Toast, soak, blend
López-Alt’s Texas chile con carne method: stems and seeds off, toast whole dried chiles until fragrant, soak until pliable, blend with broth until the puree is the sauce. That puree is the chili. Taste it before it meets the meat.
Masa as finish
Lifehacker: mix a masa slurry so it does not clump; it thickens and adds a toasty corn note. Stir in toward the end and give it time to simmer. That is nixtamalized corn flour, not a flour dump.