Chili Recipe debate

[Sigman]

I looked at that recipe. Man, it really sounds thick. I assume you've made it? What's it like? It doesn't sound like any chili I've ever tried.

Oh yeah! Very tasty! More like a "chili stew" with GREAT flavor! It's on my list of "let's make a "different" chili! Again, I like variety - get tired of the same old thing all the time. I tell someone we're having chili and then surprise them with a different taste!

 

[CroMAGnet]

Thanks all for the great feedback. I just might have to have a Chili cook-off summer, just so I can try to make a bunch of different styles of Chili

So where do you guys suggest I get that Carol Shelby stuff?

Cliffnopus So how about parting with the award winning chili recipe?

Sigman Sounds like a passion Alton's sound like a popular choice then. I'd like to try it.

twentysixtwo You post is very informative. Thanks for all those great details.

Jumpmaster I got the rice thing when I lived in Hawaii. I loved eating the red beans and rice. Also loved the super fresh salsa on my eggs and hashbrowns

bfg9000 I gotta say that freezer thing makes some sense. Would be nice to get a smooth chilis flavor not overpowered by the meat. I'll try that too.

Keep 'em coming

 

[chmsam]

Carroll Shelby's is available in most grocery stores. It comes in a little brown paper bag. It is more expensive than other kits, but has a separate bag of cayene pepper (add as much or as little as you like) as masa flour (corn flour for thickening). No beans -- he says real Texas chil has no beans, and that it is much better with shredded beef. I agree. I love it as a mix or starter, but it does give me heartburn if I eat it as leftovers -- those spices keep on workin' as the chili ages.

Your trivia for today: in case no one else mentioned it, Shelby is the same Shelby as in Shelby Cobras and other race cars -- raced many sports car events (Le Mans and others) in the 60's. Designed and/or helped sort out some hot cars for Ford & Dodge. Very big in one or more charities for kids. Quite a guy.

He's one of two or three reasons I could move to Texas -- one of the other big ones is that I could vote for Kinky Friedman for governor. Kinky also has some killer bee salsas and coffees.

BTW, take some salsa and puree it in the blender -- makes a great sauce for topping burgers, chicken, etc. Tell 'em it's an old family secret recipe.

And also try some jasmine rice with your chili.

Serve your chili with a side dish of some fresh fruit to work with the spices.

And if you get some chili, chilis, and/or pepper that's too hot for you, rinse your mouth withmilk (but do not swallow it). Water won't cut it.

 

[Jumpmaster]

And if you get some chili, chilis, and/or pepper that's too hot for you, rinse your mouth withmilk (but do not swallow it). Water won't cut it.

Salt works also...

Funny story...once, I went to an event sponsored by the local CoC that was a big gathering of local restaurants. It was about $15.00 and all you can eat "samples" from the different booths...Outback had sirloin and mushrooms...the Hilton had chocolate covered strawberries, etc.

Well, there was a Mexican food place that had a booth...they gave out food also, but -- they had a pan of fresh, raw jalapenos there. All were about 1" diameter and about 2.5-3" long. They said if you could stand there and eat the entire thing, they'd give you a free dinner for two. Well...I did it. About halfway through, they looked at me and said, "Are you ok?" My face was bright red and I had beads of sweat at my temples. I was like, "Yeah...why do you ask?" My ears BURNED. Got something to drink (and some salt) and was ok after a couple of minutes. Probably should've just swallowed it whole, but that didn't seem like a good idea at the time.

JM-99

 

[Brighteyez]

In Los Gatos, you should be able to find it at Nob Hill, Lunardi's, or Safeway. It's in the spice section amongst the dry sauce mixes and gravies. As chmsam mentioned, it's a bit on the expensive side, but everything is preportioned so that all you need to do is cut up the meat, onions, and bell pepper, and then throw the spice packages into the pot at the designated time intervals (you do have to mix the masa harina with water first.) If you choose to, you can also get the individual spices from the ethnic food section and mix your own.

Suggest not wasting it by using ground meat, instead of cubed beef.

So where do you guys suggest I get that Carol Shelby stuff?

 

[Coop]

It doesn't matter how you make chili... If it was good, you will know it when you take a crap the next day :laughing:

 

[bfg9000]

CroMAGnet, Zippy's does ship their Chili (and Lau-Laus): http://www.zippys.com/zippys/product.asp?dept_id=4&pf_id=1&mscssid=DWCNC1MLUMC58N159XKWG5KE5U3A2TSE
Sorry, no SPAM Musubi at 7-11 or rice at McDonald's on the mainland.

