Chiliheads, an assist if you would?

[Jester]

A while back, I participated in a chili cookoff. It was one of the regular monthly cookoffs I participated in with some locals. Though it was the first time I had ever even attempted chili, the finished product was closer to my mental conception of what I wanted than any first effort I had ever tried with any other dish. And I was rewarded for this with a second place finish in said cookoff, which ain't too shabby for someone who is making chili for the first time.

Sadly, that cookoff has not happened in over a year, and while there are talks of bringing it back, nothing has really materialized, for various reasons.

So how happy do you think I was the other day when I saw a flyer for a local chili cookoff a local bar is having in conjunction with the local hot sauce store?

Yeah, I was pretty damn thrilled.

The chili cookoff will be next Sunday, the 29th. Here's the thing: not only have I not made chili since that last one, which may have been as long as 2 years ago, my notes from it are not exactly complete. So, while I have an idea of what I want to do, I am not sure exactly how I am going to do it. I am going to work partly from my notes (if I can find them), and partly from my head and intuition.

But I like to look on the positive side of things. This gives me a chance to reimagine, retool, and redo. It might be better, it might be worse, I don't know. But either way, it's going to be fun. And it will be my first culinary competition in over a year.

So, while I have an idea of what I am going to do, I have lots of room with which to play. And I can always use fresh ideas. So I would love to hear suggestions about techniques and/or ingredients for my chili. Whether you have made chili or simply enjoyed eating it, I would love to hear some suggestions.

My only solid plan is that I am going to do a meat and bean chili, with a variety of peppers, and definitely have some spice factor going on. And I am going to try to make it sometime in the middle of this coming week, so it has a few days to sit in the fridge and just get better.

So within that context, let me hear what y'all think. And ahead of time....thanks! :wave:

[Android Kaeli]

If you want to add just a bit of spice to it, use a small amount, maybe a teaspoon to teaspoon and a half, of Texas Pete hot sauce. Maybe could use a variety of different kinds of beans, like Bush's Baked Beans and even Kidney beans. Also might could try using turkey as the meat, if your local grocery store carries it by the ground meat.

[Jester]

I want more than a touch of spice. I plan on using many kinds of peppers, up to and including habaneros. Gotta represent the Southwest! :lol:

[ArcticChicken]

1. Tequila

2. Coco powder.

[AdminAssistant]

As my (kickass) chili is very mild and does not include beans, I don't think I can offer anything helpful. :/

[AnqeiicDemise]

My husband adds squash to his chili...and some sweet corn too. The first time he added them was on accident but it was delicious. I have to fight co-workers off my plate when we bring his chili in to work.

[MaggieTheCat]

I have heard of adding pumpkin puree to chili, too. Never done it myself, but I am planning on making chili myself this week and was thinking about adding some to see what it'd do.

My husband's basic recipe for chili is:

1lb ground chuck, browned w/olive oil
2-3 links sausage, sliced
1-2 cloves fresh garlic
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons (yes, tablespoons) chipotle chili powder (or homemade is even better)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon (or more) black pepper
Salt to taste

No beans, no veggies of any kind. He doesn't like onions, so he doesn't even sautee his meat with any when he browns it. All of this, he dumps into a crock pot and lets it go for anywhere from 6-10 hours.

Personally, I like beans in my chili, particularly kidney beans. I'm not sure how Busch's baked beans would be, since they're typically pretty sweet...maybe they'd offset the spiciness a little bit. My husband was born and bred in Texas, though, so beans in chili is blasphemous around here. My mom also adds a little bit of diced celery for some crunch in hers...as well as cooked elbow noodles, which I always thought was weird.

Anyway, I highly recommend doing it in a crock pot if you have one, since it'll cook long and slow and really infuse the flavors well. Also, you don't have to worry about anything burning and you can just let it go all day (or night) while you're at work.

Let us know how you end up making yours and how it turns out, I'm always looking for good chili recipes. :)

Edit to add: My husband's chili, when made as above, is very hot, IMO. The first time I had it, I could barely eat it. The next time he made it, he cut the chili powder down to 1 tablespoon and it was still pretty hot for me -- I had to load it with cheese and sour cream.

[Jester]

As my (kickass) chili is very mild and does not include beans, I don't think I can offer anything helpful. :/

Not necessarily true. Just because you make mild chili doesn't mean you don't have ingredients or techniques I can use. :D

My husband was born and bred in Texas, though, so beans in chili is blasphemous around here.

