The Inevitable Chili Thread

[TimmyBoston]

Come on, spill those guts!

Who's got an good recipe?

[TimmyBoston]

I make a pretty solid White Chicken Chili

Start off with roasting a chicken full of onions and garlic all day, I then pull of the meat, shred it by hand and make stock with the bones and few veggies.

In a large stock pot, I begin with a 1/4 pound bacon, then saute onions, garlic, and tomatillos. I season that will a variety of chili powders, smoked salt and pink and green pepper. The mixture is most tomatillos, about 3 times as much as the onions/garlic. To this I add a splash of tequila and then the shredded chicken and stock along with a puree of smoked dried (then hydrated) chilis. After reducing for an hour or so, I add a cup of cream and reduce that a bit as well. Final seasoning adjustments and it's ready to go.

[ouch]

I thought that Texas state law defines chili as a product without chicken.

See? This can get nasty in a flash. (Actually, that one seemed pretty good.)

I'll post my rather lengthy procedure soon.

[rtaylor61]

I thought that Texas state law defines chili as a product without chicken.

See? This can get nasty in a flash. (Actually, that one seemed pretty good.)

I'll post my rather lengthy procedure soon.

That is correct! And...there ain't no beans in REAL chili!

Randy

[Baloosh]

That is correct! And...there ain't no beans in REAL chili!

Randy

+1

[_JP_]

That is correct! And...there ain't no beans in REAL chili!

Randy

I just knew that was going to be brought up. However, I'm wearing my Nomax Anti-Flamer Forum Posting suit so I'll press on.

One way of making chili that I really like I call Armadilly Road Meat Chili. I tell people that it's made with Armadillo meat, although it's really ground lamb. Ground lamb is often cheaper than beef and adds a different taste to the chili that everyone that I've fed it to so far really likes. Oh yeah, it has dark red kidney beans in it as well.

[Mama Bear]

I use a beer base with cut up flank steak.

Cowboy Beer Chili

2 strips bacon
2 pounds beef diced
2 cans of beer
2 tbspns chili powder
1 tbspn crushed dried oregano
2 tblspns ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayene pepper
2 tblspns worchestershire sauce
1 tblspn cornmeal or masa harina
pinto beans

Cook bacon til crisp, drain, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon and set aside

Brown meat in bacon drippings then add the next 6 ingredients and 1 teaspoon of salt

Bring to boil then cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Combine cornmeal and 1/4 cup water, and stir into the mixture

add bacon

serve beans on the side

This is the recipe that I have, but I add some tomatoe puree and extra chii spices and sometimes some hot pepper

[Groundhog]

I don't do a whole of measuring, but I just kind of wing it based on how many I'm cooking for....very much like Mama Bear's....I might have to try a little bacon

• 1 lb chopped up skirt steak
• 1 lb ground pork
• minced garlic
• diced onion
• diced bell pepper
• olive oil
• big can of tomato sauce
• lotsa chili powder, a couple tbs or so of cumin, and some cayenne or chili arbol & kosher salt to taste
• a cup or so of cold coffee left over from breakfast
• masa flour
  water

Brown the meat, garlic, onions and bell pepper in a black cast iron skillet with a little olive oil; do it batches, with a little of each in every batch. This is so you're browning it as opposed to steaming it.

Transfer everything to your pot, (or use a cast iron dutch oven for everything if you've got it). Then add your tomato sauce, coffee, and the dry spices. The longer you simmer it, the better. If it gets to thin, mix a little masa & warm water, then add a spoonful at a time until it thickens up. When adding the dry spices, I just add a little at a time until I get the taste right. If you or your companions just have to have beans, use frijoles negros or the little pink ones.

[_JP_]

I don't do a whole of measuring, but I just kind of wing it based on how many I'm cooking for....very much like Mama Bear's....

Chili is lot like stew or gumbo or soup in that the ingredients can change with each batch. I often use chili as a means to clear out stuff in the fridge and pantry.

[Prince]

Chicken and beans? You're making gumbo, not chili!!

[TromboneGuy]

That is correct! And...there ain't no beans in REAL chili!

Randy

And so begins the great Chili With Beans vs. Meat Sauce debate.

I've got a pretty good recipe from a guy that won the Texas State Fair's chili competition one year, but I don't have it with me right now. His instructions say if you want beans, you cook a separate pot of beans, put the beans in a bowl, and pour the chili over them.

[Roman414]

When I lived in New Mexico as a kid my old man and I would sit on the back porch in the evening and shoot rabbits with a .22. The cottontails got cooked like chicken. The big Jacks were too tough, my mother ran them through a meat grinder and used them to make chili. I know, REAL chili is made with beef, but the jackrabbit variety was not bad either.

[rtaylor61]

And so begins the great Chili With Beans vs. Meat Sauce debate.

I've got a pretty good recipe from a guy that won the Texas State Fair's chili competition one year, but I don't have it with me right now. His instructions say if you want beans, you cook a separate pot of beans, put the beans in a bowl, and pour the chili over them.

That would be chili and beans. Not the same thing.

Randy

[ouch]

Lots and lots of ways of making chili. If I can't blast the windows out of your car, it's not really chili, so I'm not averse to the inclusion of beans. Ground beef versus cubed is another basis for world war, but you really can get along with either.

Obtain a big honkin' mess 'o dried chilis, the more the merrier. Ancho, pasilla, de arbol, chipotle, habanero, you name it. Toast them until fragrant in a dry pan or over an open flame, then steep in boiled water until soft. Remove stems and seeds and puree in a food processor.
Heat whole peppercorns, coriander seed, and cumin in a dry pan until toasty, then grind in your cheapest coffee grinder.

