CHILI RECIPE: Former Bradford resident Norm Geist, who now lives in Kentucky, sent out a call about a week ago for a recipe for a Greek sauce for Texas hots that he remembers fondly from his days here.

Reader Kathy Sturm has come through.

Kathy got this recipe from Tom George, who she said was somehow related to Peter George Chakakas, which sounds Greek to us.

She believes this was the recipe from Ma Pete’s, which used to stand on West Washington Street, near Mechanic. That was the restaurant that she and her husband, Tim, enjoyed most for Texas hots, though there were others in town.

Let us forewarn you that this recipe will make several quarts of sauce, much more than you’ll readily need unless you’re planning on inviting the entire Pitt campus over for lunch.

If your kitchen math is better than ours, you could reduce the recipe to a smaller volume. But we’d prefer to make the whole batch and freeze some for another day when we have a craving for a Texas hot with Greek chili sauce. 

Here goes:

INGREDIENTS:

Five pounds ground beef

Two tablespoons butter

2 large onions, chopped fine

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon celery salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1⁄2 tablespoon ground clove

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

4 tablespoons red pepper

1 tablespoon ginger

2 tablespoons garlic powder

10 tablespoons lemon juice

1 quart beef broth

Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS: Lightly brown the ground beef and pour off fat. Add butter and chopped onions, simmer until onion is cooked and ground beef is well-browned.

Add all other ingredients and simmer slowly for four hours. If needed, the sauce can be thickened with arrowroot.

Kathy recommends steaming both hot dogs and buns, then putting the sauce directly on top of the dog. After that, add mustard and fresh chopped onions to the top.

Try this out, Norm, and invite all your new Kentucky neighbors for a taste of the old Bradford.