I'm from Arizona. I don't adhere to that particular Texan chili religion. :lol:

Anyway, I highly recommend doing it in a crock pot if you have one, since it'll cook long and slow and really infuse the flavors well. Also, you don't have to worry about anything burning and you can just let it go all day (or night) while you're at work.

I plan on doing it in a large stockpot, so I can tend to it personally throughout the day. That, and because the only crock pot I have is kinda small, whereas my stockpot is much larger. And since I would rather have too much chili than too little, that'll work for me.

One other thing. I do have a basic plan in place, a basic blueprint if you will. Steak, pork tenderloin, chorizo sausage, and bacon for the meats; black and pink beans; and several peppers, including serrano, ancho, chipotle, and habanero. I prefer fresh peppers to powders when possible, though in this region, I have to get my chipotles from a can, which I still find preferable to powder. In that vein, I will be using fresh garlic rather than garlic powder, etc. Whatever I can get fresh, I will.

Those are my basic ideas. That does not mean I am not open to suggestions or ideas, about ingredients or techniques. I have some other ideas, too, but as I said, I am doing this again for the first time.

[Bella_Vixen]

May I recommend Guatemalan insanity peppers? :devil:

[Aethian]

Okay for one I just have to say.... It was two years ago?! Where has the time gone?

And second.... What about doing a mixture of meat like pork, beef, and maybe for being different, buffalo? A place around here does buffalo chili and he normally sells out within the first couple hours of being open.

[Jester]

What about doing a mixture of meat...

As I said in an earlier post, that is exactly what I plan on doing. Specifically, sirloin steak, pork tenderloin, a nice bacon (probably applewood), and chorizo sausage.

[csquared]

I'm from Arizona. I don't adhere to that particular Texan chili religion. :lol:


At least you are not from Cincinnati.

My father is from Texas. He taught me three things:
1. Tip your hat to a lady.
2. You always say Please, Thank you & Your welcome.
3. Chili ain't got no beans.
:lol:

That aside...

Old style chili is what they did with the worst cuts of the cow. Fatty, tough and lots of flavor. The chili peppers were used to tenderize the meat. To me, chicken and pork get lost in the spice. I like Aethain's idea about the buffalo.

Go with a coarser grind on the beef. Ask the butcher to do a 3/4. Makes it a little chunkier, but not a stew chunk.

Start cooking the meats today. Let them sit in the peppers for few days.

Cook for taste, not for heat. I like mine hot. That is where the Dave's Insanity Sauce comes in. Little taste, lots of heat. It won't change the flavor, just raise the burn.

Good Luck!

[Jester]

At least you are not from Cincinnati.

For so many reasons, I completely agree. Chili is just one of them.

1. Tip your hat to a lady.

Agreed.

2. You always say Please, Thank you & Your welcome.

Agreed.

3. Chili ain't got no beans.

Fuck that! :lol:

Sorry, but I am all about Mexican food, not Tex-Mex, and I have no problem with beans. And frankly, WITH beans, my chili freakin' rocks. And it's not the only one.

Old style chili is what they did with the worst cuts of the cow. Fatty, tough and lots of flavor.

Chili, like many foods, has come a long way. And there is no reason why we can't make it better than it was originally, don't you think? More upscale, more tasty, more refined? Shit, my chili is faster, stronger, better. Damn it, I have Bionic Chili!

Go with a coarser grind on the beef.

Not planning on grinding the beef. Plan on cutting it up in small chunks. It's steak, not hamburger. And I plan on leaving it that way. As I said above, "more refined."

Cook for taste, not for heat. I like mine hot.

I always cook for taste. Always.

Heat without flavor is utterly pointless to me. Even the hottest thing I've ever made (ten habanero salsa) still had mucho flavor.

[AdminAssistant]

Not necessarily true. Just because you make mild chili doesn't mean you don't have ingredients or techniques I can use. :D

Well, okie-dokie.

I usually start with: onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic. Sometimes I'll add in one of those big light green peppers...Anaheim? Is that what they're called? Anyway, then add 1 lb of hamburger meat (I like 85/15). Add salt, pepper, crushed pepper flakes, and a bit of sugar.

Once all of that cooks down, drain any excess fat - there won't be much. Add 1 can of tomato soup, 1 can of tomato paste, and then start adding spices: chili powder, cumin, oregano, celery salt. I don't even pretend to measure.

And that's pretty much it. I have been known to add a touch of whiskey to "deglaze the pan".

[Aethian]

As I said in an earlier post, that is exactly what I plan on doing. Specifically, sirloin steak, pork tenderloin, a nice bacon (probably applewood), and chorizo sausage.

but but...you cut the meat mixture I had suggested.

