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!

[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!

[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.

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.

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?

[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.

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.


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!

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.

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.