It's getting chilly, time for some Chili

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,219
8
81
Boy I love me some chili. The base recipe I work off of is pretty simple, it's what my family used when I was growing up for a quick cheap meal to feed the family. Unfortunately I've never shrunk the recipe down so I make a family sized pot and eat off of it for a week. Need to remember to buy beano.

My families beany recipe.

3 cans of kidney beans
3 cans of chili beans
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes
1-1.5 lbs of ground beef
some bay leaves in a tea ball (if on hand)

That's the base, that is spiced according to audience. I usually like to substitute some fresh tomatoes, add a fresh onion, some fresh jalapenos. I usually just start grabbing whatever I can find in the spice cupboard, chili powder, cayenne, garlic, dried onion, and celery salt usually make their way in, plus whatever sounds fun.

If it's just for me I expirement a bit more, but usually stick with the base and play with the spices. I will also make it hotter for just me, if I'm sharing I'll aim for something milder and just load mine with tabasco when I serve it.

Please post recipes and discussion, it dropped down to 47 this morning when I woke up and 49 is the high for the day. I've already had one pot this year, but I left the meat out and shared it with my veggie girlfriend. Tempted to whip up another one this weekend.
 

Billzie7718

Senior member
Sep 2, 2005
649
0
0
There is going to be a Chili Cook-Off here next Friday. I'm not entering anything but it was awesome last year. Maybe I will take some pics and post the winnar.
 

CaptnKirk

Lifer
Jul 25, 2002
10,053
0
71
Chop, slice, dice, and mince the following into a large bowl:

1 Lb. Jalapenos
1/2 Lb. Serranos
2 Lbs. Habaneros
6 large Scotch Bonnets.

Heat to 120*F, and consume all at once.
Enjoy.
 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,219
8
81
Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
Chop, slice, dice, and mince the following into a large bowl:

1 Lb. Jalapenos
1/2 Lb. Serranos
2 Lbs. Habaneros
6 large Scotch Bonnets.

Heat to 120*F, and consume all at once.
Enjoy.

/death
 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,219
8
81
Originally posted by: Billzie7718
There is going to be a Chili Cook-Off here next Friday. I'm not entering anything but it was awesome last year. Maybe I will take some pics and post the winnar.

When I was in the boy scouts, we had a chili cookoff at the district jamboree one year. We, being troublemaking boys did not plan on seriously entering the contest. However we did have some old cans of beans and some meat to spare so we signed up. The campout is actually held in the Churchill downs infield in louisville ky so we were in the middle of the city. We sent some older boys(who owned cars) out a shopping. They were supposed to seek out daves insanity sauce, but couldnt find it so just grabbed the hottest looking stuff that they could.

So rather than compete, we opted for trying to burn out the judges. However I think by the time they actually came around to judge the chili, we had gotten bored and wandered off, leaving the chili in the hands of the straightlaced goody two shoes scout. Don't know how it ever turned out.

That story kinda sucked.
 

Snapster

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 2001
3,917
0
0
Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
Chop, slice, dice, and mince the following into a large bowl:

1 Lb. Jalapenos
1/2 Lb. Serranos
2 Lbs. Habaneros
6 large Scotch Bonnets.

Heat to 120*F, and consume all at once.
Enjoy.

Very similar to what I did this week.... soooooo lovely :D
 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,219
8
81

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,290
389
126
1/2 lbs cooked and drained of ground beef
1/2 ilb of cooked and drained ground pork Cook the beef and the poork together so they crumble up together and cant tell whats what untill your mouth sings and friends ask whats this delicious meet :D
4 table spoons of Chilli Powder
4 Table spoons of red peper
few sprinkiles of dried pepers, just a few no need to go nuts. With the other stuff you wont need much to have heat.
4 cans of dices tomato with chillis (more cans of this if you want more heat without ruining the flavor)
4 cans of diced tomatoes with green peper and onions (yes cans and fresh peppers and onions to give it a hell of a flavor)
2 whole green pepplers
2 whiole onions
3 cans of tomato paste
2 table spoons of large chunk bakers salt
4 cans of chilli beens
1/4 cup of extreamly sharp chedar cheese, best you can buy do not skimp out
and bakers flour to thicken up if needed for I HATE, REPETE, HATE runny chilly

Cook at a simmer for 6 hours covered then 2 more uncovered to steem off the excess off water and pour over elbow noodles but by the time that comes around I dont had 4-5 coffee cups of the stuff and I am full. Freezer bag what is left and take out when you have a taste for the stuff again. Only this time will taste even better since it has had time while freezing to have all the flavors mend and will have an even better tasting chilli second third time around :D
ENJOY!
BTW this is really the only thing I cook good except my wife like my beef strokemeoff and tuna salad.
 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,219
8
81
sounds nice, when I saw all the tomatoes I thought it would be a runny chilli, then saw the flour. I might try some more tomatoes in mine next time, but I'm not a noodle fan myself.