[Jester]

I don't even pretend to measure.

The only "measuring" I do with chili is "one pound of this meat....one can of these beans....", etc., etc.

but but...you cut the meat mixture I had suggested.

No, I didn't. I mentally noted it, but at least for the moment, am going with my preferred meat mixture. As I said, I am listening to suggestions. Doesn't mean I am going to use all of them. And if I don't doesn't mean I'll never use them. Make sense?

[csquared]

Jester,

Too many thing to comment on. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

I will agree that there is more than one way to make chili.

Maybe I can get the chance to try yours sometime. I can always pick out the beans. :)

Good luck at the competition!

[Jester]

Too many thing to comment on.

That's never stopped me! :lol:

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

I will agree that there is more than one way to make chili.

I agree to both of those. Keep in mind, I like all kinds of chili. With or without meat, with or without beans, with seafood, veggie, whatever. Good chili is good chili, and damn the "rules."

Of course, if you just don't LIKE beans, I could understand why you wouldn't want chili with beans. It's the people that are "purists" with that idea that just annoy me.

And yes, I CAN make chili without beans. I just choose not to.

http://www.emofaces.com/en/emoticons/c/chili-pepper-emoticon.gif http://www.emofaces.com/en/buddy-icons/c/chili-pepper-buddy-icon.gif

[Jester]

So I found the notebook I had my notes in from the last (and only) time I made chili. My notes are not exactly a recipe, though. I am having to piece it all together from what I jotted down while I was making this two or so years ago. Not all that difficult, but sometimes my shorthand confounds even me. For example, it took me a few hours to realize that when I wrote "coria" I meant coriander. :lol:

In any case, since I am both recreating and re-imagining this dish, I think I am going to do at least one thing very differently. Last time, I seeded all the peppers. This time, I think I'll leave the seeds in. Not for the red bell pepper so much, but for the anchos, poblanos, jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros. My question to other chiliheads is this: I know this will make my chili hotter, but how much hotter? I liked the spice factor last time, but I would not mind ratcheting it up a few degrees.

So, feedback?

[It shouldn't]

Last time the daughter was home on leave, she made chilli and added a can of Campbell's Nacho cheese soup, a bit of brown sugar and a big handfull of chillantro.

Hmmm...mmm... best chilli I've ever had.

[trailerparkmedic]

Leaving all the seeds in will make it MUCH hotter. That's where all the heat is.

My chili recipe has lots of beans (including a can of Bush's BBQ baked beans) and I use canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for heat. For 2 pounds of meat (ground beef and pork sausage) I use 1 pepper and some splashes of the adobo sauce for a fairly mild chili.

[MaggieTheCat]

My husband knows quite a lot about peppers. He loves spicy things and has researched different kinds of peppers and how hot they are so he knows how to season his food when he cooks with peppers.

When I told him your plan to leave all the seeds in, Jester, he said it would make your chili at least 20 times hotter than it would be without. He also added that adding the seeds of more than one habanero, especially combined with all the other seeds, would make the chili inedible. This is coming from a guy who eats Thai, Indian, and Mexican food extra spicy.

So, all we'll say is, be careful. :D

[Jester]

Leaving all the seeds in will make it MUCH hotter.

My husband knows quite a lot about peppers.

When I told him your plan to leave all the seeds in, Jester, he said it would make your chili at least 20 times hotter than it would be without.

Thanks for the input.

Let me lay out the basic outline of the chili, and then ask y'all some questions about the seeds.

Basic plan: 2 pounds sirloin steak, 1 pound pork tenderloin, 1 pound chorizo sausage, 1/5 pound bacon, 1 pound black beans, 1 pound pink beans, a couple of cans of tomatoes, a bunch of cilantro (that is an exact measurement--1 bunch!), 1/2 a large white onion, spices, beer, whiskey, other secret things....and the peppers.

To wit: 1 can of chipotle peppers, with all the adobo sauce, 1 red bell pepper, 2 habaneros, and then 2-4 each (can't find my notes at the moment) poblanos, anchos, serranos, and jalapenos. Now, the heat will come from the spices, cilantro, chipotles, jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros. (The bell pepper and poblano are both ver mild, and the ancho is there for the smokey taste.)

If I do not add the habanero seeds, but DO add the jalapeno and serrano seeds, do y'all think that would zip it up without making it blinding?

And with the ancho....how will the seeds affect the chili? I've only worked with anchos once or twice, and as I said, they are predominantly a smokey flavor, rather than spicy.

