Cooking stew beef for chili is a little like giving a group of stubborn cowboys a hot tub: it takes time, patience, and plenty of heat before everyone starts relaxing. Those chunky pieces of beef may look tough and uncooperative at first, but after a good sear and a long, gentle simmer with tomatoes, beans, peppers, onions, and spices, they gradually surrender and become tender enough to fall apart with a fork. The kitchen fills with the smell of something wonderful happening, while the beef quietly transforms from “Who invited this tough guy?” into the star of the chili. By the time dinner rolls around, those once-chewy chunks are so tender they practically apologize for being difficult in the first place.