I usually add my sharp cheddar afterwards, I also use saltine crackers. I prefer them to oysters as they can be broken up and added, but my favorite thing to do is just drop a whole saltine on top of the chili, scoop chili over it and eat it in one bite.
 

glen

Lifer
Apr 28, 2000
15,995
1
81
The Best I have ever tasted is ALton brown's Chili recipie:


Pressure Cooker Chili Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004
Show: Good Eats
Episode: The Big Chili





3 pounds stew meat (beef, pork, and/or lamb)
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, preferably a medium ale
1 (16-ounce) container salsa
30 tortilla chips
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the chipotle peppers in adobo)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss with the peanut oil and salt. Set aside.
Heat a 6-quart heavy-bottomed pressure cooker over high heat until hot. Add the meat in 3 or 4 batches and brown on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per batch. Once each batch is browned, place the meat in a clean large bowl.

Once all of the meat is browned, add the beer to the cooker to deglaze the pot.
Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to the pressure cooker along with the salsa, tortilla chips, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, and ground cumin and stir to combine. Lock the lid in place according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the steam begins to hiss out of the cooker, reduce the heat to low, just enough to maintain a very weak whistle. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully release the steam. Serve immediately

 

Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
2
0
Hell yes! A crock full of chili is how to do it! No reason to cook in small portions when it has to simmer for a day to get to its prime taste!



My recipe: (be warned that I eyeball it, I don't know my measurements because I taste and adjust a lot.)

Start a day early. Trust me here. Chili is better when it's been cooked, put in the fridge for a day, then re-heated slowly (meaning not microwaved)
~2 pounds stewing beef... cut down to no bigger than 1x1... lightly brown in a pan. And I do mean lightly. Drop some freshly chopped onion in while it's browning to help it absorb the flavor. Half an onion should suffice. Drop in a heap of chili powder, black pepper, a dash of salt and garlic salt, then add a couple teaspoons of cumin.

Once it's all mixed up, dump it into the crock pot. Don't take too long in the pan because you don't want the meat to get too rough.

Dump in two cans of the chili beans in hot sauce, and then two cans of pinto, northern, OR whatever type of beans you want. make sure you wash them off and let them drain, first. Drop in two cans of tomato SAUCE. Not paste. Not the tiny cans... the medium sized ones. Mix it up. Add a freshly cut green pepper, and about 1/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot sauce... or whatever sauce you prefer (Texas Pete is pretty good, too.) Let that cook in the crock for about an hour, stirring it up every 5 to 10 minutes.

Taste it when you stir it and add seasonings as necessary. Don't skimp on the cumin, but don't put on too much salt. Any time you add cumin, add some chili powder. Can't go wrong with adding some extra hot sauce as long as you like it hot. It may be easier to add it to the bowl when you eat it.

Let it cook for another hour or two and you can sort of neglect it. Then give it a big stir and slowly add HOT water about a half cup at a time. Overall, you'll add about 2 cups of water. It will seem like you've added too much.

Crank it up to high and leave the lid cracked. Let it cook for a couple hours, then turn the heat off and let it simmer for an hour.
Put the whole crock pot in the fridge and leave it there over night.

When you wake up in the morning, start it up right away. Put it on high for a few hours, then turn it down just high enough to keep it at slightly above serving temperature and keep it covered!

You can let it sit there all day, during the game, until dinner or during a party.

Serve with crackers (optional), but not cheese. If, by some sort of miracle, there is some left you can do the same thing you did the night before and just let it cool down, put it in the fridge, and heat it back up in the crock pot the next day. However, my house of four average sized guys will put down a full crock before the 4 oclock games.


 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,219
8
81
I picked up some habenero's at a local farmers market - How deadly are these in adding them to a pot of chili? I like spicy food and can tolerate a pretty good amount of heat, should I just core and deseed then chop up and add them in. How many is too many?
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,414
8,356
126
Originally posted by: Turin39789
sounds nice, when I saw all the tomatoes I thought it would be a runny chilli, then saw the flour. I might try some more tomatoes in mine next time, but I'm not a noodle fan myself.

I usually add my sharp cheddar afterwards, I also use saltine crackers. I prefer them to oysters as they can be broken up and added, but my favorite thing to do is just drop a whole saltine on top of the chili, scoop chili over it and eat it in one bite.

cook off the water from the tomatoes. chili needs to cook a while to let the flavors meld, anyway.
 

