Chili thoughts

I was experimenting with chili recipes this weekend and tried two new (at least to me) things.

I smoked the meat, although I just did a quicky job on the outdoor grill, not wanting to dig the smoker out of the shed. Just a pan of water, mesquite chips, low indirect heat, 2 lbs of round steak, 1 lb of pork loin. Meat could have used more smoke. Found it takes longer to break down smoked meat cooking in the chili, but it was good nonetheless. I think smoked meat would add a lot to chili, but I'm still working on it.

Used 1 package whole dried New Mexican chilis to replace most of the ground chili powder. The whole chilis were seeded and chopped up in a food processor to yield about 1/2 cup of flakes. I think they added a greater depth to the flavor vs. the standard chili powders.

At the big groceriy stores around here, you can get any kind of chili powder you want as long as it's McCormick's. Next time I'll find a Mexican grocery store for more interesting ingredients. I'd like to try some of the different varieties of dried chilis, but not sure of the heat/flavors of the others.

As it was, the heat of the New Mexican chilis were at the WAF limit, the kids wouldn't touch it and I didn't even add any freshly diced habanero.

Does anybody have any chili ideas or suggestions?

Eat! You look so thin. wrote:Does anybody have any chili ideas or suggestions?

EYLST, we've been talking chili recently:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1804

Hammond

Well, last batch of chili I made (last winter) was based around tri-tip and a chuck roast. Think I probably started with 6-8 pounds of meat. Both the tri-tip and the chuck roast were pulsed in my food processor to get a nice chunky grind. This was then grayed (not browned since I didn't want to sear any juice in the meat as I want it all to be extracted) with salt, pepper, chopped onion, green pepper, jalapenos, serranos and my favorite for chili: a heavy dose of chipotle peppers (which brings in that smoked flavor you are looking for). I do remember some tomato paste and sauce was added as well as some canned diced tomato (I think).
For spices I used near an entire jar of Chili Powder, and I had two or three actually ground chili powders (new mexico and ancho for sure) which were used liberally both before, during and near end of cook to perk it up. Other dry spices used was cumin, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne and oregano (water was added of course). This was simmered for 3+ hours and final product was a beautiful, dark, smoky spicy mix where much of the meat had shredded apart. Served with fresh crema, tortillas, and topped with fresh avocado it was near perfect.I know this isn't exactly an easy roadmap to follow, but it's chili, just wing it
Jamie

Been following the Cinci chili thread, but that style is not my cup of ... chili. One of those things I'd try if I was in the area.

I like Texas Red, but concede to northern tastes and add dark red kidney beans in moderation to cut the richness.

Thanks for the suggestions. Chili is an annual fall-winter experiment with me.
Mine was basically
2 lbs of round steak, smoked and diced
1 lb of pork loin, smoked and diced
1 package whole dried New Mexican chilis (1/2 cup)
2-3 tbs hot Mexican chili powder
2-3 tbs regular chili powder
1 tbs cumin
1tsp ground cayenne pepper
1tbs dried poblano peppers
1 seeded and diced habanero pepper (optional)
1tsp ground corriander
1tsp white pepper
1tsp black pepper
1tbs Kosher (no iodine) salt
3-4 cloves of garlic diced
2 cups diced homegrown tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 med onions diced
1 cup beef bullion or as needed
Dark red kidney beans to taste

Crock pot for 8 hrs.
(first time I tried this, it still burned to the crock towards the end. Next time I'll try low instead of auto)

BTW, a chili contest I went to a few year back at Mickey Finn's was won by a contestant who literally had hamburger soup that was the worst chili there. The next year they had a panel of judges decide rather than do it by popular vote.

Since I am not well versed in chili history,why are beans not considered to be a part of real chili?Neither is meat in my opinion,otherwise there would just be chili and not also the term chili con carne.Thank you in advance.

I just made a batchh of chili with the "chipotle sauce" you can buy in the mexican aisles. Basically just a chipotle puree with salt. It added quite a bit to the flavor of the chili.

