I had a great recipe for chili colorado. It was awesome with chunks of beef in a beautiful red sauce. It was simple too, I remember that. We used to put in totillas with some shredded cheese and it was out of this world. I cannot find the recipe anymore so I’m hoping with the help of SD that I can recreate it. What are simple chili colorado recipes you can think of?
I’m still working on ‘the perfect chili colorado’, but this is the recipe I used last time.
I’ll need to tweak it next time (Serrano chiles, and if The Wife doesn’t like it, more for me!), but it’s pretty good and is what I’m looking for for a beef burrito. Just wrap it in a flour tortilla, and Roberto’s your tio.
There is a local place that makes a killer Chili Colorado and at a price better than the time and materials I would spend… and it is very close. I’ll also admit that mine would hopefully be almost as good at best. My recipe is pick up the phone and place an order.
I haven’t had it in a while though, because there is another place not much further that makes some of the best Tacos al Pastor that I’ve ever had.
In other words… I’m of no help at all.
Johnny L.A’s recipe is good jumping off point. I would add one or two chipotles in adobo for additional depth of flavor.
I also like to crank up the umami in chili, especially a Texas red where you aren’t adding tomatoes or tomato paste, so I’d add a spoonful of beef bouillon concentrate (I use Better Than Bouillon).
And of course, using a dark, non-hoppy beer to replace some of the water is always an option.
A good source for chili spices is Old Westport Spice & Trading. They haven’t been advertising the straight chili powders and whole chilis on their website, just their blends, but you can call and ask for them. They’ll have the nice red Chili Colorado powder to make the cooking a little easier and get that rich red flavor. Their Chili Colorado powder is one of the many peppers I use in my chili. They have a variety of chilis from mild to extremely hot.
I like to replace the water in most chili recipes with low sodium broth or stock, usually chicken, occasionally beef. I save the homemade stocks for soup. Otherwise Johnny L.A. 's link looks good.
It’s good, and it certainly doesn’t go to waste. But it needs… something. I like hot chili, but the chili colorado at Tito’s Tacos (which they also use as filling for their beef burritos) isn’t hot. I do plan to add Serrano chiles to it next time (which I’m starting to feel will be fairly soon). Still, I don’t think that’s the key. Maybe I need to process the chile pods differently, as I mentioned in another thread. The seasoning is just the two types of chiles, cumin, and salt. Maybe adjust the amount of cumin? More, or less? Maybe use fattier meat? ‘Fat is flavour’, after all. Suggestions welcome.
To me, cumin is the chili spice (other chiles, natch), and I double or triple the amount found in any recipe just by reflex. So there’s my dos centavos.
That was supposed to be “other than chiles”
In Tex-Mex chili, yes. In what I’ve had that’s been served as “chile coloardo” (or carne con chile colorado) not so much, if any. Consulting my cookbooks, Zarela Martinez uses no cumin, just Mexican oregano. Rick Bayless only uses a 1/2 tsp for 2 pounds of meat, but 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano. So it really depends on what you’re going for. For me, the dishes I’m used to seeing labeled as “chili colorado” are not particularly cumin-heavy, but it really depends on the place. For my own tastes, I concentrate more on Mexican oregano in addition to the chiles, (and, of course, garlic and stuff like that.)
Stupid question, but the ingredient in that recipe "ground chili pods’ is just ground whole chili peppers?
Yes.
When I made chili colorado before, I used dried spices out of the cupboard. Last time I used the dried chiles. I removed the stems and seeds, then chopped them up and put them into the food processor. I didn’t get a powder, like you’d get with the prepared ingredient – indeed, one type was too moist to do anything but process into flakes – but that’s the basic idea. I assume that a hundred or 150 years ago people didn’t use food processors.
(I think I might have mentioned this in another thread…)
After seeding, soak the chile pods in hot water for 15-20 minutes, then dump the chiles and water together in the food processor. Or better yet, a blender. (It’s the only thing I use my Vitamix for.) Makes it much easier to puree.
That sounds reasonable. I tried to get a powder. But a powder becomes an emulsion anyway, so why not cut to the chase? And the wife has a blender.