CaptnKirk

Lifer
Jul 25, 2002
10,053
0
71
Originally posted by: Turin39789
I picked up some habenero's at a local farmers market - How deadly are these in adding them to a pot of chili? I like spicy food and can tolerate a pretty good amount of heat, should I just core and deseed then chop up and add them in. How many is too many?

Faces of Death Pepper Chart


You definately want all the habaneros you can get.
They use them in commercial applications to remove the chrome from bumpers.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
7,775
0
0
My personal recipe is:

1 can red beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cans black beans
3 cans diced tomatoes
2 packets of chili seasoning mix stuff
2 lbs of hamburger

Brown the meat, then mix it all in a crock pot and let it cook on low for 4+ hours.

I like it, it's pretty good. Anyone have any suggestions on how I could better it?
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,378
708
126
Chili Con Carne, I don't do beans! I love it spicy and greasy, I'm into super thick chili, like paste almost. Damn I wish I had some now!
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
1 cannish tomatoes(canned or fresh)
1 can or 1 cup dried kidney beans(I prefer fresh prepared from dried over canned)
?? ground beef
1 medium-large onion
1 medium-large bell pepper(preferebly not green aka yellow, red, orange)
salt/pepper
mushrooms(prefeably fresh)
Carrot sliced thin
chilli powder
Garlic powder or cloves of garlic
small/medium can of corn
Cumin
For Heat I like to cheat a bit, Death Sauce or some other super-concentrated hot sauce does the trick
(optional)oregano, cilantro, mint(yum),


I usually don't measure anything, I use the force and it works quite well. Few tips:

1) fry the onions/peppers, but also add the chilli powder or hot peppers into the frying process! The hot oil does wonders to spicing things up.

2) Mint is very nice in chilli, but you only want a little for a subtle adjustment of the overall flavour

3) Cumin is great, use it

4) Always use Extra Lean ground beef(not just for chilli, but for anything). No need to drain fat, no shrinkage, just great tasting beef

5) cook the sh1t out of it. Not with high heat, but long time

6) Carrot, Corn, and Bell peppers(non-green) add sweetness to the chilli. Noobs often get carried away with spices and such making bitter-chilli, these ingredients are the cure. That said, adding sugar can also help fix a bitter-chilli

7) Learn to cook like an Artist. Let the chilli choose what's needed, use your creativity, learn what ingredients add to food through experimentation. Recipes are fine and dandy, but you'll be amazed at what you can do by just winging it.
 

JDMnAR1

Lifer
May 12, 2003
11,989
2
0
Originally posted by: Sraaz
My personal recipe is:

1 can red beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cans black beans
3 cans diced tomatoes
2 packets of chili seasoning mix stuff
2 lbs of hamburger

Brown the meat, then mix it all in a crock pot and let it cook on low for 4+ hours.

I like it, it's pretty good. Anyone have any suggestions on how I could better it?

Substitute at least one can of RoTel for the tomatoes to give it a little zip, and if you have access to it - ground venison instead of hamburger. Personally I think that is too much beans, but when I fix a big pot of chili it is usually for a bunch of hunting buddies, and I try not to give them any extra ammunition, if you know what I mean. :D

 

fitzov

Platinum Member
Jan 3, 2004
2,477
0
0
Sirloin tips are good, rather than ground beef.
I like to brown the meat in a Tbsp of pork fat and cumin.
Mashed whole peeled tomoatoes.
I usually use red/yellow peppers and paprika/cayenne.

There are different opinions about how long one should cook it--I only simmer it for about 30 mins, or until the meat is tender.
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,883
2,121
126
I use a similar recipe, but I like to do the following:

I thicken mine with a common Mexican corn flour called "masa". It gives the chili a really nice hearty flavor.

Also, since I first discovered it in the south, I've started adding sauteed beef strips to mine (mixed in with the ground beef). Flank steak, or any kind of thinly sliced lean beef works well. When you simmer the chili for a couple of hours the beef gets really tender. Excellent!

Man- not sure if I should make chili now or gumbo :(
 

MrPickins

Diamond Member
May 24, 2003
9,011
558
126
Originally posted by: Fritzo
I use a similar recipe, but I like to do the following:

I thicken mine with a common Mexican corn flour called "masa". It gives the chili a really nice hearty flavor.

Also, since I first discovered it in the south, I've started adding sauteed beef strips to mine (mixed in with the ground beef). Flank steak, or any kind of thinly sliced lean beef works well. When you simmer the chili for a couple of hours the beef gets really tender. Excellent!

Man- not sure if I should make chili now or gumbo :(

QFMFT

I'm waiting for it to get a bit colder for my 1st batch of chili. I've got most of my habanero (carribean red hot :evil: ) and chile pequin harvest from this year smoked and ready for grinding. I gotta stop snacking on 'em, though. :p