Chili con carne - how do you do it?

Cafe Society
1

(As a pre-amble/disclaimer, I’d like to start with the following: There is no best/only/authentic way to do a chili; rather, we all have our own ways, which are no better or worse than any other…)

What are your thoughts on the following? I include my own answers parenthetically.

1. What do you use as a ‘base’ for the sauce… Beef? Tomato? A concoction of both? Something else entirely?

(some combination of chopped tomato, tomato puree and beef stock - depending on what is lying around)

2. Beans? (I know this is hotly contested in some circles…)

(kidney beans out of a can)

3. Meat… Mince? Brisket? Anything else?

(beef mince or brisket. Once tried lamb mince and it wasn’t right…)

4. Vegetables that go in before or during… Onion? Peppers?

(chopped and fried onion and peppers, and maybe garlic. Sliced mushroom too if it is there and it wants getting rid of.)

5. Things mixed in or sprinkled on top after… Rice? Yoghurt? Grated Cheese?

(grated cheese on top at the last minute, and the wife likes to mix in yoghurt - no rice. Finely chopped spring onion as as garnish if I have it around and I can be bothered.)

6. The heat itself… Chopped and fried chili peppers? Chili/Cayenne powder?

(see above)

Anything else?

(For instance, I once made a roux to thicken up the sauce element of the Chili - something which to this day I am not certain about…)

Thanks in advance

2

I’ll preface this by saying don’t pay any attention to those who will pick a fight because your chili (or mine) is not ‘real chili’ because beans, meat, tomatoes, onions, etc. To each his own.

1. What do you use as a ‘base’ for the sauce… Beef? Tomato? A concoction of both? Something else entirely?

Tomatoes and tomato paste and beer.

2. Beans? (I know this is hotly contested in some circles…)

Canned unrinsed black beans, purists be damned. They have better flavor than kidneys or pintos.

**3. Meat… Mince? Brisket? Anything else?
**
Usually chicken dusted generously with ancho, cumin, chipotle, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, a little cayenne, a pinch of cinnamon, then sauteed in olive oil until browned and spices are fragrant.

4. Vegetables that go in before or during… Onion? Peppers?

Onion, garlic, bell peppers, hot peppers, mild peppers, minced and sweated in the fat used to fry the meat & spices.

5. Things mixed in or sprinkled on top after… Rice? Yoghurt? Grated Cheese?

Depends on mood. Sour cream or cheese, usually, but most often with nothing.

6. The heat itself… Chopped and fried chili peppers? Chili/Cayenne powder?

(see above)

Anything else? Chocolate.

3

I’ll fess up to my secret ingredient: a can or two of beef consomme. I think it adds some depth to the flavor.

Lean ground beef, onions, diced tomatoes, and yes, beans. Bush’s Chili Hot Beans are the best, I think. I use fresh cayenne peppers for the heat, along with chili powder, cumin, etc. Also, a little masa flour stirred in to thicken it up a bit.

I think I need to make a big pot of chili this weekend!

4

I do it every which way, depending on my mood. My standard, when I’m just cooking for myself, is usually a fairly purist bowl of Texas red. This is a pretty good idea of what I do. I cleaver the meat far finer than that, though. Surprisingly, I cooked a version of that type of chili for a Super Bowl chili contest with a bunch of Midwesterners who typically like soupier versions of chili with beans and ground beef, and it finished in second place (and would have won had my wife and two friends voted.) I was a bit surprised as I usually play to what I think the crowd will like. Most people around here seem to be baffled by the idea of a Texas red. My version did have onions, though, in addition to that, but no tomatoes.

My favorite cut for any type of chili is boneless short ribs. Either cleavered into fine dice or ground through a coarse plate in my grinder (what is known as “chili grind.”)

When I’m feeling a bit more like the chili I grew up with, I do a soupier version with tomatoes and my beans of choice are either pink beans or pintos. Black beans are good, too, but I don’t really like kidneys. Ground chuck is my usual meat of choice for that, about 85% fat. In this type of chili, I often use a dark beer as part of the braising liquid, and I will often add corn at the end. (True sacrilege! ;))

As for the chili powder, Gerbhardt’s is the best of the commercial varieties. If I make it myself, I usually do a base of powdered ancho chiles and very good Hungarian sweet paprika, then I add the heat with cayenne pepper and maybe guajillo and/or pasilla chiles. If I want a little smokiness, then some chipotles go in there. I do not like using fresh peppers of any type for these types of chili (New Mexican green chile stew is a whole nother thing). Typically, my idea is a mild, fruity base chile (like ancho and the Hungarian paprika), mixed with something earthy/woody (guajillo or pasilla), and then the punch comes from something like a cayenne, arbol, or pequin. As much as I enjoy habanero and those sorts of peppers, they don’t taste right to me in chili.

