Need suggestions for my Evil Chili.

[Jester]

I am currently still tweaking the recipe for my chili in preparation for the next cookoff, which I believe is within the next couple months. This post is not about that chili.

It is about perpetrating evil. See, at one chili cookoff a while back, they had the chili grouped in categories, and you competed within your category. I entered mine in "traditional," the most popular category. (I came in fourth, incidentally.) There was also a "caliente" (hot) category, but what bothered me about that is that most of the chilis in that weren't that hot. Hell, my "traditional" chili was spicier than all but about 2 of the calientes, and even those two weren't that hot.

So my current goal is to design a recipe that will curl toes, scorch intestines, and blow skulls off. I will still make it taste good, mind you. But I won't be using as high quality ingredients as in MY chili. For instance, I will use ground beef and ground pork instead of sirloin steak and pork tenderloin. (I will still use my beloved spicy chorizo sausage, though. Yummy...and spicy!)

What I am looking for is suggestions for hellishly spicy ingredients that I can use in said Evil Chili. In addition to the standard onion, garlic, and cilantro, I already plan on using serrano peppers, habanero peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, ghost peppers (if I can find them!), chipotle peppers, dried red cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, white pepper, black pepper, chipotle powder, and cumin.

What, my nefarious friends, am I missing? I am open to anything and everything. Bring it!

[Magpie]

What's your vinegar content? The acidity makes it seem spicier.

[Spiffy McMoron]

In addition to the standard onion, garlic, and cilantro, I already plan on using serrano peppers, habanero peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, ghost peppers (if I can find them!), chipotle peppers, dried red cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, white pepper, black pepper, chipotle powder, and cumin.

Needs more hot sauce.

[dalesys]

As I see it the goal is to have the victims eat-tees shooting flames out of both ends?

[Parrothead]

Find this pepper. That should help.

[Taboo]

Find this pepper. That should help.

Oh man, India uses those in hand grenades...? Awesome.

Also, if you want to be really evil, make sure you're leaving all the seeds in since those are by far the hottest part!

[Jester]

What's your vinegar content? The acidity makes it seem spicier.

This is something I have never heard of and am completely unaware of. Please, elaborate.

I don't use vinegar per se in my chili, but since the Evil Chili will be a tomato base, it will have the natural vinegary and acidic nature of the tomatoes in it. Other than that....

Needs more hot sauce.

Care to specify? There are only ten million hot sauces out there. And yes, we do have a hot sauce shop in town.

As I see it the goal is to have the victims eat-tees shooting flames out of both ends?

To paraphrase Mr. T, "the goal is pain." In other words, yes. I want the people who actually brave my chili to be afraid to go near barbecue grills, open flames, and gas pumps.

Find this pepper. That should help.

That's the ghost pepper I referenced in the OP.

Also, if you want to be really evil, make sure you're leaving all the seeds in since those are by far the hottest part!

Not my first rodeo, dude. As it is, with my regular chili, I leave the serrano seeds intact, deseeding only the habaneros. For the Evil Chili, I will probably just de-stem the peppers, dump them all in the food processor, and dump the resulting toxic mess straight into the pot.

[Stormraven]

Sounds like you've got it covered - the only thing I might add is to make it thicker. IME, a thicker sauce keeps the heat around longer.

[draggar]

If you have an Asian market in Key West, pick up a bottle of their chili paste (it's usually in a clear plastic bottle with white lettering on it and a green cap). The stuff is great. It's hot and has a great flavor to it (I noticed a lot of times "hot" items are more about it being "hot" than the flavor).

[trailerparkmedic]

If you have an Asian market in Key West, pick up a bottle of their chili paste (it's usually in a clear plastic bottle with white lettering on it and a green cap). The stuff is great. It's hot and has a great flavor to it (I noticed a lot of times "hot" items are more about it being "hot" than the flavor).

It's called Sriracha. I'm spoiled--I can find it at the regular grocery stores here.

I second its deliciousness.

[Jester]

Sriracha is great. And very, very mild compared to what I have planned.

Now, while we don't have an Asian market, we are blessed with a hot sauce store (Peppers of Key West, I highly recommend checking out their website), and I plan on visiting them for some suggestions. They actually have some sauces that require you to sign a waiver, whether you want to taste it or buy it. A waiver! That's pretty freakin' nuts.

Of course, the problem with most of those sauces, as someone pointed out, is that they are all about the heat and rarely about the flavor. Another problem is that, quite frankly, a bottle of one of those would never really get used that much in my kitchen, since you only need a single drop of some of them to flame an entire pot of whatever you're making. See, I do want to blow skulls off, but I also want it to be tasty and edible, even to people who are crazy in the heat-loving department. I myself draw the line at the waiver sauces....fuck that. I like heat, but with flavor. Not just for heat's sake.

But much like the Ten Habanero Salsa From Hell that I made some time back for a salsa cookooff, I want people who like heat to enjoy the flavor. As for the wusses? Well, it's a chili cookoff. Why are you here if you don't like spice? Especially if you are trying chilis in a "caliente" category!

[Spiffy McMoron]

Care to specify? There are only ten million hot sauces out there. And yes, we do have a hot sauce shop in town.

Not really. It was kinda of a pithy answer--you'll have tons of heat in that chili!

A serious suggestion, if I may: I like putting some cheddar and sour cream on my chili. What about some horseradish cheddar or jalapeno Monterey Jack for a topping? Or mixing some flavorful hot sauce into sour cream?

[Caffienated_Caramel]

I don't know where you're at in AZ but I saw dried ghost peppers at my local fry's grocery store

[Magpie]

If flavour is something that you're concerned about, I take it that recommending you pick up a bottle of pure heat wouldn't go over well.

I'm not quite sure how the acidity works, but I know that you get a hotter sauce if you mix peppers with vinegar than if you mix them with water. I don't know if it's necessary to add more once you've got tomatoes, but some cider vinegar might help, and would also go well for flavour (think chipolte in adobo).

[ohsobitter]

I make a bunch of different chilis too. Love them all. I saw your seafood chili, but I am also married to a meat & potatoes guy, so that would be a waste.

The one thing that I always add that has quite a lot of flavor & just enough heat is the green tabasco sauce. It is milder than the red, but more than makes up for it in flavor.
Heck I even just eat it on saltines for a little kick. Gets the nose running w/o being too invasive.

I don't remember if you do beans in your chili anymore or not, but I've gotten away from the kidneys and using more black beans. Changes things up a bit.