use a cubed up chuckroast. i'm going to toast the dry chili pods and grind it myself.
any tips?
Yup. Chuck + toast/grind your own spices. It really can be that simple. I like beans and use small red beans instead of kidneys,
The tough part is getting your chile-mix profiles to where you want them.
If you live near a Mexican market, you should be fine for a variety of dried chiles. If not, there are a boatload of resources online.
I'll use some combination of these depending on what I'm feeling like for the batch and what's on hand. Sometimes I go for the dark, earthy, raisin/tobacco/chocolate/tobacco flavors (mostly Ancho, Pasilla, Mulato, Morita). Sometimes I like it lighter, brighter, and redder (mostly Pulla, Guajillo, Morita, and Arbol)
--Ancho is the standard chile powder chile--Fruity and earthy--raisin, leather, tobacco.
--Pasilla--chocolate, raisin, plum, less earthy than Ancho
--Mulato--chocolate, coffee, licorice
--Guajillo--a little fruity, dry, bright.
--Pulla--great, but hit or miss to find in stores. Hotter than Guajillo and fruitier, a little licorice.
--Morita--type of chipotle, very smokey
--Arbol--hot, dry, use to add heat
One thing with toasting the chiles--a little goes a long way (think 5-10 secs per side). Over-toasting brings out bitterness and gets rid of fruitiness. Make sure to let the chiles fully cool before grinding.
Or... there's another technique that doesn't depend on powder and borrows some techniques from central Mexican cooking.
Toast the peppers then soak in a little water to rehydrate (plate on top to keep the peppers submerged). Don't oversoak, 10-20 mins should do it depending on the chile. Then puree the chiles in a blender with some cumin, salt, black pepper. You've got a chile paste. Brown the chuck, remove and drain the fat, then toast the spice paste (add a small bit of tomato paste if you want or don't), de-glaze with stock, meat back in... Boom done! Sweat down onions and garlic before toasting the spice past if you want. Or add garlic and onion to the paste. Lots of options...