<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://dc.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=182073&amp;fmt=gif">

Business Systems & Really Great Chili: A 3-Part Series Kick-Off

Posted by Jim Tennant on Wed, Mar 4, 2015 @ 11:03 AM

I don’t have the recipe for “The World’s Best Business System” but I can tell you that there are some similarities between business systems and really great chili.

First of all you don’t start preparing chili by throwing something into the pot. You don’t even begin by gathering ingredients. The decision to make chili is the first actual step in the process. Same with business, you begin by knowing what you want to end up with. What does that mean? It definitely does not mean start by buying software, or by writing new procedures, or by bringing your management team into the office one at a time to punish them for not getting it right. So where do you start, how do you execute your plan and how do you perfect it? That’s exactly what I’ll be addressing throughout this 3-part series.

Part 1: Learn to identify where your business systems are today.

Part 2: Learn how to plan and define where you’d like them to be tomorrow.

Part 3: Learn how to execute your plan, analyze your execution and adjust and repeat to maximize results.

So if you’re interested in improving your business systems, be sure to check back in on the RBB blog throughout the month of March. If you’re simply interested in learning how to make my famous chili, then I’ll leave you with the below:

“Really Great Chili”

  • 18 oz Top Sirloin steak, extra lean (24 oz bone-in Porterhouse may be substituted)
  • 2 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
  • 1 can (10 oz) whole tomatoes, seeded (they come already peeled, make sure to remove seeds
  • 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed (canned black beans may be substituted)
  • 2 medium onions, chopped fine
  • 3 Tablespoons corn oil, 1 Tbsp for onions, 2 tsp for tomato paste
  • 3 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 tsp for the rub
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ tsp for the rub
  • 2 teaspoon corn starch, for the rub
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, for the rub
  • Extra Chili Powder, salt, pepper to taste
  • 1 bottle (333 ml – 12 oz) Tennent's Lager, bottle not can.  Don’t drink it, cook it. It may not be your favorite to drink, but it’s the best for chili.
  • 2 Table spoons fine ground yellow corn meal (substitute Masa flour if you always wanted a GT350 Mustang)

“Steps for Making Really Great Chili”

Prep your gas grill by heating with both burners on high for 20 minutes. You want the grates as hot as possible. I find covering them with sheets of aluminum foil helps raise the temp of the grates.

Dry both sides of the steak with paper towels. Mix 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of Chili Powder, ½ tsp of garlic powder, and 2 tsp of corn starch in a bowl. Rub the mixture into both sides of the steak using all the mixture you can. Reserve any leftover mixture for the pot.

When the grill is as hot as possible remove the foil from one grate and put the steak on. Leave both burners on high and keep the second grate covered with foil. Wait two minutes, do not move the steak. After two minutes, remove the foil from the second grate and turn the steak on to the second grate. Wait two minutes and remove the steak to a clean cutting board. When cool, cut the steak into small slices about ¾” wide. Cut the slices into ¾” long bites. Don’t “butterfly” cut the meat. You want each bite-sized piece to have two sides seared from the grill.

While the steak cools, add one tablespoon of corn oil to the bottom of a Dutch oven and add the chopped onion. Stir while cooking until the onion starts to turn clear. Remove the onion to a separate bowl.

Add two tablespoons of corn oil to the empty Dutch oven, heat the oil to a shimmer at medium heat and then add two cans of tomato paste. Stir the tomato paste while cooking until the color turns a bright red. Take care not to burn the tomato paste or you will need to start over.

When the tomato paste is cooked, add the onions, whole seeded tomatoes, the steak pieces, all the seasonings, and the Tennent's Lager to the Dutch oven. Reduce the heat to a good simmer.  Cook for at least 3 hours. Add the beans and cook for at least one additional hour. Add additional pepper, Chili Powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper to taste. 30 minutes before serving, stir the 2 tablespoons of corn meal in to the pot.

Be sure to drop me a line if you have questions about the recipe (or the business systems).  

Contact RBB

Topics: Circuit Board & Assembly & Manufacturing, Contract Manufacturing, Original Equipment Manufacturing

New call-to-action