Chili - meat question

[aigel]

Lots of good cooks on this thread. Indeed, you want a "cheap" cut of meat. It has more flavor. Higher on the animal will be more tender but definitely not more flavorful.

I would change exactly zero on your recipe. Not even the grind. What if it doesn't have the same mouth feel?

I make a classic chili where you cube the meat and cook it long enough to where it falls apart into shreds. The recipe calls for cheap cuts of meat as well. I read that this is how it used to be when they dehydrated it into blocks that you could take on the trail, add water - instant chili. You guys should explore this some time!

G

[Eric Coffey]

Yep, chunks/cubes of Chuck Roast is where it's at. Ground turkey is also a good alternative for a healthier option. I am in the "beans" camp though, so I prefer to call it "bean soup" as to not offend the Chili purists, lol.
I'll add a couple cans of beans (2 Kidney, 1 Pinto, 1 Black, and 1 Garbanzo), draining them and replacing the liquid with a couple Guinness beers. I don't like diced/chunky tomoatos though, so I just stick with a good tomato sauce.
Then of course a good mix of chili seasoning, garlic, onions, (can do a rue first), and dice jalapenos goes in. Maybe a little cocoa powder too. I'll usually let a big pot simmer for a few hours.
If you want to kick it up a notch, you can slip in a few Carolina Reapers, lol...

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and Fritos!

[Superman]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

If you want to kick it up a notch, you can slip in a few Carolina Reapers, lol...

Or just eat them by themselves, as an appetizer.

Some good advice here. This weekend would be a good time for some chili. I've got a LOT of garden tomatoes to eat.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by dafischer

I only use Angus Chuck Roast, about 3.5 Lbs., cut up in cubes (more or less) for a pot of chili. which will cook for about 2.5 hrs. Super tender, very flavorful.
And no beans in the chili. I heat up some Goya Pinto Beans in case anyone wants some in the bottom of their bowl before the chili goes on top.

Canned beans ewwwwww!

[tabs]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Yep, chunks/cubes of Chuck Roast is where it's at. Ground turkey is also a good alternative for a healthier option. I am in the "beans" camp though, so I prefer to call it "bean soup" as to not offend the Chili purists, lol.
I'll add a couple cans of beans (2 Kidney, 1 Pinto, 1 Black, and 1 Garbanzo), draining them and replacing the liquid with a couple Guinness beers. I don't like diced/chunky tomoatos though, so I just stick with a good tomato sauce.
Then of course a good mix of chili seasoning, garlic, onions, (can do a rue first), and dice jalapenos goes in. Maybe a little cocoa powder too. I'll usually let a big pot simmer for a few hours.
If you want to kick it up a notch, you can slip in a few Carolina Reapers, lol...

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and Fritos!

Tomatoe sauce and canned beans...barforamma.

Turkey makes me want gobble, gobble.

Now a bit of cocoa powder...ummmm that's interesting. Mike.

I use dried beans.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Yep, chunks/cubes of Chuck Roast is where it's at. Ground turkey is also a good alternative for a healthier option. I am in the "beans" camp though, so I prefer to call it "bean soup" as to not offend the Chili purists, lol.
I'll add a couple cans of beans (2 Kidney, 1 Pinto, 1 Black, and 1 Garbanzo), draining them and replacing the liquid with a couple Guinness beers. I don't like diced/chunky tomoatos though, so I just stick with a good tomato sauce.
Then of course a good mix of chili seasoning, garlic, onions, (can do a rue first), and dice jalapenos goes in. Maybe a little cocoa powder too. I'll usually let a big pot simmer for a few hours.
If you want to kick it up a notch, you can slip in a few Carolina Reapers, lol...

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and Fritos!

5 cans of beans? How much meat are you putting in there? What about coffee instead of cocoa powder?

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by tabs

Tomatoe sauce and canned beans...barforamma.

Turkey makes me want gobble, gobble.

Now a bit of cocoa powder...ummmm that's interesting. Mike.

I use dried beans.

Well, uh...good for you, I guess.
For me, not everything has to be a Michelin Star culinary masterpiece, and the above is a good quick-n-dirty compromise for those (like me) that don't have the time to bother with soaking beans, etc.
That said, I didn't reveal all my secrets, and I am betting you would scarf it up just fine with no complaints.

Make the trek down here to PHX with some of your Q, and I'll make you a pot.

[TheMentat]

Best chilli I ever made used pulled smoked chuck roast.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

5 cans of beans? How much meat are you putting in there? What about coffee instead of cocoa powder?

