Every True Chilihead agrees – at least, I’ve never heard any argument on the point (unlike, say, on the propriety of including beans) – that chili should have the consistency of ketchup, thick enough for a spoon to stand up in. When I make chili, I simmer the meat and vegetables in water (or broth or beer) for hours, uncovered to reduce the fluid, but the broth never achieves anything but souplike consistency until the last step when I add the tomatoes and the tomato paste – and I know some old-fashioned Texas Red recipes do not use tomatoes at all, so how do they get the thickness? (BTW, I add two tablespoons of masa harina flour before the tomatoes, but the soup remains soup.)
(I do not add the tomatoes early on, BTW, because once you do that the chili has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn if you don’t constantly stir it.)
Typically with most Texas chili recipes you’re using a really huge amount of chili and chile powders- they’ll thicken up as they cook. That, and the masa usually do the trick, when not combined with too much liquid.
I like a thick chili, and it sounds like your recipe is similar to mine, except I usually roast my vegetables before throwing them in. They get a little char on them, and it adds to deepening the color and flavor of the chili.
You mention you simmer the meat. I’m assuming you brown it first and drain the grease? If not, that might be where you’re getting some additional liquid.
I’ve always found that with masa and time to simmer, even the thinnest chili will thicken up. You could consider making a roux with some bacon fat or fat from the meat you’re using and some of the masa, and see if that does anything to thicken it up.
I’m probably not what you would call a true chilihead. My chili always has ground meat (not chunks) and beans. Maybe that’s just not Texas-style, I’m not sure what all the rules of chili are.
What’s the water for? Are you using ground meat or cubed? That might be the difference. I don’t put any water in mine. I start with browning the meat, I don’t worry about draining any fat because I use a mixture of extra lean ground beef, ground turkey, and ground pork (some fat comes from that but not a ton).
I saute the vegetables separately and then add them. There might be a bit of water/juice in there that has come out of the veggies.
Then I add all the spices, dried peppers, assorted beans (kidney, black, garbanzo, etc.), crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, and simmer for a couple of hours. I don’t usually have a problem with it sticking to the pot. I guess I do use a non-stick pot though, and low heat.
But I do stir it every 15 minutes or so because that’s part of the fun. That’s when you get to taste it and screw around with it! Like maybe it needs a little more seasoning, or salt, or whatever. Maybe throw a little Worcestershire or horseradish in there or something. I don’t have a recipe written down so every batch I make is a little different. It’s always delicious though.
Teaxs-style is no beans (at least not in the chili; they can be on the side), chili grind beef (larger than standard grind) or cubed beef, and sometimes no tomatoes and even no onions. Basically, it’s beef + chile peppers and spices.
Vegetables and wet meat can add too much water. If you keep the water content down and the heat at the right level the remaining liquid combined with the fat from the meat along with all the other stuff will form a mildly thick sauce. But it’s easiest to just add a thickener, masa (corn flour), wheat flour, corn starch, or whatever else is to your liking. Just extract some liquid from the chili, let if cool, mix in the thickener, then stir it into the pot. Make sure to heat the chili to a high simmer to maximize the effect of the thickeners. Some people make a roux with the fat from browning meat and vegetables. I’ve never objected to thin chili if the flavor is there.
Why all the liquid up front? Saute the veggies down, using liquid (be it water, beer, broth, etc.) to reconstitute it to desired thickness. Add your browned meat (you’re browning it beforehand, right?), add more liquid as needed to get to the desired consistency.
As a former state chili champion, I both disagree and state that the idea of chili that thick repulses me.
CASI, the main organization that sponsors chili cook-offs in the US, defines “Texas style” as being composed of beef in red sauce, with no visible vegetables; basically, any solid matter in the end product which is not beef is disqualifying, but as long as it’s invisible to the naked eye it’s OK. Tomato sauce is perfectly acceptable, as are any other vegetables provided that they either cook down completely into the broth or are removed prior to serving. Unless specified in the rules of the specific cookoff, meat may be either hand-cut or coarsely ground (“chili grind”, which usually involves finding a supermarket that actually has its own meat grinder and talking the butcher into grinding up a London broil for you).
That’s interesting to know. So as long as I blend all the veggies together (and possibly run them through a sieve), I’m okay at CASI-sponsored contests, eh?
