By Fourth of July. The Claycut Drive Institution. Year four. The guest list has stopped being a list and started being a census. Thirty-five people. Brisket (Texas-style, the proven model). Crawfish bread. Boudin balls. Danielle's coleslaw. Janet's beans. The anonymous deviled eggs that appear every year from an unknown source. (I've started calling them "the phantom eggs." Nobody claims them. Everybody eats them. They are the unsolved mystery of the Beaumont Fourth.)
Rémy lit his own sparkler this year. No assistance. Struck the punk, lit the fuse, held the sparkler steady. Seven and independent. Seven and handling fire. Danielle watched with the expression of a woman who has surrendered to the fact that her youngest son will not be bubble-wrapped, and who trusts the man who raised him, even when that man encourages fire-handling at seven. "He's got it, sha," I said. He did. He does. The boy's got it.
Thirty-five people means every dish on that table has to pull weight — nobody gets a seat at the Claycut Drive spread just for showing up. The Texas Chili Fries have been earning their place for two years running now, and this Fourth they went out in under twenty minutes flat. If Rémy’s handling his own sparkler, the least I can do is make sure the food is as bold as the occasion.
Texas Chili Fries
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 bag (32 oz) frozen thick-cut steak fries
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup sour cream, for serving
- 2 green onions, sliced, for serving
- Pickled jalapeño slices, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Bake the fries. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread frozen steak fries in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake according to package directions, 25–30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and crisp.
- Brown the beef. While fries bake, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, 6–8 minutes until no pink remains. Drain excess fat.
- Build the chili. Add diced onion to the beef and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Add chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir to coat the meat in the spices.
- Simmer. Pour in diced tomatoes (with liquid) and tomato sauce. Stir in kidney beans. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Taste and adjust salt.
- Assemble. Transfer baked fries to a large serving platter or sheet pan. Ladle chili generously over the top. Immediately scatter shredded cheddar over the hot chili so it melts.
- Finish and serve. Top with sour cream, sliced green onions, and jalapeños if using. Serve hot and immediately — these do not wait.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 540 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 820mg