Yup...for a big pot. Usually 2+ pounds of chuck, etc. Better the 2nd and 3rd day IMO.

Never done coffee though...

[KFC911]

I'm a novice compared to some of y'all...got some ideas from this thread too . I do the big ol' crockpot, 8 hour method...couple of lbs ground and cubed, peppers, spices, diced 'maters, beans....never comes out the same way...sometimes a bit too hot , but always good. My long time buddy might kill me for giving away "his" secret....a pinch, and I really mean a pinch....of cinnimon...

[KFC911]

What we need is a PPOT chili and Q off competition....I won't win but volunteer my services as a judge

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by KC911

My long time buddy might kill me for giving away "his" secret....a pinch, and I really mean a pinch....of cinnimon...

Yeah, that's a well known trick to help cut the acidity from the tomatoes. Works in spaghetti (and any other tomato-heavy dishes) too.
But as you mention, it only takes a very tiny amount, and most over-do it. If you can actually taste cinnamon, then you f'd it up.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Yup...for a big pot. Usually 2+ pounds of chuck, etc. Better the 2nd and 3rd day IMO.

Never done coffee though...

Wow! I used 1 can with 1.5 lbs of chuck.

Originally Posted by KC911

What we need is a PPOT chili and Q off competition....I won't win but volunteer my services as a judge

I'll volunteer as well. Just remember, no open flames. lol

[ckelly78z]

I am definately NOT a chili purist. I like my black beans, and white cannalini beans, along with a diced tomatoes. I use whole hog sausage, and sometimes a strip steak cut into cubes. Green Tabasco tops it off with just a pinch of brown sugar, and served with corn bread.....let the internet flaming start !

Many times while camping, this is fixed over an open campfire in cast iron, while the cornbread is baked in a cast dutch oven.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Baz

........ground turkey

That's what I use as well, it's a mild tasting sweet meat compared to beef, and those characteristics allow the other flavors to shine through.

The turkey frozen in an economy tube is course and chunky.

Fresh ground turkey can vary in texture, but typically more tender than the frozen stuff.

I recently used some turkey in frozen burger patty shapes, it was the finest ground yet (almost no texture) and had good flavor too.

EDIT:
If you have a recipe you are happy with, don't change it for the competition. Experiment after the competition.

[74-911]

Interesting read on the "history" of chili:

1850 – Records were found by Everrette DeGolyer (1886-1956), a Dallas millionaire and a lover of chili, indicating that the first chili mix was concocted around 1850 by Texan adventurers and cowboys as a staple for hard times when traveling to and in the California gold fields and around Texas. Needing hot grub, the trail cooks came up with a sort of stew. They pounded dried beef, fat, pepper, salt, and the chile peppers together into stackable rectangles which could be easily rehydrated with boiling water. This amounted to “brick chili” or “chili bricks” that could be boiled in pots along the trail. DeGolyer said that chili should be called “chili a la Americano” because the term chili is generic in Mexico and simply means a hot pepper. He believed that chili con carne began as the “pemmican of the Southwest.”


https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chili/ChiliHistory.htm

[Halm]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

A courser ground chuck....
There is a Wegman's near me that I shop for special occasions.

Don’t know about Wegman’ s but Harris Teeter here in Tidewater has the course ground beef. It is the only way to make chili, IMHO.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

chicken thighs, several kinds of white beans, stock, green chilies, onions, cilantro.

That is just so WRONG!

[Rickysa]

Used leftover brisket, smoked the day before, just last weekend...first time I tried it. Turned out really nice and had a big beefy flavor.

[red-beard]

I have nothing to add to the thread, except that I make two kinds of chili: Fast and Slow

Fast: Ground 80/20 Chuck with or without mild sausage mixed in

Slow: Cubed beef bottom round, which has been seared with garlic and onions.

The rest of the ingredients are fairly standard:

Italian tomato puree (paste if I'm desperate)
Onions
Garlic
black pepper
cumin
chili powder
cayenne pepper

IF I can get my wife to do it, she makes her "red sauce" direct from peppers, which is basically boiled anahiem peppers and garlic. This can be the base for the chili instead of the powdered ingredients.

The best peppers we get are the ones her uncle grows in New Mexico! Anytime we drive through there, we get a garbage bag full of dried peppers.

Her sauce is the main sauce for her enchiladas. We also just use her sauce mixed with potatoes or cubed beef.