Another thing I just thought of is seeding all the peppers, making the chili, and if I am not happy with the spice factor, adding slowly some of the various seeds. Thoughts?

[MaggieTheCat]

I ran your suggestion by my husband. He's not very familiar with anchos, either, but he thought the rest of it sounded good. "Still very spicy, but good."

One thing I thought of, and neither of us have tried this so I have no idea if it would work:

Instead of adding all the seeds you want to use directly to the chili, wrap them up in some very fine cheesecloth and let them simmer in the chili with everything else. When it's done cooking, take the cheesecloth seeds out. That way people won't be biting into the seeds and getting a (potentially very hot and possibly nasty) surprise on random spoonfuls of chili. I've done a similar thing when making soups using stuff like bay leaves or star anise that isn't very good to bite into, but gives off good flavor. I'm not sure how much heat the seeds will give off without actually keeping them in the finished product, though.

One more thing I'll note, which you might (probably, if you've worked with fresh hot peppers before) know, but it's worth repeating/reminding: Wear gloves when you cut and seed your peppers! Those suckers can burn your skin if you're not careful, and don't even think about touching your face... :cry:

[Jester]

I don't handle habaneros without gloves. I am not stupid.

As for the others, while I am sure I would be fine handling them barehanded, I err on the side of caution, and use gloves with serranos and chipotles, and usually jalapenos as well. Anchos, poblanos, and red bell peppers? Meh. If I have them on, sure. Otherwise, unnecessary.

By the way, since you mentioned it, anchos are dried poblanos, in the same way that chipotles are dried jalapenos. Great smokey flavor, as I've mentioned.

The cheesecloth idea sounds interesting, but considering some of the spices I'm putting in there, and the fact that I, like yourself, have no idea if steeping the seeds in the chili will actually work, I may just add the seeds to taste. Since I think I will probably not use the habanero seeds, I don't see a huge problem with this.

[Jester]

Well, I've been doing some shopping, and taking stock of what I have in house, and the chili is shaping up. A couple of interesting things have come up.

Very unexpectedly, at one market I ran across some fresh chipotles. Not in the can with adobo sauce like I'm used to in this part of the world, but actual fresh, in the produce aisle, honest to goodness dried jalapenos. They smell great! Very smokey, which is an awesome component. But I have some questions about this. Fist, since I also plan to use anchos (dried poblanos, also have a somewhat smokey flavor, though very little spice factor), am I overdoing the smokiness? Secondly, obviously the flavor will be different without the adobo sauce, so should I buy a can of chipotles with adobo anyway, or just go in this new direction, sans adobo. For me the adobo was mostly for the spice factor. The flavor of it is great, but one can in a whole pot of chili? I don't think it would make much difference. What do you think?

Brown sugar. I have a previously opened box of dark brown sugar and an unopened box of light brown sugar. I prefer to use dark brown sugar for the richness of it. Both boxes are somewhat solid bricks right now, but seem like they would crumble up nicely. Is this normal for brown sugar in a humid place like the tropics? Or should I buy some new brown sugar?

Also, still awaiting comment on the non-habanero seeds, by the way.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated!

[trailerparkmedic]

I'm probably not a good judge of spice, since I don't like my food to make me cry. That said, I don't think you'll lose much without the adobo sauce. I would make the chili with maybe half of the seeds and then add more once you taste it, but I'm extra cautious like that.

Chili can never be too smokey!

If you can crumble your brown sugar, you're good to go. If you can't even do that, wrap it in damp paper towels and nuke it for a minute or two. My brown sugar always clumps if I leave it too long, and I live near the Gulf coast.

[Jester]

You say chili can never be too smokey, but in my time I have tasted some foods that were so smokey, all you could taste was the smoke...and that, my friend, is a good way to ruin any food.

As for the brown sugar, called my mom, and she said the same thing....if I can't crumble it, to just nuke it. One of the few times I may actually make use of my (roommate's) microwave.

Just got back from another grocery store, and by my calculation, I should now have everything I need to make my killer Sonoran chili! Someone should probably grab a fire extinguisher.... :lol:

[ArcticChicken]

....I was very confused about why you didn't know that brown sugar was supposed to do that.

Then I remembered you don't bake.

[MaggieTheCat]

Just for reference, brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses in it. So if you're ever in need of brown sugar and don't have any (or it's too hard to use -- sometimes even nuking it doesn't make it workable, for me, depending on how old it is) use about 1 tablespoon molasses to 1 cup white sugar to make light brown sugar. More molasses for dark.