As for herbs/spices, other than the chilis, it’s typically just black pepper, oregano (either your standard oregano or Mexican oregano, which has a different flavor), and cumin, of course. If you want to throw in an aromatic, a little bit of cinnamon, clove, or allspice gives it a nice fragrance.

5

I came in to say boneless beef short ribs. I sear them on the grill then chop them to about 1". Supplement that with lean ground beef.

Heck, I probably got the short rib idea from a thread here.

I also roast poblanos and red bell peppers on the grill if I’m going all-out.

6

No base really. I add beer for show. I typically add tomatoes to sweeten it up for the locals.

No beans. This is chili.

Meat is chuck cut into chunks and and chili ground pork or pork sausage meat.

Onions, garlic, and fresh peppers are browned first in bacon grease, meat is dredged in pepper powders and browned too. Additional dried pepper in powder or flakes added last. I use as many kinds of fresh and dried peppers I can get. Finally add cumin and some oregano and a little bit of salt.

I usually serve it with rice, sour cream, and grated cheese. I always want to use some to make real chili dogs too.

I use a variety of hot and mild chili powders, cayenne, paprika, black pepper, white pepper, plus whatever fresh peppers I can find, bell peppers, fresh chilis, jalapenos, anything else available. Peppers blend together well, the more you use the more flavor comes out.

7

  1. What do you use as a ‘base’ for the sauce… Beef,
    Tomatoes and poblano peppers, few other peppers.

  2. Beans? Occasionally, more often hominey.

  3. Meat… **basque **chorizo

  4. Vegetables that go in before or during… Onion, garlic, never bell peppers, mild peppers, minced and sweated in the fat used to fry the meat & spices.

  5. Things mixed in or sprinkled on top after… Rice? Occasionally

  6. The heat itself… Never Cayenne powder?

Anything else? Usually cook thoroughly, wait a day or two and reheat getting an imagined, or perhaps real benefit from standing.

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Actually, that is exactly what I did for that chili contest. Great minds think alike. :slight_smile:

9

Ground chuck
Diced onions
Beef stock
Red beans
A lot of chili powder
Garlic powder
Cumin
Red pepper flake
Minced anchovies
Mole paste
Masa harina
Shredded cheddar
Bay leaf
Salt & pepper

10

1: Base? Mostly tomatoes, but I’m not going to throw away any other liquids that end up in there, like the meat juices.
2: Beans? A must. I use equal parts kidney, garbanzo, and green. Which probably sounds weird, but it works for me.
3: Meat? Equal parts hot Italian sausage and ground beef, plus about half a part of bacon. Sometimes I’ll substitute TVP for some of the ground beef.
4: When to add veggies? Meat, onions, half of the garlic, and some of the spices go in first to brown up. Once they’re nicely browned, everything else is added all at once, or as quick as I can chop them.
5: Add-ons? Occasionally shredded cheddar, but it’s not necessary. Cornbread is a good go-with, but I usually don’t bother. And I’ll eat chili over rice if that’s how it’s served to me, but never make it that way myself.
6: The heat itself? I use fresh jalapenos, chopped right before adding. I like to have both heat and pepper flavor, and to my taste, jalapenos are a good balance point between those two.

11

I should also add, when I’m feeling like having some fun, I throw in some cubed pork shoulder as well or a bit of Mexican chorizo (maybe 1/4 of the beef amount.)

12

I fooled around with all sorts of chilis as a young man, and finally concluded that I am a native of the Great Lakes and an adult lifetime resident of NYC. I AM NOT a Texas or an Arizonian or a Californian. I use onion, I use tomato (not much), I use beans.

BASE: a shitload of dried chilies. Ancho, Anaheim, guajillo, negro, mulato, pasilla, chipotle, and especially New Mexico if I can get them. Toasted, soaked, and pureed into paste.
BEANS: Canned red kidney. I’ve tried pintos and such, but you need red kidneys for a Cleveland/New York chili.
MEAT: GROUND BEEF. I am SO DONE with cutting up beefsteaks into tiny dice.
VEGETABLES: (for a pound of meat) Not too much onion, say, one medium chopped. Not too many tomatoes: one 15 oz. can. Lots of chopped garlic. Once in a while, fresh chile…serrano or jalapeno, or Hatch New Mexico chilies from the can.
HERBS & SPICES: Lots of dried oregano, maybe 2 tablespoons. Not too much cumin, maybe a teaspoon. Salt. Black pepper. Ground chile to taste (ancho, chipotle). Crushed red pepper.
GO-WITHS: Nothing. Just the bowl of red. Saltine crackers.