Hattyn wrote:Since I am not well versed in chili history,why are beans not considered to be a part of real chili?Neither is meat in my opinion,otherwise there would just be chili and not also the term chili con carne.

I always get the impression real Chili is defined by what you grew up with or learned to love. Beans or no beans, if beans, then is it kidney or something else. No meat or meat, then what kind of meat and how is it prepared varies. Not all chilis are suitable to chiliheads, who want it HOT. I have even heard of white chilis where there is no tomato present. So what is a respectable chili varies wildly.

This last weekend, I was at a hot dog stand where you could have a cup of soup with your hot dog. When I asked about the soup, they said they have no soup. So what is supposed to come with the special of the day, which specifies soup? Oh, you want chili instead as she erases the special board. Ok, especially as I see their chili comes by the cup or spread on the hot dog a la Cinci. I ate half of this chili, which didn't taste very good to my idea of chili, and left the rest alone. I'm sure for someone that chili was their gold standard.

Chili is our Tower of Babble where differences cannot be resolved unless we agree to disagree or agree we each like our own, then forget about it.

Eat! You look so thin. wrote:Used 1 package whole dried New Mexican chilis to replace most of the ground chili powder. The whole chilis were seeded and chopped up in a food processor to yield about 1/2 cup of flakes. I think they added a greater depth to the flavor vs. the standard chili powders.

Hey Eat,

Did you get the dried chilis locally? If so, where did you get them?

You should be able to find the chilies all over the city. Any mexican grocery store, corner store, heck even the Osco by me has them. If that is not convenient, you can order them at: http://www.thespicehouse.com/category/p ... ype_29.php
Jamie

From what I've garnered of the beginnings of chili, it was a way to use up anything on the trail that was a day or two from inedibility. That was often still unpalatable, so many hot and otherwise distracting spices and ingredients were used to cover up the distasteful ingredients. If that's the case, I expect that's really the only truly authentic recipe, but since most of us would balk at leaving our assembled ingredients to dangle from a horse's behind for a week or so, I'm fine eating it almost any other way. (Cincinatti chili is a mutation I can't deal with. No cowboy had a can of spaghetti'os to dump into the bottom of the bowl.)

Chili, to me, is any long-cooked picante tomato sauce with stuff added. I put beans and meat in mine, but I also put hominy and carrots and a load of garlic. It looks like chili, and it smells like chili, and when I tell people it's chili, they eat it and say, "Good chili." Simple.

Hammond

Jamieson22 wrote:You should be able to find the chilies all over the city. Any mexican grocery store, corner store, heck even the Osco by me has them. If that is not convenient, you can order them at: http://www.thespicehouse.com/category/p ... ype_29.php
Jamie

I guess I don't read to well. Even though I even typed "dried chilis" in my message, I was thinking that we were talking about fresh New Mexican chilis.

I got the bag of dried chilis at Jewel. We have a large Hispanic population around here, but I think most food stores should have them. Look in the produce section or the ethnic section. They had several varieties. I got them because the only chili powder they had was McCormick's. No specialty chili poweders at all, not even common brands such as Mexene or Gebhardt's.

Long ago I had heard that you need to seed, then soak the chili pods. Is this true? I just chopped them up, but the moisture content in them is a bit high to turn them into powder. Powedered chili "dissolves" and makes the "gravy" that hold everything together. The chopped whole chili flakes don't really dissolve.

I want to experiment with other dried chilis (Ancho, De Arbol, Guajillo, Pasilla) but unsure of the heat or flavor, other than was you folks have suggested.

I forgot to use the fresh corriander seed I grew this summer, much more aromatic than the store-bought. Easy to grow, just let your cilantro go to seed, which it will do by late summer anyhow. i also thew in a can of salsa Verde because I couldn't find diced green chilis at Jewel. Off to the Mexican grocery next time!

