I need an infallible chili recipe

[nageov3t]

any suggestions? every time I've tried to make chili, it's either come out practically like soup, or like a meat/bean sauce.

I've finally got gumbo down pat, I think it's time to move on to trying to master chili

update:

so what better to do on a 90 degree day but make chili

I just bought the Cook's Illustrated slow cooker cookbook because I've been meaning to use it more and they had a chili recipe that I felt compelled to cook immediately.

if I made it again, though, I think maybe I'd add more beans and some green peppers. plus, once served, it needed a hefty dollop of Frank's Redhot to bring the spice level up.

 

[edro]

Get a "chili in a box" kit from the grocery store.
Follow the directions and you can't go wrong.

 

[BoomerD]

There is no such thing as an "infallible recipe" of any kind...too many variables, including the cook...

 

[sjwaste]

Chop an onion roughly. Mince some garlic. Mince a hot pepper of your liking. Saute together in some oil in a dutch oven or large pot.

Crank the heat and add two pounds of room temperature ground meat. Mix it with the sauteed ingredients so that they don't burn, then let it brown. I would suggest 90/10 or 85/15 ground, they have enough fat to flavor it, but not so much that you have to drain it. Draining it is to be avoided, since you're dumping a lot of flavor in the process.

When the meat is browned, add a spice mix. I like to use a couple of heaping spoonfuls of chili powder, plus about half that amount of cumin, some paprika, crushed red pepper, and basically anything else that you like. No salt yet. Mix that all together and let it brown a bit more.

Add a large can of crushed tomatoes and a couple of spoonfuls of tomato paste. Incorporate that, then add an amber beer of your choice. Brooklyn Lager works really well for this.

Let it simmer and reduce for a bit, maybe 30 mins. In the meantime, get some tortilla chips and grind them up or buzz them in the food processor. You want almost a powder here. Add enough to thicken the chili, simmer for maybe 15 more minutes and you're done.

This isn't an all day recipe - maybe an hour tops. But it works, it's good, and you can add beans if you want. I like pinto beans if I'm using any at all.

 

[nsafreak]

I've had that problem in the past and part of it is the cooking method and the other part is the ingredients used. Personally I've found that my best chili typically comes from crock potting it for about 6 - 8 hours. Here's the basic recipe that I use, I will vary the amounts of ingredients depending on how many people I'm looking to feed & how spicey I think they can handle it (I like it extremely hot myself), the below recipe is what I would categorize as mild:

Ingredients

1 lb of 80/20 ground beef (or 1 lb of sirloin if you want to spend more)
2 cans of chili beans
1 large white onion
2 jalapeno peppers (I will also sometimes use habanero & serrano peppers)
2 cans of tomato sauce (just pure tomato, no spices)
2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of chili powder

Cooking directions:

1) Get a lightly greased cooking pan and put the ground beef in it occasionally stirring until it is browned.
2) While the beef is cooking chop the onion and jalapenos into small pieces.
3) Put the browned beef into a 4 qt crock pot then put the rest of the ingredients in (I haven't found the order to matter).
4) Stir the mixture thoroughly and then cover the crock pot and turn it to low to cook for 6 - 8 hours.

It's a pretty simple recipe and I haven't had a problem with the results from it ever. The only downside is the long cook time but I've found it to work out better than stove top chili the majority of the time.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Make sure you don't forget the beans.

 

[nageov3t]

There is no such thing as an "infallible recipe" of any kind...too many variables, including the cook...

I'm pretty good at following recipes (until I've made a dish enough times that I feel comfortable starting to put my own spin on it), but there's only so much I can do when trying to make an unfamiliar dish with a crap recipe.

I tried one recipe that called for 2 cans of undrained beans. I read the recipe 3 times to make sure that it didn't call for draining the beans anywhere in the recipe... that shit turned out like a big pot of red water with meat and veggies floating around when all was said and done.

 

[PottedMeat]

it's pretty hard to fuck up chili ( for me at least )

OP: got a picture of what you think is chili?

 

[GeekDrew]

Brown some ground beef.
Heat some tomato sauce.
Combine.
Serve.

(can you tell i'm not a fan of chili? )

 

[chalmers]

Oh God here we go...this thread is going places. I'll start.

I prefer beans in my chili.

 

[chalmers]

any suggestions? every time I've tried to make chili, it's either come out practically like soup, or like a meat/bean sauce.