Then again, if you don't bake much, you might not have molasses, either. :o

[Jester]

Forget not baking MUCH, I don't bake AT ALL. :D

But surprisingly, I DO have molasses in my kitchen. Not surprisingly, I got it when one of my roommates moved out and left it behind. But really surprisingly, I have used it for something I was cooking. Please don't ask me what, though, as I really don't remember. :lol:

[Jester]

So, as usual with me, I got this whole thing started late. I wanted to have it done by Wednesday or Thursday night, so it could sit in the fridge and all the ingredients could just get friendly and cozy with each other, but either I was too damn tired or too damn lazy, so I am cooking it now (though I did cut up a lot of the stuff last night).

And what happens? The fucking smoke alarm goes off. Twice. The second time, I pulled it out of the ceiling. I mean, come on, if you can't sautee onions, peppers, and garlic in your kitchen without your smoke detector going off, something is seriously wrong.

So now I have the smoke detector out of the ceiling, the stove fan on (like that does diddly), and the sliding glass door to the balcony open to help dissipate the minor smoke I have going on.

I love cooking! :rolleyes:

[Jester]

I fucking RAWK! The chili is awesome, cooling off and in the fridge as we speak. I could make it better....but only if I was even more godlike than I am!

(Yes, I am very happy with the way it turned out. Whyever do you ask?)

[MaggieTheCat]

That's awesome! Congrats on a successful batch, even if the smoke detector did try to thwart you. :lol: Did you put the seeds of everything but the habanero in?

[Jester]

I ended up using the serrano seeds. I didn't use the anchos at all (I didn't like their texture or consistency), I didn't use the poblano seeds or red bell pepper seeds because neither pepper has much spice factor to it, and I didn't use the chipotle seeds because I think that would have oversmoked the chili, as the chipotles were really smokey....I could SMELL the smoke from them when I took them out of the bag. So just the serrano seeds, and I like the way the chili turned out.

Hey, it's only the second time I've ever made chili, so I'm pretty stoked.

[MaggieTheCat]

Write down everything that you did soon, if you haven't already, so you don't forget. If I improvise a recipe, I tend to think, "Oh, I'll remember it for next time," or even, "Oh, I'll remember in a couple days," and in both cases I usually forget. :p

[Jester]

Maggie, that sounds like me. But this time, I cobbled the recipe together from my old notes from last time, and actually made it more of a recipe. I need to adjust a few things, but I'll do that later today or tomorrow......I LIKE my chili!

[trailerparkmedic]

Once you write down your chili recipe, can you post it here? I'm always looking for new things to cook!

[Jester]

Out of 16 in the traditional category, I took fourth place, and won a new crock pot.

I'm trying to be positive, but frankly, I tried the 1st place winner, and I was not really impressed. I guess I went a bit too upscale for "traditional." Also, the only two in the traditional category that I tried that I thought were on level with mine did not even place.

Amusingly, I had more heat in my chili than 5 of the 7 "caliente" ("hot") category entries.

Twice I've made chili. Twice for chili cookoffs. I have a second and a fourth to show for it. And I am Not Happy. I know, I know...for someone who's NEVER made chili (other than for these two cookoffs), I am doing awesome. But awesome is not enough. I would trade my shiny brand new crock port for that two inch tall 1st place trophy in a heartbeat. I SO wanted that.

To my credit, I did win in one unofficial category: crowd favorite. Mine was one of the first two pots that were empty (not sure which was first), and I had people who I did not even tell which one was mine coming up to me complimenting me on my chili. Sadly, the judges did not see it the way the crowd did.

I look forward to the next one with baited beef and excited peppers.

[crazyofficeclerk]

Earlier this year I was involved with making lots and lots of chili as in I made at least 13 or 14 roasters full of chili. The woman who I was helping surprised me by putting ketchup in her chili. She put in lots of spices and it was spicy, but there was a sweet kick because of the ketchup.

[Jester]

Ketchup. In chili.

Bleah.

Pardon me as I look down my chipotle at that.

Of course, to be fair, I am rather biased, as I don't like ketchup at all. But ketchup? In chili? That is just so wrong on so many levels!

[AdminAssistant]

Actually no, it's not.

Ketchup is essentially tomato paste and sugar. Tomato paste (or sauce) is a pretty common ingredient in chili, and many recipes, mine included, call for a small bit of sugar. So, to me, ketchup makes a lot of sense.

[Jester]

Okay, I did use tomato paste, and I did use light brown sugar.

But as I said, I am biased against ketchup to begin with.