In your chili pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and reserve. Add enough garlic and onion and saute. Add ground spices and continue to cook. The smell of cumin should make you faint At this point add pureed peppers. In seperate pan(s) brown meat in batches, adding to main pot. Chuck in a couple of canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Add cooking liquid- beef or chicken stock (or water), a bottle of beer, and a good slug of tequila. If you're adding beans, tell your friends from Texas that there's a naked lady running down the street, and be quick about it. Okay, you can add a can of crushed tomatoes if you must, and any other spices you're fond of. Just don't make it too wacky- once you start adding star anise and clove, it's no longer chili. Cook a long time until you can't stand it any longer. If it's too liquidy, thicken with a slurry of water and masa harina.


Cheats-
If you don't have/can't find/are out of dried peppers, you can use chili powder instead. Cooking the chili powder in the fat early on helps a lot (old Indian spice cooking trick). If you go this route, adding a half a bottle of El Yucateco Chipotle hot sauce will make it taste much better than it should.


Serve to good looking women, and have plenty of margaritas on hand. If you don't get lucky, you've done something wrong.

[TimmyBoston]

Jay's recipe is extremely similar to my "real " chili recipe. But I always use a good stout beer, I feel that it adds a richer flavor than lesser bodied beer. And I also add a shot of good bourbon in addition to the tequila.

Come on, I know there are more recipe's out there, than what in this thread.

[ouch]

Jay's recipe is extremely similar to my "real " chili recipe. But I always use a good stout beer, I feel that it adds a richer flavor than lesser bodied beer. And I also add a shot of good bourbon in addition to the tequila.

Come on, I know there are more recipe's out there, than what in this thread.

For the record, my standard beer for this recipe is Yuengling Porter. It's one of the cheapest porters around, and tastes great, to boot. It's the one in the red label.
Dark beer also works great for cooking black beans.

As for Tim's addition of bourbon to the pot............. no surprise there!

[ratcheer]

I think I am going to make my quick black bean skillet chili, tonight.

Tim

[TimmyBoston]

Lots and lots of ways of making chili. If I can't blast the windows out of your car, it's not really chili, so I'm not averse to the inclusion of beans. Ground beef versus cubed is another basis for world war, but you really can get along with either.

Obtain a big honkin' mess 'o dried chilis, the more the merrier. Ancho, pasilla, de arbol, chipotle, habanero, you name it. Toast them until fragrant in a dry pan or over an open flame, then steep in boiled water until soft. Remove stems and seeds and puree in a food processor.
Heat whole peppercorns, coriander seed, and cumin in a dry pan until toasty, then grind in your cheapest coffee grinder.

In your chili pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and reserve. Add enough garlic and onion and saute. Add ground spices and continue to cook. The smell of cumin should make you faint At this point add pureed peppers. In seperate pan(s) brown meat in batches, adding to main pot. Chuck in a couple of canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Add cooking liquid- beef or chicken stock (or water), a bottle of beer, and a good slug of tequila. If you're adding beans, tell your friends from Texas that there's a naked lady running down the street, and be quick about it. Okay, you can add a can of crushed tomatoes if you must, and any other spices you're fond of. Just don't make it too wacky- once you start adding star anise and clove, it's no longer chili. Cook a long time until you can't stand it any longer. If it's too liquidy, thicken with a slurry of water and masa harina.


Cheats-
If you don't have/can't find/are out of dried peppers, you can use chili powder instead. Cooking the chili powder in the fat early on helps a lot (old Indian spice cooking trick). If you go this route, adding a half a bottle of El Yucateco Chipotle hot sauce will make it taste much better than it should.


Serve to good looking women, and have plenty of margaritas on hand. If you don't get lucky, you've done something wrong.

Going to make this tonight, wish me luck.

[stobes21]

I don't really follow much of a recipe, so I can't add anything there, but here's a few tips to take a regular chili recipe and really make it stand out.

-Try smoked paprika instead of regular. It costs a bit more, but tastes outstanding. Your standard supermarket probably doesn't carry it, but gourmet shops, spice stores, and international markets (look in the hungarian section) should.

-Try grinding some of your own spices. Cumin is particularly good fresh.

-Try picking up some good smoked chiles and adding those in. Even the chipotle chiles in a can add a smoky element that really pairs nicely with the smoked paprika. People will ask you if you cooked the chili on an open flame.

-Use flavorful liquids to add unique flavors -- dark beer, bourbon (not the real good stuff), coffee, dark rum, etc.

-Try adding some dark chocolate or high quality dutch processed cocoa powder to the mix some time. It doesn't seem like it would work, but trust me, it does.

-Try mixing in some sausage with whatever meat you like. It's a great and easy way to add new flavors to the mix.

-Add in corn. Canned or frozen works fine, as does left-over corn on the cob. (sliced off the cob of course).

Above all, experiment and have fun. Chili is perhaps the easiest and best medium for cooks/chefs to experiment and try new flavor pairings. So see what you have laying around, sitting in your fridge, or taking up space in your cabinets and toss it in there. You'll be surprised how often it works out well. Plus, chili stores really well, so cook up a big batch over the weekend and portion it out into those storage containers to take for lunches, and freeze what you can't eat within a week or so.

[BigColdMartini]

I make a pretty solid White Chicken Chili

TimmyBoston, that sounds delicious. Reminds me a little of some of the green chili stews I used to eat while I was living in New Mexico. Not an exact match, but then again there are probably thousands of green chili stew variants. I'll have to give this one a try.