I've finally got gumbo down pat, I think it's time to move on to trying to master chili

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Soups-Stews-and-Chili/Chili/Top.aspx

Lots of good recipes in there. Choose one and tailor to your taste, or make as is. You should have something decent to start with there.

 

[zinfamous]

is this a troll thread?

 

[zinfamous]

anyway, start with ground sirloin, lamb, pork. All of them.

difficult to fail after that.

 

[moshquerade]

follow the recipe on the back of the packet.

 

[sjwaste]

follow the recipe on the back of the packet.

I think you win the thread, that is infallible.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

follow the recipe on the back of the packet.

I think you win the thread, that is infallible.

Way too complicated. There's all that measuring, checking of "best if used by" dates and, not to mention, opening the packet. The OP should stick with buying chili from Wendy's.

 

[zinfamous]

Way too complicated. There's all that measuring, checking of "best if used by" dates and, not to mention, opening the packet. The OP should stick with buying chili from Wendy's.

:thumbsup:

Wendy's does make excellent chili.

 

[eits]

easiest chili recipe and it tastes absolutely delicious...

1 lb of lean ground beef
2 cans of hunt's chili tomatoes
1 (or 2, based on preference) cans of libby's or bush's chili beans

brown the ground beef and wash it in a colander. put it in a big pot, empty out the cans of tomatoes and beans into the pot. put it on low-med heat until simmered.

done. easy. absolutely delicious, too.


pretty damn infallible, unless you're a moron and don't know how to brown beef or open cans.





WARNING: do not substitute any of the canned ingredients. it will taste awful. no generic brand beans or chili tomatoes or anything. they HAVE to be hunt's chili tomatoes and libby's or bush's chili beans.

 

[zinfamous]

easiest chili recipe and it tastes absolutely delicious...

1 lb of lean ground beef
2 cans of hunt's chili tomatoes
1 (or 2, based on preference) cans of libby's or bush's chili beans

brown the ground beef and wash it in a colander. put it in a big pot, empty out the cans of tomatoes and beans into the pot. put it on low-med heat until simmered.

done. easy. absolutely delicious, too.


pretty damn infallible, unless you're a moron and don't know how to brown beef or open cans.





WARNING: do not substitute any of the canned ingredients. it will taste awful. no generic brand beans or chili tomatoes or anything. they HAVE to be hunt's chili tomatoes and libby's or bush's chili beans.

no cumin or other "chili spices?"

 

[eits]

no cumin or other "chili spices?"

the longer it simmers, the spicier it gets. especially with a second can of chili beans... and especially if you get bush's medium chili beans. but, no, no extra spices. it doesn't really need it, unless you really enjoy really spicy food... in that case, add what you wish.

but, seriously, try it as is. if you like wendy's chili, you're going to laugh at how shitty wendy's chili is compared to this easy, easy recipe... and you can make a ton of it for cheap.

 

[chalmers]

easiest chili recipe and it tastes absolutely delicious...

1 lb of lean ground beef
2 cans of hunt's chili tomatoes
1 (or 2, based on preference) cans of libby's or bush's chili beans

brown the ground beef and wash it in a colander. put it in a big pot, empty out the cans of tomatoes and beans into the pot. put it on low-med heat until simmered.

done. easy. absolutely delicious, too.


pretty damn infallible, unless you're a moron and don't know how to brown beef or open cans.





WARNING: do not substitute any of the canned ingredients. it will taste awful. no generic brand beans or chili tomatoes or anything. they HAVE to be hunt's chili tomatoes and libby's or bush's chili beans.

One word. Ew.

 

[nageov3t]

is this a troll thread?

google search brings up 1,020,000 chili recipes.

what's trolling about asking for recommendations from people's own experiences? :thumbsdown:

 

[zinfamous]

google search brings up 1,020,000 chili recipes.

what's trolling about asking for recommendations from people's own experiences? :thumbsdown:

oh I know.

just that there are a few well-known subjects that lead to trolling and/or "spirited debating" here:

Religion
Apple
Attractiveness of a particular woman
Chili

 

[TraumaRN]

I guess I shouldn't mention Alton Brown's pressure cooker chili recipe then. Too complicated for OP I would guess. But hands down makes the best chili. Although I've changed certain parts of the recipe to fit my tastes

 

[sjwaste]

google search brings up 1,020,000 chili recipes.

what's trolling about asking for recommendations from people's own experiences? :thumbsdown:

The one I posted is an actual, base recipe that I use. From there, I'll experiment based on what kind of flavor I want. For instance, adding cilantro, or using tomatillo.