Chili

[JustPlainBill]

Secret ingredients, bittersweet choc'lit, & beer. I prefer stew beef,cubed over ground chuck. Bacon is ALWAYS good. ...+1 to NO BEANS. & celery is Just Wrong.

 

[ftrplt]

Chili over spaghetti is a fav in many parts of the country!! :cheers: FTRPLT

 

[Richard Burley]

Chili over spaghetti is a fav in many parts of the country!! :cheers: FTRPLT

Cincinnati, an otherwise cool city.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

For sweetness, I always like adding a little bit of mashed butternut squash. It also helps to thicken the chili and add a bit more structure to the sauce.

Personally, I like beans in my chili.

 

[Wet Dottle]

If it has beans and/or ground beef, it's not chili.

 

[Richard Burley]

If it has beans and/or ground beef, it's not chili.

Purist!    8)

 

[huffelpuff]

Ah chili food of the Gods.

For the purists

5 lbs of chopped boiled beef
4-6 large onions chopped
1-12 garlic cloves crushed
1-6 Tablespoons powdered chili not chili powder gross
1 Tablespoon cumin toasted and ground
1 Tablespoon chili flakes
1-2 Tablespoons oregano powdered
Salt and pepper to taste
Enough water to cover (preferably the water you cooked the beef in)
Cook 6-8 hours

For everyone else add the following
No.10 can tomatoes
No,10 can beans

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, fresh sliced peppers

 

[deathmetal]

These are some great suggestions and recipes. I will admit to adding beer sometimes, but never pineapple.

 

[JustPlainBill]

cloves? I'll have to try that sometime. I tend to go nuts with the spices: figure a tablespoon of chile powder and a clove of garlic per pound of meat (chuck,sirloin, bison, venison...) plus cumin, cayenne, paprika...tried cinnamon once, it wasn't bad. I've heard, a splash of coca-cola, but i never tried it, warm flat hoppy lager works for me. EDIT: oh, ya said, cloves of garlic, not ground clove, my bad. Oregano: good. not clear about the difference between chili powder & powdered chili. Ya mean, like a dried pepper run thru a spice mill?

 

[d4klutz]

I live in Texas, and ya can't have chilli without beans! LOL

Anyways, all good ideas, quality meat, bacon, multiple types of chili powder (ancho, New Mexico, regular, and Chipoltle) as well as diced New Mexico chilies. The cherries are an interesting idea. I hate cinnamon and chocolate in the chili. Makes me think of Skyline Chili from Ohio. Blech!

I won a cookoff last year with beans in the chili (here in Houston too!)

 

[George Kaplan]

That's funny Klutz. I win all mine without beans in Michigan, where everyone uses beans. When asked about it I say "when I lived in Texas no one ever used them." It's important to mention I lived in Texas. It psyches out the competition. They don't need to know I was thirteen at the time and never really left the suburbs of Arlington. Of course, chilli cook offs in Michigan are informal affairs, and being the best chilli cook in a northern college town is kinda like being the cleanest whore in Manila. Still though, I take pride in my work. If I'm cooking for myself, I always use beans.

 

[huffelpuff]

@ Just PlainBill chili powder is usually a mixture of dried chili, garlic, salt, oregano, and whatever else the company decided to used that day. Powdered chili is indeed just various dried chiles that have been powdered you can buy them at the store or make them yourself. I personally like to use 4-6 different chilies usually jalapeño, Serrano, cayenne, and Fresnos sometimes I'll add ghost pepper or habanero or both. Depending on how hot I want it.

 

[Puffer Mark]

As a 'foreigner' but chili fan:

My secret ingredient. A good spoon of cocoa powder. And yes, at least half of the meat needs to be diced as opposed to ground, for texture.

As for beans etc. I don't feel qualified to enter the fray.

 

[deathmetal]

And yes, at least half of the meat needs to be diced as opposed to ground, for texture.

This is a really good tip, and especially important if you want your chili to look like the "pro shot" photos in cookbooks. Chunky and delicious.

Some argue for mixing different types of meat, e.g. including sausage. I have never really liked this approach because among other things, it increases the grease without adding that much flavor. But no problem using pork fat in the base.

 

[Puffer Mark]

And yes, at least half of the meat needs to be diced as opposed to ground, for texture.

This is a really good tip, and especially important if you want your chili to look like the "pro shot" photos in cookbooks. Chunky and delicious.

Some argue for mixing different types of meat, e.g. including sausage. I have never really liked this approach because among other things, it increases the grease without adding that much flavor. But no problem using pork fat in the base.

Yeaaahhh. Sometimes I make mine with Ostrich meat. Why?. 'Cos I can and it's cheap!

Get back to your roots, cowboy.

M.

 

[Fatman]

I love this thread. Chili is so personal, and has so many varieties. I tend to use beef chunks, ground lamb, and ground pork. I also add a little chocolate with nuts as well. A bit of beer never hurts either.

I tend to follow the 3 spice dump method, and actually cook mine in the oven after it is assembled. Layer the flavors, make it as hot as your audience can handle!

 

[juanmedusa]

"Make it as hot as your audience can handle!"
Fatman.

It needed repeating.

 

[deathmetal]

Sometimes I make mine with Ostrich meat.

I saw some of this for sale the other day. Wasn't cheap though.

As I understand it, the roots of chili are lard and beef. This expanded over time to include bacon fat.

Most chilis today are very fancy versions of the original dish, as always. If it has avocado, you know too many Californians.

I'd say you should get back to your roots as well, but I'm not well-versed in Boer cooking. Maybe you'll post a recipe.

 

[Puffer Mark]

Maybe you'll post a recipe.

I could, of course, but it would be in Afrikaans :lol:

 

[Brewdude]

Love Chili myself. Mo hotta mo betta, afaic. Beans for me.

But make mine meatless please, since I'm one of those weird what-cha-call veggy-tarians! So sue me!

 


Cheers,

RR