# Chili... Again **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494 "2017-08-13T00:27:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/61 "2017-08-20T20:01:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Use the beer. Sounds good. As a bonus, I can drink the rest of it ironically, like a hipster. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/62 "2017-08-20T20:15:52Z")
Yes, if you have beef broth, use it. Mix it 50/50 with the beer or water, and get masa. Wheat flour will work to thicken it; but it’s usually sweeter, and doesn’t have the same texture. I’m actually making the chili I planned to make last week this week. We got all full on a giant batch of fundido for lunch last Sunday, and didn’t have the appetite for a big dinner. It’s simmering away right now. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/63 "2017-08-21T15:57:18Z")
For a change of pace, try this [chile verde](http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chile_verde/) out. I made a batch with roasted poblanos, jalapenos, and dried chile de Arbol and it is really tasty. I also roasted the garlic and tomatillos in the bbq. Even SWMBO liked it and she’s not into chile at all. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/64 "2017-09-07T16:22:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I might make a smaller batch next time. If 2 oz. powder for 1 lb. beef is the ratio, then 4 oz. powder (1⅓ jar) sounds right for 2 lb. beef. So here’s what I’m thinking: Brown the 1" cubes of chuck as in the OP. Add the Gebhardt’s, cumin, onion, and garlic, and… liquid. Should I use beef broth? Water? A couple bottles of PBR? I picked up some already-cubed Angus chuck the other day. Less than two pounds. I just want to verify here… [ul][li]Brown the beef[/li][li]Add the liquid[/li][li]Add 1 jar (or maybe a little more) of Gebhart’s chile powder[/li][li]Add chopped onion, garlic, and cumin[/li][li]Simmer[/ul][/li]Back to the liquid. **silenus** says to use the beer. Should I use beer for _all_ of the liquid? Or do others of you think I should drink the beer and use stock as the liquid? Or half stock, and half beer? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/65 "2017-09-07T17:03:40Z")
I use all beer, the wife goes 50/50. Her chili is better. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/66 "2017-09-07T17:55:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Her chili is better. :smack: Thanks! (The admission that your wife’s chili is better is a sign of character.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/67 "2017-09-07T18:34:57Z")
I personally tend not to use beer in my chili. If I do, I stay away from hoppy beers and go for either something neutral or malty. Right now, the Oktoberfests that are coming into season would be a good choice, IMHO. Typically, maybe one 12 oz bottle for a 3 pound batch of chili? It depends on how wet my mixture already is. I might use it for about 1/3-1/2 of the additional liquid I add to my chili, when I do use it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/68 "2017-09-07T19:30:30Z")
Chili is one of the reasons there is always a 6-pack of Hamms or Strohs or the like in the pantry. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/69 "2017-09-08T18:18:58Z")
I find a Malbec should be used vigorously and with abandon when making a chili. It is also useful to deglaze the pan after browning the beef. . ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/70 "2017-09-08T19:03:54Z")
Well, this thread, as is often the case with SD threads, has given me an insatiable craving for chili, so off we go! It’s simmering on the stove. I decided to go with beer today–Moose Drool brown ale. Tastes to me like it would be perfect for a chili. I used two pounds of taco meat that was on sale (which I believe is cut-up skirt. I’m pretty sure I’ve used this before and the meat broke down properly, but I’ll report back), three large cloves of garlic, one onion, half a jar of Gerbhardt’s, a heaping tablespoon of guajillo powder, another one of ground Korean peppers (_gochugaru_), one of Hungarian paprika, a couple of freshly ground cumin, a beef stock cube, and three tomatoes from the garden. Salt & pepper to taste. I may adjust a little as I go along, but, for the moment (after twenty minutes of cooking), it seems to be on the right track. We’ll check back in about an hour and a half. I was tempted to add one of the Carolina reapers or Trinidad scorpion peppers I have in the garden, but there’s really no need for that except for sadism (well, masochism, really, as I think as it is I’m the only one who will be eating this chili.) ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/71 "2017-09-08T20:34:41Z")
When i get to make a batch of chilli for myself I’ll use a couple of habs cooked whole for flavour and get the bulk of the heat from jalapenos paprika and some allspice and lots of pepper . Alas I typically have to make the chilli for the whole family who are not into the deadly heat so most of my chili’s are a search for flavour depth without relying on heat. I’ll amp up my serving with some scorpion pepper sauce. It gets the heat index up, but isn’t really integrated with the rest of the dish. . ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/72 "2017-09-18T17:37:29Z")
I’m making chile colorado today. There’s a bit more than two pounds of Angus chuck. I used beef broth because I didn’t want to go to the supermarket for stock, and broth was all they had at the place I went. I added a chopped onion and four or five cloves of minced garlic, plus one jar of Gebhardt’s. I’ll let it simmer for several hours. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/73 "2017-09-18T17:44:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m making chile colorado today. There’s a bit more than two pounds of Angus chuck. I used beef broth because I didn’t want to go to the supermarket for stock, and broth was all they had at the place I went. I added a chopped onion and four or five cloves of minced garlic, plus one jar of Gebhardt’s. I’ll let it simmer for several hours. Really, broth, stock, or even water, it’ll be fine. As I said in the other thread, I doubt that commercially there is a real difference between stock and broth. And, even if they were properly defined, both would do fine. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/74 "2017-10-19T04:05:53Z")
For what it’s worth I have taken to getting everything cooked on the stove, but then when it comes to simmer time I crank on the oven to 250F and put the pot in the oven with a lid on. It makes it easier to keep it on a long slow cook as you don’t have to worry about it sticking or bubbling over or running dry. I have left a few chilli made with some less the ideal chuck in the oven for 4-5 hrs with minimal oversight and the meat rendered down really well. Last couple of chilli have been made with left overs from some meat grill fest ( I have Argentine in laws, when we do an asado there is a somewhat obscene amount of cow cooked) . If you are planning on grillingbover charcoal and have a future chilli hankering, consider throwing on a big chunk of cow (Chuck, a tip roast whatever is cheep) and letting it cook and then sit it there , as you eat the steaks, and let it stay over the dying coals. It may or may not be cooked through , but you should have a good smokey chunk to chop up and make a chilli with . The coal cooked outside adds some real depth and earthyness to a chilli . . ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494/75 "2017-10-19T04:12:34Z")
Yeah, when I did a Superbowl party chili-cook-off thing, I used a combination of charcoal-seared boneless shortrib with some chili grind/hand minced chuck (with a cleaver) and ground beef. Turned out quite well (won second place, but three of my friends didn’t even vote, and I would’ve won it with two of their votes, or tied it with one 🙂 ) But, anyhow, I find my favorite cuts to use are short rib and chuck. The charcoal sear does give it a nice extra dimension. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-again/793494.md?page=3)