The hot in peppers dissolves in oil. So the sneaky pepper taster keeps pats of butter for themselves and nonfat milk and ranch dressing for their friends

 

[chmsam]

MayCooper: Like I said, You can run, but you can't hide.

BTW, when you use a kit/mix, even a good one like Carroll Shelby's, don't spoil it by using cheap ingrediants for the rest of it. That $.50 you save will make your chili taste like crap.

As I explain to my customers, you save a ton of money on those hulkin' big tubs of herbs and spices rather than using fresh. You get so much in the tub that you can't use it before it loses all its flavor and goes stale. You wouldn't even use it on dog food, but you saved so much you can't throw it out, 'cause you spent money on it.

So, a fresh bulb of garlic for maybe $.75 vs. a huge tub of garlic flakes or powder that weighs a ton. The stuff in the tub doesn't taste as good to begin with and when dried out has no flavor. Where'd you save anything if you end up throwing it out or just leaving it in the cupboard 'til the next millenium?

Life's too short -- spend another $.50 & get the good stuff.

 

[raggie33]

my chilli is insane hot i use my own chilli poweder i made with haberno peppers in my dehrdtater then in coffe grinder.

 

[MScottz]

I'm from Texas, where chili was invented, no, it's not a Mexican dish. I say no to beans, for different reason. Cooking beans is an art form in itself, requiring that you start with dried pinto beans. It takes a good 3-5 hours of cooking after an overnight soaking to do justice to a pot of beans. Throwing canned beans into chili is just wrong, it is shameful to both. For some good recipes for both chili and beans, I suggest "Sourbelly and Sourdough" by Scott Gregory for those not familiar with the cooking techniques.

 

[chimo]

I will likely be burned at the stake by the chili purists here for suggesting this, but has anyone tried a can of condensed tomato soup instead of tomato sauce in their recipes?

Paul

 

[smokinbasser]

I lived in Cincinnati for a goodly period and the "cincinnati" chile was different than I was accustomed to. I cut top round into approximately 1/4" cubes for the meat portion. We had a bar that was near a boat ramp on the ohio river and the bar had a unique white chile made with the white parts of chicken and navy beans and monterey cheddar cheese and sour cream, the only fly in the pie was not being able to locate and use white chiles if there are such creatures. I suppose one could take a huge bunch of jalepenos and remove the white membrane and seeds and use just them for seasoning in the white chile but using habaneros and jalapenos added some common sense coloration that adequately gave you visual warnings about what your getting ready to do to your tastebuds and later on ports farther south.

 

[REparsed]

I work part time for a caterer and on of the perks of the job is lots of leftovers. One of the more popular menu items is beef tips, so popular I was getting sick of seeing them. I really didn't want to waste them so I tried making chili with them. They made pretty good chili. I'd just pick out the beef cubes and toss them into the chili pot along with whatever gravy that stuck to them. Add a can of either chili seasoned beans of kidney beans, a can of crushed tomatoes, a couple tablespoons of chili powder and whatever other seasoning that strikes my fancy.

I never make chili the same way twice. It starts out the same but after the base of meat, beans and tomatoes that's where I get creative. I've even made it a few times with a couple tablespoons of fresh lime juice.

 

[Alloy Addict]

I'm glad to see Cincinnati Chili mentioned. To me it is an entirely different dish, but I still like it. Skyline got me eating hot dogs again with their tiny Cheese Coneys.

Cincinnati is the only place I've ever been where you can say "I could sure go for a three way" or "Let's play cornhole" without people looking at you strangely.:huh2::lolsign:

 

[raggie33]

backs away from alloy

 

[rdh226]

I'll second (or third, or whatever the count is up to) using Carroll Shelby's
Chili Mix as the base -- wonderful combination of flavors, and, frankly, not
hot at all, just flavorful.

The last time I ordered it:

Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Chili Company
One Shelby Way
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 548-9011

But that was some years ago, so dunno if still valid.

Google (and Amazon) is your friend:
o http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0005YLBQ8/?tag=cpf0b6-20
o http://www.luzianne.com/display_template.cfm?ID=c-9&x=10&y=13

Other stuff:

Beans -- yes, absolutely. Also corn! (I tend towards equal amounts of both)

Fungus (mushrooms) depending on your taste.

Onions, big, freshly diced.

Meat. I think cubed is better, but coarse-gound (ask your grocer/butcher) works
well too; cheap hambuger doesn't.

