A Taste of Jim's Roadside Red by Jim Carten on alt.cooking-chat
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=chili+recipe+armadillo&start=10&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=4CHo9.2091%24%2521.180511%40charlie.risq.qc.ca&rnum=15

In this one, you need fresh roadkill.....well as fresh as possible, as long
as the crows ain't peckin' out the eyes and it ain't too bloated. It has to
have been bled too. However most of them who are hit and dragged by an
18-wheeler are pretty well bled out.
In this recipe I need three pounds of chili ground meat. I use three pounds
for several reasons. Naturally you make a bigger batch, but you can freeze
it. But even more important, with three pounds of meat you can be sure that
the roadkill is not a dog, a fox, an armadillo or whatever.
I set up my kitchen outside and do it in a big old Dutch oven on my a
propane-fired burner, however I prepare it inside.
Ok.here we go....

3 lbs. chili ground meat.
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbsps cooking oil
"Pantry Peppers" ( That's what I have handy in the pantry.....)
My own ground cumin
2 tbsps of chili powder
2 big cans of tomatoes. mebbe 3 cans, just in case.
Beans (optional)
1 case of beer, iced down in a cold box.

...and I'll add on as I go along.......

Brown the meat, the onions and garlic together using the cooking oil to keep
from sticking. Once browned, add a couple of cans of tomatoes, the chili
powder, cumin and the peppers.
A word here about the peppers. I like chipoltes (Is that spelled right?) and
I'll also throw in a few jalapenos and occasionally a regular bell pepper,
which will be browned with the meat, onions and garlic. Rule of the thumb,
the thinner the shoulders of the perpper, the hotter they are. Anchos give a
good taste also. It's all about what you've got hanging around in the
pantry.
OK. the tomatoes, if you think it is not liquid enough, put in another can
of tomatoes, you can always thicken the brew with masa farina (Well, you
know what I mean). Use salt to taste. This is the basic chili.
Now I bring it outside and fire up my burner. This is where the TLC comes
in. Bringing it to a boil, I let it simmer on a very low fire, uncovered.
The secret here is the music. I put on a bit of Delta Blues, Robert Johnson,
Mississippi Fred McDowell, something along those lines, as the potion is in
its early stages and I want something a bit laid back so as not to make it
too aggresive too early. Crack a beer. Pour half a bottle in the brew, to
let it know that it is welcomed in your home. creating an ambience which
will blend the taste and the love together, making this one a culturally
acceptable pot of gold.
The neighbors will stop by, they will probably not refuse a beer, and will
gladly listen to your chili anecdotes. After the first half hour, you may
begin the tasting process, but keep in mind, even with roadkill, the taste
will develop over a period of time so when adjusting your additives, keep
this in mind. From an hour on, you may commence to "personalize" your batch,
a bit of cayenne pepper mebbe, or even add something you have found in the
fridge which is about to go bad anyway, as you'll be working this for three
hours.
As the process advances, so will the music. Yeah I know chili is of Texas
origins and not Delta or Loosiana origins, so you could try out a Smokin'
Joe Kubek or Doug Sahm, but I always keep a CD of Gary P. Nunn handy, as he
says it pretty good. He's a chili person.
The neighbors will drop by as I said, they will be curious, they will ask
questions, drink your beer but that's all right, because when they leave
they will, as we say up here, go to sleep a bit more wiser. Today they will
have learned that this gastronomical orgasm is one of the best kept culinary
secrets around. They will have learned that cooking with TLC is a "must".
You don't give it a beer, you don't talk to it, you don't help it out along
the way, you might as well go down to the local market and buy a can, and
not waste an afternoon fussing.

A half hour before it is done, if you care to, you may add your beans, which
have been prepared beforehand. With this recipe I prefer pinto beans, altho
I usually use turtles, these pintos seem to be very compatible with "mowed
down venison"
Have a beer...raise it for me....and have a good evening.

Jim Carten