I agree, everybody's chili is different. It is what you make it--no recipe needed, just add what you like to the chilis. There are also hundreds of web sites with hundreds of chili recipes. If guests ask for seconds, you've done well.

You can do a Google search on chili history. My limited understanding is that modern-day chili powder was developed by German immigrants in Texas and that traditional Texas-style chili has no beans. Not right or wrong, just the way "Texas Red" chili is. I've made it this way, and it is VERY filling and rich. Great if you have to work on the ranch all day.

I'd like to hear comment from other chili hobbyists.

Tyler Florence's "Real Food" cookbook has an outstanding chili recipe that uses dried anchos and a hint of chocolate. The only downside to it is that it called for canned beans. The bean issue can be worked around.

I have made it a couple of times and determined that it is greatly inproved by the used of cubed lamb versus cubed beef.

Eat! You look so thin. wrote:Long ago I had heard that you need to seed, then soak the chili pods. Is this true? I just chopped them up, but the moisture content in them is a bit high to turn them into powder. Powedered chili "dissolves" and makes the "gravy" that hold everything together. The chopped whole chili flakes don't really dissolve.

I make various concoctions of chili pastes for different uses. These frequently involve a mix of guajillo, arbol, ancho, and cascabel - it depends. I typically split and seed the chiles and then quickly toast them on a cast-iron skillet. I press the chile flat with a spatula on the skillet till the flesh just blisters, flip and repeat (definitely do not BURN the chiles). The toasted chiles are then submerged in warm water for 15-20 minutes. After that they are ready to be blended with other 'stuff' depending on what I'm doing.

The (Texas)Chili Front:

Wick Fowler's 4-alarm chili packages are readily available next to the ubiquitous(and unworthy) McCormick's. Making chili on the fly I use ALL of a Wick Fowler's along with freshly toasted, ground anchos, etc.

The Spice House offers a great Conquistador chili blend and a lovely, nuanced HOT chili blend(with a more complex flavor profile than plain cayenne)

I often mix all of the above and fry the powders up in a slurry of caramelized onions/garlic, tomato paste, one can of tomato sauce, and maybe a chopped chipotle pepper with a generous helping of the accompanying adobo.

When the mixture is heated and fragrant I add water plus previously browned 1/4" chuck roast chunks with attendant juices.

This simmers up to 3 hours atop the stove.
-then an addition of masa
-plus drained, rinsed kidney beans

another 30 minutes and you've got chili

Frank X. Tolbert's A Bowl of Red is a great anecdotal guide to Texas Chili's much-debated origins and the infamous Terlingua Chili Cookoffs

I'm a died in the wool Texan enamoured of Texas Chili(despite my addition of beans and inclusion of a modicum of tomato product).

Cincinnati chili only ever tastes right over Gold Star dogs.

well, dyed-in-the-wool might sound better

I was getting ready to send my condolences.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!
Will, I think Santa may be bringing me Tyler Florence's cookbook.

About 9 months ago, I made a Friday the 13 Peppers recipe -- I'd gotten close enough, that I pushed to get 13 different peppers in there. Wasn't the best I'd ever done (and didn't win the contest I'd entered either).

I don't even remember everything I put in, but I know it had
sweet red peppers
jalapeno (fresh)
habanero (fresh)
paprika
poblano
ancho
pasilla
cayenne powder
chipotle paste (from Bayless' Mexican Kitchen)
black pepper
white pepper

Ja only knows what the last two were. Green peppercorns? Pink peppercons? Szechuan peppercorns? Could have been... I'm out of each of those now, so that might be where they ended up.

But truly, the key for me in making chili is:
1) Sweated veggies (onion, garlic, fresh peppers of sweet and hot)
2) Browned chopped (not ground) meat (typically all beef for me)
3) Black Beans (heresy to Texans)
4) Liquids consisting of strong beer and/or broth, and diced or crushed tomatoes
5) Seasonings, of which the most important in my mind is cumin.