I have a pound of dried beans, a pound or 3 of beef, and other assorted goodies to go in this mess.
I havent been all that succesful with chili so far. I am wondering if somewhere between 3 and say 6 table spoons of chili powder is a good amount. Keep in mind everyone eating this has (by American standards) a very high tolerance for heat.
and feel free to suggest other stuff for chili as well,
I was thinking about marinating the beef in some stock I have left from making shredded pork and chicken sandwiches before adding to the chili. its pretty spicy and makes a wicked beef stew stock.
Cumin. Lots of cumin.
If you have to use commercial chili powder, use Gebhart’s. There is no such thing as too much, but start with 4 to 5 tablespoons and work from there. Ancho chilis, red peppers, Anaheim chilis…all good.
Use beer instead of water for the liquid.
I will ignore the “bean” heresy for the time being.
Beans? In chili? Let me just stop you right there. I don’t know what you are makin’, but it ain’t chili. Go ahead and put ALL the chili powder in it for all I care.
Chili power isn’t all that hot. It’s the peppers that do the hot thing. Red pepper flakes do the trick for me. And Tobasco sauce.
As for adding beans, kidney beans only! They give you the best chili farts ever!
(Keep ice cream handy)
I like beans in my chili too (bite me, Texas) – but a ratio of one pound of dried beans to three pounds of meat is not going to yield chili so much as a pot of beans with a light meat flavoring.
Chili powder has peppers in it. And it comes in varieties from ‘not all hot’ to ‘my head just caught fire.’
I use a combination of mild and medium chili powder from Penzey’s to make my chili. Half a cup per pound of meat, plus a bit of red pepper to boot. Nicely spicy.
I’m a “Chili w/ Beans” person, too, but…a whole # of dried in one pot? Not sure, but seems like alot, but since I’m a cheater, and use canned beans, am no expert.
One of my favorite things I’ve been doing w/ Chili is using 2-3 different types of meat; i.e. Ground Beef, Italian Sausage out of the casings, and Boneless Spareribs (that I use a dryrub on 24 hrs prior to starting - Frontera Grill 3-Chili Adobo is one that I like)…I think I end up w/ about 3 #'s of meat total. Then, at least 6 tbs chili powder, and I get that mail order from Pendery’s. As mentioned, cumin, about 1 tbs if not more, oregano, basil, and a dash of allspice.
Lots of chopped onion and garlic, and definitely beer! I usually use Pinto’s and Black Beans, but have also used Cannellini’s and Great Northern’s. Oh, and plum tomatoes, chopped w/ juice.
Love the smokiness that Tabasco Chipotle adds, along w/ some worcestershire, and I’ve sometimes added some unsweetened cocoa powder and a bit of vinegar.
I tend to use about 2 tablespoons chili powder per pound of meat, as this seems to be the best balance. Chili powder is just a flavoring, so your heat doesn’t come from this. More powder does not equal more heat. Don’t overdo it. Instead, add more peppers/hot sauce.
Oh, and send me some. I loves me some good chili with beans, beef, tomatoes, and beer! mmm
Three large peppers (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow just for colour), sliced and chopped
Eight scotch bonnet chilis, chopped, seeds included
A pound or so of minced beef (I like the cheapo fatty stuff for flavour)
A handful of button mushrooms, roughly chopped
A large cap mushroom, sliced roughly
Four or five cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
Two spanish onions, diced
One red onion, diced
One tin kidney beans
Two tins chopped tomatos
Worcestershire sauce
One fish stock cube
Tomato puree and water for finished product consistency
Some oil
Cooking Vessel:
A large soup pan
Method:
Brown mince in pan adding garlic, stock cube and worcestershire sauce at an early stage. Add other ingredients whenever seems appropriate. Simmer until ready, or munchies become overwhelming.
I also tend to use about 2 tablespoons of chili per pound of meat, with about an equal amount of cumin, plus additional spiciness – fresh or dried peppers and/or hot sauce. And a couple of cans of beans. I don’t know how many cans = 1 pound of dried beans, but I’m thinking it would be a lot.
I have a big ole crock pot I will be using, I think its big enough for a pound of beans + other stuff. I like what I am reading so far.
and chili with no beans? isnt that what they call beef stew? (yeah my beef stew is pretty hot as well.
forgot totally about cumin, and I will have to add some garlic to the marinade as well.
damn I am getting hungery and this aint gonna be started til tonight (wont even be cooked til what? friday? holy crap)
Beef stew would have potatoes, tomatoes and carrots in it. Chili is properly meat and chilis, with additional spices like cumin, garlic and the like. I’ve got no problem with beans alongside chili…those can be good. But in chili? Damn Yankees! Can’t trust anybody north of the Pedernales these days.
This thread has inspired me to start a pot of red myself later tonight. Beef, onions, chilis, spices. I’ll post the complete recipe when I figure out what it is.
Crumble up your ground meat (or toss in cut up beef) in a large skillet with some olive oil on medium-high. Dust the meat liberally with ancho powder, cumin and smoked Spanish paprika. Dust less liberally with chipotle powder. Toss the meat to coat with the spices and fry until very brown. Add a good handful of Mexican oregano and cook a bit longer. Do NOT drain off the oil. Dump the meat and spices into your cooking pot. Add onions to the frying pan to saute on lower heat, then scrape out into your pot. Dump your 'maters into the frying pan to finally deglaze all the good stuff, add some garlic, then dump into the pot.
Pay no attention to the no-bean-no-tomato purists. Chili is a matter of personal taste. However, as for the guy who said to add kidney beans: get a rope.
My chili is pretty good, and uses beans and tomatoes and is completly non traditional.
This one comes up with a pretty good proportion:
2-4 pounds stew meat, browned with an onion and seasoned with salt.
3 cans beans (I use black, kidney and whatever else strikes my fancy)
3 cans tomatoes (your choice of style)
1 can sweet corn (all cans are undrained)
2 or 3 roasted, peeled peppers (jalepeno, poblano and anaheim are our favorites)
1 bell pepper (orange for color if available)
2-3 packets Williams Chili Seasoning
One medium-sized bottle of chili powder (we buy in bulk, but it’s about 18 ozs). Chili should taste like chili.
Let simmer for at least four hours. Add more chili powder. Never needs thickening.
Bueno foods, and Chimayo are local brands of chili powder that will put some decent heat in your cooking, and I have seen them sold throughout the southwest.
Better, though, is to get the whole dried chili pods…if your market has a Mexican specialty isle with corn husks, Mexican oregano, they will be there. Soak them in warm water for an hour or so, then pull out the stems and seeds. Then run them in a blender with some water.
Chili powder usually has cumin mixed in. You may want to add some if you use the chili pods.
Lately, though, I’m finding I prefer posole to chili.