That’s a good question. It’s a standard Mexican technique for chiles, though. You stem and seed them, toast them in a dry pan until softened and slightly fragrant, but not burnt or roasted, soak them in boiling water for 10-20 minutes, and then blend them. I normally taste the soaking liquid first before blending to see if it’s too bitter or not. If so, I might blend in stock or water. It seems to produce a smoother and more flavorful puree than using powder. And then you pass it through a fine sieve to make it completely smooth. The technique described here in the first step is pretty typical.
Now that you mention it, I think the problem with the last batch was that it was a little bitter.
So… You just add stock if it’s bitter?
(Sorry to hijack your thread, Saint Cad.)
Yes, I strain the peppers and taste the soaking water. If it tastes bitter to me, I either dump it or only use just a little bit of it, based on my judgment. I find it only tends to get bitter if I leave the seeds in. I then either use stock or water to blend it if it’s too bitter by my judgment call. Trust your senses.
I recommend a good malty beer instead. :o
I’ll give my chili “recipe”, although I use that term loosely as I don’t think it’s ever been the same. Unfortunately, everything is measured to taste and depending on how much I’m looking to make so there no measurements so to speak. Not to pat myself on the back (but im gonna) but I’ve been told by numerous people that have tried it that it’s one of the best they’ve tasted. It’s a VERY hearty chili so if that’s not your thing, don’t bother reading…
Ingredients:
Meats:
1/2 lb Bacon
1 Part Cubed Stew Meat
1 Part Ground Beef
1 Part Ground Veal
1 Part Ground Pork
1 Part Ground Lamb
Small amount of Chorizo
Veggies:
2 Poblano Peppers
1 Serrano Pepper
Couple Jalepeno Pepper
2 Medium/Large Dried Ancho Chilis (soak for a bit and then run under water to get some of the grit off)
**Depending on who will be eating it, I’ll add 1 small Habenero (possibly more if I’m the only one)
1 Medium Onion (Usually Spanish but yellow works too)
2 Small Shallots
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Stalks Celery
Canned/Bottled Items:
2 Cans Chopped Tomato With Chili (I think Del Monte makes this)
1 Can Red Kidney Beans
1 Small Can Tomato Paste
Enough Chicken/Beef Stock to cover the ingredients
Small amount of Worscheshire sauce (definitely spelled wrong, can never spell that damn word)
1 Bottle Dark Beer (I usually use Guiness)
1 - 2 cups Brewed Dark Coffee or Brewed Espresso (I have a Keurig machine so I don’t need to brew a pot or anything. This can be left out to save time if you don’t want to brew a pot just for 2 cups)
Spices (all to taste):
Chili Powder
Cumin
Oregano
Black Pepper
2 Bay Leaves
Cilantro
Paprika
So now if you’re still with me and have spent all the money to buy all this crap, onto the process…
Brown the meats:
I usually cook the bacon and Chorizo first, then brown the other meats in the residual bacon fat (drained enough so it browns and doesn’t just boil in the grease). I usually do this at a fairly high temp to get a nice crust on the meats.
Once browned, I’ll transfer them to either a strainer over a bowl to let drain or a bowl lined with papertowels to remove the excess grease.
Once the meats have browned, I’ll drain most of the meat fat/juices but leave a little bit in the pot (FYI I do this all in one large pot - the one that I will ultimately use to make the chili). After draining most of it out, cut up the onions, peppers (except the dried anchos) and celery and start sweating them all down. At this point you can add a little salt to help things along but don’t add too much otherwise the chili will be way too salty due to the bacon and chorizo. After those have sweated down some add the chopped up garlic.
After the vegetables have cooked down some, start adding the spices (except the bay leaves). Again, this is all to taste so I can’t give you measurements but you’ll be using a fairly large amount of chili powder and cumin, much less of the other spices/herbs.
After adding the spices you can add the meat back in then all the canned ingredients and liquids. Finally, add enough of whichever broth you have handy so that all the ingredients are completely submerged. Then add in the ancho chilis and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Just let it cook for at least an hour and a half but the longer you can cook it the better it is (in my opinion). I’ll usually adjust the spices as it cooks - I find that I always need to add more cumin than I think I do.
I thought the “colorado” came from tomatoes. Is that not true? I see recipes without it.