Awful Good Texas Chili from the Texas CookBook 
Publisher: Golden West Publishers

http://www.azreporter.com/recipes/texas/awfulgoodtexaschili.html

BACON: 3 strips, thick
BEEF: 3 pounds lean, coarse ground
ONION: 1 medium, chopped fine
GARLIC: 3 medium cloves, minced
TOMATO PASTE: 6-ounce can
CUMIN: 3 tablespoons, ground
OREGANO: 1 tablespoon, ground
SALT: 1 tablespoon
PEPPER: 1 tablespoon, ground black
BEER*: 12-ounce bottle
CHILE PODS: 6-9 dried, red
WATER: 3 cups
(*Dark Mexican beer is best)

In a large, cast-iron kettle, fry bacon crisp. Remove and discard bacon saving 
the grease. Add meat, onion and garlic and saute in bacon grease until meat 
is gray. Stir in tomato paste, then add spices and mix well through the meat. 
Pour in beer. Stir thoroughly and remove from heat.

Remove stems and seeds from dried chili pods. Boil in a covered saucepan 
with water for 15 minutes. Put peppers and water into blender and blend into 
thick sauce; pour sauce into kettle with meat; stir and simmer for 2 hours. 
Check after 1 1/2 hours. If chili needs thickening, add a tablespoon of masa 
harina. If chili is too thick, add water sparingly. For hotter chili, add cayenne 
pepper or Tabasco sauce -- sparingly.

Serves 8