METHOD: Brown the meat and onion in a dry pot. Add garlic. When onions translucent, add cumin and oregano, salt and black pepper. Add tomatoes, chopped, then all the chile paste. Stir, simmer for an hour or so, taste to see if the fresh chiles or additional ground chile is needed. Crushed red pepper or Tabasco if more heat is needed. Continue simmering (how much time you got?) and add 28 oz can of red kidney beans (drained) with at least an hour to go.

13

I go really heavy on the spices, especially chili powder and cumin. For a pot with 1 lb of beef, I add 4-6 tbsp of chili powder and about half as much cumin. Then smaller amounts (about a teaspoon) of mustard powder and oregano. Then I add enough crushed chilis, cayenne, and/or chipotle powder to make it as hot as I feel like having it that day.

Secret ingredient: 1 tsp of white vinegar. Trust me.

Garnishes: one or more of the following: grated cheese, cilantro, sour cream, chopped green onion.

14

Ground beef plus some sausage, in a tomato sauce, with onions, celery, mushrooms, corn and three kinds of beans. Bay leaves, Chili powder, cumin, black pepper, Sriracha, parsley flakes, lots of garlic, a little red wine.

Yummo !

15

2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp ancho powder
3 tbsp cumin
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tbsp dried minced garlic
2 tbsp dried Mexican
oregano
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional for those who like a cinnamon/clove sweetness)

1 bay leaf
2 poblanos diced
4-5 roasted diced habaneros
1 14.5 oz can beef broth
1 can water
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 oz unsweetened baker’s chocolate
2 cups chopped white onion
1tbs EVOO
2-2.5lbs chuck roast, cut up
Sauté onion in olive oil.
Take chunks of stew meat and cut in bite size portions. Add chopped poblano to onions; continue to sauté for 5 minutes. Add meat, habaneros and 1/2 of seasoning mix. Once meat starts to brown add can of broth, water and tomatoes. Bring to medium boil for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add remaining seasoning mix plus smoked paprika, bay leaf and chocolate. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 3 hours stirring occasionally. While simmering add more broth or water as needed. When meat is tender and falling apart, adjust seasoning and salt to taste. Remove bay leaf and serve.

If you want beans I would suggest black beans are best. As Chefguy says, they have the best flavor.

16

I’m an Aussie living in California, so there’s no attempts being made toward any kind of authenticity here…

  1. What do you use as a ‘base’ for the sauce?
    I like diced beef, quite lean. Chuck is good if I’m going to simmer it for a long time. Tomato paste. And my secret ingredients - gochujang, a fermented Korean red pepper paste, and Vegemite. A spoonful of each.

  2. Beans?
    Sure, why not. I’ll drain and rinse a can of black or kidney beans and add toward the end of cooking.

  3. Meat?
    Beef, as mentioned.

  4. Vegetables that go in before or during?
    Onions and garlic at the start.

  5. Things mixed in or sprinkled on top after?
    Finely diced white onion. Grated cheddar or pepperjack, just a little. Ground Mexican oregano. A bit of cumin, but not too much, and I toast it with the onions at the start.

  6. The heat itself…
    Depends what I’ve got on hand. A can of chipotle in adobo, or roasted Hatch peppers in the freezer, usually. Lots of dried chili powder, but I tend to stick to a milder one like ancho.

If it’s too thin, I crush a handful of tortilla chips and stir them in.

Really good on taco-size corn tortillas, with avocado if possible. Hey, it’s California :slight_smile:

17

General rules:

  1. Everything Chronos says is wrong.
  2. Too much ain’t enough.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

18

Yep, that’s pretty much what I do as well. I’m still messing around with the mix of dried chilies I use. Last time, mine came out a little sweet for my taste.

OOOOOOh! I’m gonna have to try some chorizo.

19

I like making chili in the Crock Pot. I start with 6oz. tomato paste reconstituted with 8oz. of highly hopped beer. This sauce goes in the Crock Pot first. Various meat, lately chicken and a small amount of Italian sausage. Always lots of beans. I don’t do actual tomatoes, just the paste/sauce. Yer usual dried spices and chopped jalapenos. If I’m home for the last few hours of cooking, I sometimes even add diced potatoes.

20

The best advice I ever got was that chili is a beef stew flavored with chiles. Think about that a sec - how would you make a good beef stew and that is the tack to take making chili so for me.

Won my office’s Chili con Carnival
Beef: Chuck roast with most (but not all) of the fat trimmed off and all the silverskin removed. Brown first.
Homemade chili powder. Don’t have your face near the oven when you open the door while heating the dried chili unless you like being maced.
Cumin: Seeds lightly roasted then gound.
White onion
Garlic
A variety of chiles but make sure there are one or two with some heat.
Homemade beef broth
Tomatoes
Salt
And that’s it