Chiliheads, an assist if you would?

[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!

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.

[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.

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.

[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...

[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....

[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.