Chipotle pepper(s) can't be beat for flavor, but be warned that there is a very
large variance in just how hot any given brand/batch/can/bottle of chilpotle turns
out. Bufalo (brand name) Salsa Chilpotle is a superb (and very consistent in taste,
fairly spicy/hot) sauce (a la tomato sauce), and costs about 5 pesos in Mexico,
about 5 dollars in the U.S. if you can actually find it. (Hmmm: http://www.mexgrocer.com/1251.html
and only a buck fifty! Also Herdez chipotle http://www.mexgrocer.com/1520.html
is very tasty.) Eh, "Chipotle", "Chilpotle", same stuff, different languages...

Garlic. You can never have too much garlic. (Ahem: others may wish to express dissent
with this opinion. They're wimps, just ignore them and breathe chili fire at them.)

I like to sear the meat with a pile of onions, garlic, and chilpotle, bakes the taste in!
Good time to toss some extra chili powder in to the mix too. Adding some curry
powder may or may not be to your liking... (great thing about chili, you can throw
almost anything into it...and it's still chili!)

Masa flour (some comes with the Shelby mix, but oftimes not enough) to thicken it up
if you pour in too much tomato sauce (I use tomato paste, sparingly), beer (yes, beer
adds a certain je ne sais quois to the mix), or whatnot.

Ideally, let simmer overnight; at the very least an hour or two.

Do NOT (repeat: DO NOT) use aluminum cookware, use stainless steel!

It freezes very well, too. I swear that freezing "cracks" the peppers, or something,
as every batch I thaw out is hotter than I remember it when I froze it. Or maybe
I'm just stuck in a chipotle hallucinatory daze.

 

[JimH]

I use Carroll Shelby's as a starting point, diced canned tomatoes instead of tomato paste, more chilli powder, carmeled green peppers and onions, and red kidney beans. Secret ingredient - a couple of healthy dashes of "Harry's Habanero Sauce" from Bolder Hot Sauce Company.

After winning a chili cook off a couple of years ago, a lady asked me if she could get a copy of the recipe. I told her I don't use a recipe. She said how are you going to make it the same again. I told her that if I used a recipe, it would have been that same as the last time I made it and would not have been good enough to win the contest.

Real chili cooks don't use recipes. Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you. But it's never boring.

 

[chmsam]

Speaking of onions, knowing how to pick and use the right onions can be an art. Use the right ones and life is good. Use the wrong ones or the right ones cooked wrong and life sucks, they're hot and strong, and you cry a lot. Most ignorant slobs just grab a sack o' shi... er, onions and wonder why their food sucks.

Learn about different types of onions. Most cooking onions are pretty worthless unless cooked within an inch of their lives. And sometimes, less cooking is better (and less work!).

Vidalias can be eaten like an apple, but grill up or sautee wonderfully -- big tip: be very careful where you buy 'em, 'cause most places bring them in way too early and that's when they're strong and hot. That ain't what they're about. They should be sweet, sweet, sweet!!! Walla Walla's will do nearly as well, plus it is a lot more fun to say Walla Walla than it is to say Vidalia. Wheeeeehaaawww! (Geez, I gotta get another cup of coffee). Mayan sweets are also good. White and then Spanish come next.

Try shallots (to get an idea of the flavor, think sweet red onion with a bit of garlic), green onions/scallions (they are the same thing), or leeks (onion-y, but can be sweeter than scallions -- btw, wash 'em really, really, really well since they're very sandy/gritty if you don't).

When cooking any onions --
"Sweat" -- just like it sounds, keep on the heat long only enough to sweat the onions, not brown 'em.
"Clear" -- the idea is to get 'em translucent, so they ain't clear but you can see light through 'em (we darn well oughta know 'bout that on this forum).
"Brown" -- that's light brown to you, buddy!
"Carmalize" -- dark brown (but not burnt!) and sweet tasting (you just up'd the sweetness by making caramel out of the sugars in 'em).

Use medium-low to medium heat, use butter or olive oil (margarine turns black and burns too easily), stay and look at what's going on, and don't make more than you need. IMHO, if you try to keep the leftovers they'll get greasy and nasty.

To keep the tears down to a minimum, use fresh onions, cool 'em, use a sharp knife, and don't make 'em into mush. It's the sulfur compounds in the onions that come out in the moisture. Less juice, less tears. Simple.

 

[Brighteyez]

Good point Jim. While most of the competitive chili cooks use dry ingredients (chili powder, cumin, oregano, and sometimes even granulated garlic and onion powders) for more consistency, even the consistency of dry ingredients can vary. Tasting while you cook is imperative to getting a batch that is right for the day. Also, the presence of vegetables should not be distinquishable in competitive chili (and certainly not the presence of legumes! ).

Real chili cooks don't use recipes.

 

[MoonRise]

Recipe? Take ingredients, cook them, serve and eat. :nana: