Chili con carne - how do you do it?

Cafe Society
21

*1. What do you use as a ‘base’ for the sauce… Beef? Tomato? A concoction of both? Something else entirely?
*
Beer, tomato paste, and anchovy paste. Masa harina as a thickening agent.

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

Ground beef and bacon chili - black beans
Chicken or turkey chili - white kidney beans
Beef chili - pinto beans

3. Meat… Mince? Brisket? Anything else?

Usually chuck roast for a standard beef chili. Brisket and short rib are also good, but more expensive and not always available. Sometimes I’ll treat it like a pot roast and shred it at the end; sometimes I’ll dice it beforehand. Obviously from above, I sometimes use ground beef (lean), chicken thighs, or ground turkey.

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

Diced Onions, large diced green peppers (cubanelles when available), garlic. Saute the onions and peppers (preferably in pork fat, but veg oil works) with some tomato paste and anchovy paste. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, sprinkle in the masa harina, add the beer and a can of diced tomatoes.

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

Sour cream, sharp cheddar cheese, queso fresco, shallot, and/or green onion. Can be served with rice or tortilla chips.

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

I make my own chili paste using a mix of dried peppers (about 50% ancho). Chipotle peppers (smoked jalapenos), dried thai chiles, and crushed red pepper provide the heat, along with a dollop of my favorite hot sauce, Pain 100%.*

Anything else?

My “slow-cooker” is a 275° to 300° oven. No scorching on the bottom, far less stirring. Lid off for the last hour.

*My favorite hot sauce for everyday use is Frank’s, but Frank’s isn’t that hot.

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1. What do you use as a ‘base’ for the sauce… Beef? Tomato? A concoction of both? Something else entirely?
I usually use venison for my chili, so I cube and brown the meat in bacon grease then deglaze the pan with beef broth and dark beer. Reduce and add tomato paste. Add a small can of petite diced tomato.

2. Beans? (I know this is hotly contested in some circles…)
Usually. I like pintos or small black beans

3. Meat… Mince? Brisket? Anything else?
See above. Cubed venison roast

4. Vegetables that go in before or during… Onion? Peppers?
I sautee onions and garlic in the bacon grease before adding the venison

5. Things mixed in or sprinkled on top after… Rice? Yoghurt? Grated Cheese?
I like green onion and occasionally sour cream

6. The heat itself… Chopped and fried chili peppers? Chili/Cayenne powder?
Dried (and rehydrated) peppers (I like Ancho and Guajillo), Penzey’s Chili Con Carne, canned chipotles in adobo

Anything else?
Lots of cumin.
Crush and pulverize plain tortilla chips and add toward the end of cooking to thicken

23

Red chili
base: fire roasted tomatoes that have been pureed in the ninja
meat: 93/7 or 96/4 ground beef 2 lbs
spices: chili powder, garlic, cumin in that order
liquids: beer
beans: nope
vegetables: onions and jalapenos (4-5 diced and seeded) sautéed in a VERY small amount of oil.
Odd thing: After I brown the meat and before I add the tomatoes and other stuff, I simmer my meat in the pan I cooked in in to break it up into smaller bits. I add beer, broth or water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and keep it there for 30 minutes or longer.
Add ons: I like a little grated cheese and saltines, but at least on serving per pot of chili has to be Frito pie. That’s a bed of Fritos corn chips (not tortilla chips) topped with chili topped with grated cheese and onion.
Green chili:
Base: 1-2 lbs tomatillos with their paper skins removed, washed thoroughly, and quartered. Ninja that to a pulp and add chicken or vegetable broth and a can of diced green chilis
Meat: center cut pork loin or boneless skinless chicken breast braised slowly in beer or cooked to shredding consitancy in slow cooker
Spices: chili powder, garlic, cumin
Liquids: beer again
Beans: white of any kind
Vegetables: onions and jalapenos as before
Add ons: cojita cheese, rice, sour cream

24

One of my professors used to say that the four essential ingredients for chili were too much garlic, too much onions, too much cumin, and too much peppers.

25

Ground beef
Onions
Garlic
Red Pepper
Salt and Pepper
Tomato Paste
RoTel tomatoes
Kidney Beans
Black Beans
Jalapeno
Bacon grease (it makes everything better)

26

And stop calling it chili con carne. I hear con carne, and terrible memories of a chili-like substance with corn served at the grade school cafeteria come flooding in.

It’s just chili.

27

I usually call it “carne con chile” 'cause it’s mostly meat.

28

Cubes of salt pork, whether browned and added to the pot or boiled along with the beans.

I like a mix of beans: kidney, black, pinto.

Usually I use ground beef, not lean. To make real Texas chili, I leave out the beans and use browned chunks of beef.

To make Montana shepherd’s chili, I use lamb (ground or chunks) and pinto beans only.

There’s a recipe for Missouri mule-skinner chili that’s made with pork, white beans, and jalapenos. It’s quite good.

A few years ago, I started adding chopped celery to my standard chili. Purely optional, but it adds a nice touch.

Veggies (onions, garlic, green pepper) I saute in corn oil, though EVOO is also acceptable.

I always stir in some masa flour at the end to thicken things and add a touch of corn flavor.

My favorite commercial chili powder is Caroll Shelby’s, which I’ve been able to duplicate on my own. Brown Bag is the only other quality brand I’ve been able to try, and it’s about as good.

Base should consist of crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, and tomato paste, all mixed with a good malty beer.

I usually stick the pot in the oven, covered, for 1–2 hours at around 300 F, rather than let it simmer on the stove. I find it heats through much more thoroughly and gently this way. Any longer, and you damage the seasoning. Stir it from time to time to ensure evenness of consistency.

Sometimes I put in a chopped chipotle pepper or two, though you gotta be reeeeal careful with these!