Anyhow, even though they allow tomatoes, “no tomatoes” is a common prohibition in Texas-style chili. (And I actually do like the tomato-less version of Texas chili, but I don’t do no-tomatoes and no-onions. I like my onions.)
Provided you do so on site at the cookoff (pre-preparation is generally disqualifying), the finished product is distinctly bright red, and there are no visible bits of vegetable in the finished product, I think you’d be OK, but I have never run nor judged a cookoff (only participated) so that’s just my opinion. Most recipes for CASI Texas-style chili use powdered vegetables (onion powder, garlic powder, etc.) and purees like tomato sauce for the vegetable content.
Onions are a must for me also, and some tomato is a good balancing flavor. I have no problem with chunks of vegetables in the mix, the onions will be coarsely chopped, and I’ll add coarsely chopped fresh peppers along with the powdered dry stuff. And I’ll also add pork, and usually any other meat available. If they don’t like it in Texas, then that’s too bad for them.
I start out by sauteeing the onions, garlic, chile peppers, carrots, celery, corn, in olive oil; then I add and brown the meat; then it’s all gotta stew-and-simmer in something, doesn’t it? It’s a stew, not a casserole or something.
It’s kind of fun playing within the bounds of various styles to see what you can come up with. For chili contests (like, not serious ones, but like, say, at Super Bowl at a friend’s house), I use tomatoes and onions, with some beans, otherwise Midwesterners get confused as chili here is almost always with beans. But I make it very meaty and not soupy, which is also the usual when you get chili around here. When I make it for myself, I usually omit the beans and often omit the tomato.
But it’s all good. (And I have to admit, when I’m doing it more Midwestern style, I do like corn in it. Don’t tell anyone. But if I’m doing corn, I’m probably going more towards a poblano & corn green type of chili, but not always.)
You’d be surprised at how little liquid is necessary. If you’re using a lot of vegetables, there’s already quite a bit of liquid in there. If you just cover the pot and add just enough broth/beer/flavorful liquid of choice to keep it from scorching, the vegetables and beef will release quite a bit of water. I use maybe 1/2 cup of liquid for a pot of tomato-less Texas red, and that’s with about 2 pounds beef and 1 pound onions, a bit of garlic, and no other vegetables.
I agree, I use a cup or more of chili powder in a 6 quart chili pot. I also add 3-4 tablespoons of mole paste, which has thickening properties, plus masa harina.
That’s OK, we make one that’s got onions, beans, corn, and mushrooms. Some crunched-up tortilla chips at the end is all that’s needed to thicken it. Texas just don’t know what they’re missing.
I’d say you’re starting with way too much liquid. It takes loooong time to cook water out of ground beef, even when you’re dealing in fairly small quantities. A big pot of chili, I can’t imagine adding any liquid beyond what’s in the veg.
And the draining it thing, too, if you’re starting with regular ground beef. It’s got a lot of fat and a lot of water already in it, draining after browning will help.
To prevent scorching, either get yourself a flame-tamer and a heavy pot, or move it to the oven.
this is how I make chili. I found a recipe on cooks.com, thought it was OK, decided to modify it, and stuck with this:
1 large white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-3 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
3-10 fresh hot peppers, seeded and chopped (your choice, depending on desired heat level)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 pounds beef, lamb, or pork (or mix as desired for 2lb. total, use cuts suited to longer cooking times) cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tsp. plus 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground dried Mexican oregano
1 tbsp. ground cumin
5 tbsp. chili powder
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup tomato or vegetable juice
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tbsp. cornmeal
note: do not adjust amount of water/juice depending on the number of peppers added. the peppers will bring in enough additional moisture to compensate.
1. Combine 1 tsp. salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and sugar in a small cup; set aside.
2. Heat oil in dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meat well, cooking off most/all moisture. Work in batches as necessary to prevent overcrowding.
3. Remove meat, leaving as much fat in the pot as possible. Return pot to medium high heat and add onion, peppers, and garlic with 1/2 tsp. of salt. Sweat mixture until soft.
4. Add meat back to pot, stir briefly to distibute. Add the spice/herb mixture and stir briefly. Add tomato sauce, tomato/vegetable juice, and water, and stir well.
5. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook, partially covered, for 3-4 hours. Afterward, add cornmeal to thicken and cook another 10-15 minutes.
Serve as is, or with beans, rice or bread.