It's getting Chili

[gr8fl4porsche]

I made a pot of Chili last night and it could use some improving.

Anyone care to share their award winning Chili recipe.

[berettafan]

i don't know how well this will be received but for me the key is ground turkey and lots of beans.

i am a total chili novice though.

[targa911S]

BEANS???? No beans in chili!

[KFC911]

Search the archives...I recall some serious chili afficianados posting their techniques over the past few years. I'm not one of "them", but it's time to make a batch of my own. I like beans (I know, I know), lots of fresh peppers, and a mixture of ground and browned, "chunks" of beef...never the same way twice

[TerryBPP]

I tried this thread a few months ago and I guess this isn't a chili crowd.

By coincidence, I made my 1st batch of chili last night. Used a premix from Publix with ground turkey. It was great.

I'd like to do one from scratch. Come'on fellas.

[71T Targa]

It's not from scratch, but I like to start with Carroll Shelby's brown bag.

[71T Targa]

Edit: Strange, I thought I'd get a pict of the image at this link...

[Mo_Gearhead]

Urbanites!

You HAVE to use venison as your meat ...fools!

[71T Targa]

Originally Posted by Mo_Gearhead

Urbanites!

You HAVE to use venison as your meat ...fools!

Mmmm... Venison chili is goooood.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Mo_Gearhead

Urbanites!

You HAVE to use venison as your meat ...fools!

And waste a perfectly good "bambi burger" ? I've never had venison in chili, but can only imagine...yum! I'd still prefer "chunks" (and ground) for texture.

[dtw]

Check out Terry's original thread, I posted my own recipe:

Who has a good chili recipe?

Since posting that recipe, I have continued to refine my technique. Now my chili has gone 100% tomato-free. By ratcheting up the level of dried chilis and adding a bit more onion, I have completely eliminated the tomato paste. Last year I made 10 pounds for the annual Running of the Headlight Brigade @ VIR, and also brought a pound out to my dad. Mom said "Don't ever bring your father that chili ever again". I'll let any Pelicans who tried it at the race weigh in here, but I think it was a success .

Any hunters in NC want to unload some of your less desirable venison cuts on me? I haven't made deer chili in 15 years...

Edit: from scratch and bean-free is the only way to go! C'mon Terry, why din'cha try my recipe!

[cmccuist]

If you're in a chili cook-off in TX, you get disqualified for adding beans.

Here's a couple of tips I use for making chili (I've won a few contests).

Ingredients - chicken broth, dried New Mexico chili peppers, chipotles in adobe sauce, cubed meat, tomatoes, tomatoe paste (don't use tomato sauce), onions

Don't use ground meat! Cube the meat - pork, beef, venison, turkey (not so much). It's always better to have more than one kind of meat. I like a mixture of pork and beef. I brown the cubed meat in butter and add it to the mix.

I use chicken broth as a base. I add everything to a crock pot and slow cook it overnight.

To prepare the dried peppers, I cut off the stems with a scissors, then split the pepper down one side. Remove the seeds and simmer in chicken broth for about five minutes.

Then I take the back side of a knife and scrape the pulpy paste off the pepper skins, puree the paste in a blender or small food processer with chicken broth and add to the mix.

New Mexico chilies are very good to use as they are tasty and come in wide range of Scoville units (hotter isn't always better).

I bought some chilies in Mexico recently. They have a huge selection down south. Better than you can get in the local grocery store. The hard part about making chili is finding good dried chili peppers to use.

I go easy on the chipotles in adobe sauce as it adds a peculiar taste to the mix that overwhelms it. Just dig the chipotles out of the can, pull off the stems, split them, run your finger inside to get the seeds out and puree them with your pepper-pulpy-paste that you made previously.

I use canned, diced tomatoes, but go easy as you don't want a too tomotoey taste.

Chili is dependent on the ingredients. Select your ingredients with care and experiment. Good luck!! It's chili weather!

[Mo_Gearhead]

Damn Craig... you just made me very hungry!!!!

[dtw]

Agreed w/Craig on the cubed meat. That was the single greatest improvement I've made to my chili in the last few years. Soooo much better than ground beef.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Thanks for the detailed recipe - I am going to work on another batch this weekend. I'll post the results.

[rammstein]

Craig- looks really really good. I will actually try this.

[teenerted1]

Drago's Chili is deadly....i have the stained toilet to prove it.

[cmccuist]

After reading Dave's post, I realized I forgot about the garlic and cumin. I'm ambivalent about the cumin, but that's just my own taste buds. I've gone heavy on the cumin and light and it doesn't seem to affect it. Maybe i'm cumin intolerant!?!

Also, sometimes you have to thicken the chili. The purists say you have to use corn flour (masa), but i've used corn starch or just regular flour.

I go back and forth on the use of tomato. I applaud Dave's effort to forgo tomato products altogether, but i've found that most people (non-chili fanatics) like a little tomato in there.

The key technique in the whole process is to simmer those dried chilies so you can remove the paste off of the skin. The good taste (and heat) is in the paste.

[teenerted1]

why not roast the chilies on a grill or open flame? that way get a roasted/smokey flavor from them. just throw them in a ziplock after for a few minutes to get the steam to release the skins. then the skins will practically fall off in your fingers. then you can seed and puree to your needs.

[dafischer]

My recipe is very similar to Craig's, but I add a bottle of good lager. Also, chopped jalapenos when browning the meat.