Onions (not Sweets)
• 2 Cans High Quality Black Beans (not seasoned)
• 2 Cans DiNapoli Chopped Tomatoes in Heavy Puree (28oz Cans)
• 1 Can Embassy Smoked Jalapenos (7oz Can)
• 1 each Bell Pepper (Green, Red, Orange and Yellow)
• 1 Fresh Poblano Pepper
• 2 Fresh Anaheim Peppers
• 3 LBS Larouex Memphis Brisket
• 4 Isernio’s Mild Italian Sausages
• 4 Cloves Fresh Garlic
• ½ Cup Fresh Chopped Oregano
• High Quality Chili Powder
• Ground Black Cumin
• Celery Seed
• Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt
• Cider Vinegar
• True Lemon

Pre-Preparation (mise en place, Everything in its place)

• Chop all the peppers into a 3/8 inch dice. Remove the seeds and inner skeins.
• Chop the Onions into a 3/8 inch dice.
• Place the sausages into the freezer for 45 minutes.
• Chop the Brisket into a 1/2 inch dice
• Remove sausages from the freezer and the chop into a 1/2 inch dice.
• Organize all of your spices to be ready at hand.
• Puree the 2 cans of chopped tomatoes in the Cusinart for a couple short bursts as you will want the chop to be around 3/8 inch.
• Puree the Smoked Jalapenos, leave them a little rough, but they will melt in the chili.
• Place the black beans in a strainer and rinse them with cold water.

Preparation (Makes 1 gallon)

• Use a large, heavy bottomed stock pot.
• Use high heat and be aggressive with your stirring and sautéing, heat matters as you don’t want anything to stew or extrude too much moisture. Use a silicon oven glove with your stirring hand to protect from the heat and splatter.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Oil and heat.
• Add chopped sausage and cook until brown. The sausage will stick and brown up, just be aggressive in stirring.
• Add 4 cloves of garlic using your garlic press.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Oil.
• Add all the onions and cook until translucent and the edges have browned. You should be getting some benefits from the moisture in the onions loosening the stuck bits, effectively deglazing the pot.
• Add Chopped Brisket Meat.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Oil.
• Heat everything up and add 5 Tablespoons of your Chili Powder.
• Heat everything and you should see the oil take on the redness from the Chili Powder.
• Remove the pot from the heat and empty the mixture into another container.
• Return the pot to the heat and add all of the chopped peppers.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Oil.
• Cook the peppers until softened and this step should have removed all the sticky bits on the pot.
• Add the chopped tomatoes.
• Add the minced smoked Jalapenos.
• Add 16oz of water.
• Reduce the heat to medium now and let the pot come to a boil.
• Add the meat back into the pot and stir to incorporate.
• Add the black beans.
• Add 3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar.
• Add ½ Teaspoon of True Lemon.
• Reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot and let the ingredients simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often.
• Add 5 Tablespoons of Cider Vinegar.
• Add ½ cup finely chopped, fresh Oregano.
• Add 1/4 Teaspoon of ground Black Cumin.
• Add 1/2 Teaspoon of Celery Seed.
• Simmer for 45 minutes.
• Add 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt.
• Simmer for 30 minutes.

All Your Prep Work Completed!

High Heat and Browning!

Ingredients…

Finished  Product, colorful and very tasty…

Summary

This is a mighty fine tasting Chili and with the smoked Brisket, it will be something no one can easily replicate! I vacuum sealed a bunch up for camping (just heat the bag in boiling water) and some for my friends to give away.

For reference, here are some of my other postings on cooking…

• Anthony Bourdain, Making Peking Duck, Making Ham, etc.
• Making Larouex Brisket
• Making Smoked Andouille Sausage

This weekend I finished plumbing in the last water stuff with the filtration unit and securing the lines in case they get pulled. The water is all done. I then moved onto cleaning up and inspecting the electrical panel and convertor system. I added new fuses, new interior lights and roughed in the skylight and fan above the cooking area., The electrical is all done.

Interesting challenge wiring the fan for the skylight in as the roof is a laminate of aluminum sheet, expanded foam and a thin sheet of wood. I ended up heating a long straight wire I made from a clothes hanger and sliding that through the holes to melt the foam. It worked!

Next I am finishing the flashing and waterproofing for the skylight, rouging in the under seat cold storage and redoing the propane gas system.

I finished up the water system and got it all tested. I ended up having to replace every hose, the tank and the pump faucet (which was a hard to find part).

I also plumbed in the option for an electric pump line and the drain option that is a twist versus the plug that usually strips…