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It’s been a long while since I made this. I think it’s time for another batch.
Chuck’s Roadkill Chili

The meat is the critical part of the recipe. It has to be fresh; ie, no more than 6 hours dead on the roadway and not flattened to a pancake by 18-wheelers. Ideally, you want a couple of largejackalope carcasses; there’s really good eatin’ on those critters.
Jackalopes are getting scarce, so if you can’t find any jackalope carcasses, pretty much any other roadkill will do: possums, rabbits, snakes, raccoons, cats, etc. If it’s a shelled critter like a turtle or a possum, you’ll need to clean out the shell fragments. Stay away from skunks, though, for obvious reasons.

But if you are too lazy to get in the car with a shovel and a large garbage bag, you can substitute low-fat ground beef from the grocery store.

Ingredients:
4 pounds of roadkill as described above.
2 teaspoons Steak seasoning - Lawry’s Hickory Barbecue Seasoning works well.
1/4 cup Chili powder plus 1 tablespoon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust up or down depending on how badly you want to sear your lips)
1 teaspoon Black pepper - coarsely ground 

4 teaspoons Ground cumin 

1 tablespoon Basil 

1 teaspoon Garlic powder 

1 cup Onion chopped 

1 cup Green or Red bell pepper chopped 

2 large Jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped (use Habenero peppers if you want the chili to burn you twice)

2 can (16 oz) Chili beans - Kidney or Pinto as you prefer (this is to be gracious and hospitable to our dumbass Yankee friends who don’t know any better.  True Texans don’t put beans in chili.)
22 ounce Tomato juice 

14 1/2 ounce Tomatoes - diced 

1 can (16 oz) Tomato puree - salt free 

14 1/2 ounce Beef broth - 1 can (or 2 cups of water and a beef bouillon cube)
3 tablespoons Sauce - Barbeque (your personal favorite is fine)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 

8 ounce Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese - shredded for garnish

Preparation
Combine meat, steak seasoning, chili powder, cayenne, black pepper, cumin, basil, and garlic powder in a large pot or deep electric skillet and mix well. Cook until the beef is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add onion, green pepper, and 1 jalapeno (you can dump both peppers in here if you want a real whang with the chili). Cook until the vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.
Add tomato juice, tomato puree, beef broth, undrained beans, undrained tomatoes, barbeque sauce, and worcestershire sauce and mix well. Simmer until reduced to desired consistency. About 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Top with shredded cheese and serve with a whole bunch-a-crackers and the extra jalapeno if you didn’t cook with it. You can also add Tabasco sauce to each serving as desired.

30

Possums have shells?

31

In my house Chilli is basically beans, tomato’s, chiili powder and whatever else we have in stock.

32

Aren’t parts of their bodies covered with a thick hide, sort of like the “armor” on an armadillo?

33

“Take 30lbs of onions and…”

I don’t make chili often, but when I do it’s a big ol’ Army 10 gal. stockpot(which becomes filled up within an inch of the rim) Why make just a little bit, make tons and have it in the freezer for when you’re being lazy. Very much tomato-based, 30 lbs of more-than-decent ground chuck(I always order it a day born two in advance)browned off, drained of fat and crumbled as fine as possible. Lots of spices and herbs, probably a dozen or so, in addition to chili powder and powdered chilis, which get toasted in a dry skillet to enhance their flavors and aromas. A 24oz jar of chopped garlic is just enough. Oh yeah, beans, pink beans to be exact. If the mixture seems low on fat, (which can give you a flat, flavorless, less-than-optimum-mouthfeel mixture)you’ll know if you don’t see a sheen on the surface, I’ll add some olive oil. Sufficient water is added to make it stirrable, once all those onions have released their moisture.

Used to make this for my annual Christmas party, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. A very nice local mom-and-pop market allowed me to store this potful of heaven in their walk-in cooler, which certainly made my life easier. Go-withs: sour cream; sliced jalapeños; shredded cheeses; chopped onions and my special cornbread, which includes bacon bits, poppyseed and dill.

34

I just made a pot full of my award-winning chili (seriously!)—about five litres, enough to last for a week. The apartment smells wonderful! :o

I also made a panful of chicken piquante to use up some leftovers. Tastes just the dish I had in New Orleans!

35

I am firmly in the ‘no beans’ camp and usually used a mix of diced steak and pork… But I have won contests by including a generous amount of tequila instead of beer.

36

The beans/no beans camp really don’t understand each other.

I’m in the beans camp. Beans make it healthier and more of a meal itself. I also love the flavor they bring.

Had a coworker that made a venison no bean chili that actually won a local chili cook off. He brought some in for us to taste. To me it was unappetizing and certainly could not be served as a meal. Perhaps it would work as a ‘sloppy joe’, or a small side dish.

37

I don’t eat chili, but I’ve made it for my husband many times. The one thing that he asks is that I use cubed beef rather than ground beef. I brown the cubes first, then use a tomato sauce base. Whether I follow a recipe or buy one of those pre-mixed seasoning packets depends on how motivated I am when I make it.

And now that I think of it, it’s been years since I made any. I guess they don’t do chili-cooking contests at his work.

38

I’m in both camps, and beanless is fine as a main dish. That’s how I usually make it when I’m making it only for myself. I have some cornbread or regular bread on the side for the starch. Or just crackers, if I’m feeling that way.

39

Go to Wendy’s purchase a bowl of chili, taste a spoon full, find out what is in it and then throw it away and don’t make it that way.

I like Carroll Shelby’s packaged chili ingredients with a pound of lean meat, chopped onions and cheddar cheese on top. Something about the little pack of Masa flour in the package makes it taste better too,

Masa harina is the traditional flour used to make tortillas, tamales, and other Mexican dishes.

40

Anchovies? Anchovies? In chili?