Episode 13: Radiohead - Ok Computer - Mr. & Mrs. Tenorman Chili
Everyone's got problems, doesn't mean you have to cry about them, crybaby
A few weeks back on The Indie 500 podcast, we broke down Radiohead’s 1997 masterpiece, “ok computer”. The album landed at #20 on the NME magazine top 500 albums list and whether or not you prefer “Kid A” or “The Bends”, there is no denying the absolute sonic genius that is Radiohead on that album.
Speaking of genius, perhaps the evil variety, a favorite Radiohead moment of mine was when they appeared on South Park in season 5 to pay a visit to a special fan in the town of South Park, Colorado. The evil genius in question, Cartman, forged a letter to the band from his nemesis, Scott Tenorman, claiming that he had “cancer in his ass” and his dying wish was to meet his favorite band, Radiohead. If you haven’t seen the episode (shame on you) go see it, it culminates in a rather diabolical way in which Cartman proves he is not a force to be trifled with…also he makes some really good chili! Perhaps using the parents of his enemy as the protein…perhaps.
The recipe I chose to pair with “OK computer” was a modified version of Mr. and Mrs. Tenorman Chili. Sadly, I’m a little low on human body parts to put into the chili but I do find it is a great dish to take advantage of offal and cheaper cuts and get some fantastic results. In the past I’ve used pork cheek, beef tongue, shank meat, oxtail you name it. If you cook it long enough in a flavorful sauce and shred it into the chili it’s gonna be killer. So without further ado, Cannibal Free Mr. and Mrs. Tenorman Chili…
Ingredients:
2 lbs pork cheeks, cleaned of silver skin (default choice but get creative here
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 habaneros, seeded and minced (for the love of god wear gloves if you can, one time i didn’t and that provided a burning sensation like no other I have ever dealt with because i didn’t glove up then went to the restroom after chopping them)
2 poblano peppers, diced
2 anaheim peppers, diced
8-10 cloves of garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer (I go porter or stout)
1 cup strong brewed coffee
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2-3 tbsp salt (to taste)
Optional: beans (kidney, black, pinto)
In a large rondeau or pot, add 2 tsp of cooking oil and bring to medium high heat.
In a mixing bowl, season the pork cheeks liberally with salt and pepper.
Once the oil is hot, add the cheeks, don’t overcrowd the pot, but single layer, searing them until a nice brown crust forms. flip them over and do again on the other side then remove from the pot onto a plate or bowl to add back in later. repeat until all cheeks are seared.
Keep the oil from the cheeks in the pan, add a little more if need be so the bottom of the pan is covered.
Add the onions, garlic, and peppers. Saute for 8-10 minutes until the onions begin to develop a little color. Be careful not to breathe in all that spice, it might get the tears flowing…
Add in all of your seasonings here (not the salt). I love in Indian food when you are making dishes you saute the spices early on to make them even more vibrant as opposed to just dumping them into a sauce.
Add your beer and coffee at this point, use a spatula to scrape the little brown bits off the bottom of the pot, its all flavor! Reduce this mix by half. The bitterness of the coffee and almost chocolate like quality of the beer really add some complex flavor to your chili.
Add in your crushed tomatoes, beef stock/broth, tomato paste, sugar, and seared pork cheeks. Bring this mix to a low simmer, stirring occasionally but you want the cheeks to cook for 2+ hours (until tender and shreddable) if you find the chili has reduced too much, just add more beef broth or even water back into the pot (reduction is just the removal of water after all).
After 2+ hours of cooking, remove one of the cheeks and test to see if the meat can be shredded yet. If not, back in the pot it goes and check in another 30 minutes. This can be a dish you’ll want to do the day before or start early in the day just to be ahead of how stubborn cheeks can be. There is always something magical about chili, stew, soup etc. the next day!
Remove all the cheeks and shred! Then back into the pot they go, if you’re going to add beans from a can now would be the time. Lastly, season it up with salt and don’t be shy if you think it needs more cumin than cumin (sorry, white zombie nod there) or any other spice for that matter.
Make sure to switch this chili with the school cafeteria chefs so that way your enemy is tricked into eating it while his favorite band in the world shows up to mock him for crying
