I thought I would give this thread a bump to see if anyone else would like to share their chili recipes.
I’m in a chili state of mind.
Thought I’d add some more info about chilies and chili powder. Chilies, of course, are fresh or dried chili peppers. Red chili is usually made from ground red chilies and spices, while green chili (chili verde) is made from fresh green peppers which have been roasted to char the skin which is then removed. Chili powder is a mixture of ground red chilies, cumin, and other spices such as Mexican oregano. Ground chilies are just dried chilies that have been ground to a powder. Typically Ancho, Chipotle, Passilla, and other chilies are what are used to make chili, but paprika and cayenne pepper are examples of ground chilies as well.
When you buy chili powder at the store it is a mixture of ground chilies, cumin, and other spices. So taste before adding more cumin.
Traditionally, as other posters have said, chili was a stew of beef, onions, fresh or ground chilies, and spices. Masa flour was added as a thickener, but if you use enough chili it should be almost thick enough already. The ground chilies were added after the meat and onion were partially cooked and before any liquid was added.
To me, many of the recipes listed above are just chili-flavored soups. But there are no food police and you should just make what you like. Just once, however, I think everyone should have a chance to eat chili made without tomatoes which really changes the taste.
One of the best I’ve ever had was one I made from a recipe I found on the Webber (as in the grill people) web site. It was called “Chili on the Grill” and you grill everything before adding it to the pot. Really added an extra layer of flavor. It takes some time, but is totally worth it. I may have to see if they still have it posted or if I can find my well worn printout and make up a batch tonight.
Nah. You know you’re gonna need more cumin, so just toss another palm-full into the pot.
This thread has me thinking. The wife’s gone, I just harvested a buttload of serranos and scotch bonnets, I have meat in the freezer…
IT’S CHILI TIME!!!
That’s why I use Liquid Smoke in mine, I don’t have access to a grill and it’s the next best option.
For the record, meat is optional, but it’s not chili if it doesn’t have beans. Beans, tomatoes, and peppers are the essential ingredients in chili. Something without one of those three is still a stew, and it may be a good stew, but chili it’s not.
War in the Middle East is enough for you? You have to bring up the Legume Heresy?
I’ve never grasped exactly what kind of ‘chili powder’ to use, so I’ve always opened a packet of McCormick’s and followed the instructions, adding green pepper and onion, not always using beans, Now I might buy the ‘coarse ground’ chili beef next to the hamburg at the grocery store, and look into Penzey’s spices… baby steps, I’m taking baby steps here.
Completely agreed. Any kind of spicy stew can take a LOT of cumin. Taking tips from curry: fry the cumin before adding it. Or just brown the meat, remove from the pan and fry cumin with onion garlic, chillies and whatever else, then put the meat back in the pan.
The key word is…simple. Chop up:
1 Serrano chili pepper
1 Habanero
1 Jalapeno
Some garlic
Brown some ground beef & drain.
Add the chilies and garlic, and
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can drained kidney beans
A whole bunch of chili powder
A trace of water if needed
No onions!
Probably no salt needed, but use to taste.
Simmer for about an hour or more. Should be thick enough as is. Serve with chopped raw onions.
Easier to make than any chili mix package and tastes better.
Plus beans and minus onions marks you as one of the People Who Will Be Dealt With Come The Revolution.
I’m plus beans and plus onions.
May I have a cell with a window, kind sir?
Not a very special recipe, but my fambly loves it. As you will be able to tell, there is no written recipe.
I cook mine in a crock pot. I use hamburger, hot pork sausage, and a shoulder cut steak. I brown all the meats in olive oil and garlic (diced, sliced, however you like it). I usually start it first thing in the morning. Put it all in the crock pot on high with a big can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste, I add beer instead of water, usually using the “one for you, two for me” method. I add chopped onions, green onions, and some sliced green chilies. I can’t stand bell peppers, so I leave them out. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar and then dump a healthy heap of chili powder into it. Then I take a nap and assign my wife or daughter to stir it every once in a while. After everything is bubbling pretty good, I turn it down to low and just let it simmer for a couple of hours. When the steak is tender enough to fall apart in your mouth, I add the red kidney beans, a stick of cinnamon (the secret ingredient), and some more chili powder. After about another hour, I call it done.
Crush up some saltine crackers over the top of it and eat. Add cheese if you like. I prefer some fresh grated parmigiano, but not too much.
And I always eat my chili with a glass of milk to wash it down.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, meat, onions, and garlic are definitely a very good idea, and can make the difference between “chili” and “good chili”, but they’re not what makes it chili.
Please explain how to make chili without meat.
If I’m making meatless chili, I simply add an extra can of beans to my usual recipe and just omit the meat.
Here’s my recipe. Funny I should run across this thread - my mom and I got into an argument yesterday about chili. She insisted that the recipe she uses is the best ever. I don’t really care for it (it’s kind of bland for my taste, though I didn’t say that - just that I liked really spicy chili), which made her really mad. Anyway, potato, potahto.
1-2 onions, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1-2 cans chopped tomatoes (depending upon how chunky you like it)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can water (less if you prefer your chili thick)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1-2 tsp chipotle powder or cayenne if you don’t like your chili smoky
A few shakes garlic powder if you like
1 1/2 tsp salt (I usually salt to taste)
1 tbsp sugar (I usually just add enough to cut a little of the acid, but this is optional; however, I find it helps the flavor if the chili is especially spicy)
Fry onions & garlic until tender. Brown beef in garlic & onions. Dump everything else in and stir. Let sit for as long as you like (usually 45 minutes to 1 hour) and eat.
If you like you can substitute most meats for the ground beef - bison works, chicken to a slightly lesser extent, shredded pork, etc. Or, as mentioned above, if you don’t like meat or don’t eat it, just leave it out and add an extra can of beans (I prefer black beans).
My chili recipe is the beans and tomatoes kind:
Ingredients
2 slices of bacon, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp crushed red chilis (depends how hot you like it)
1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 19-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
(The quantities are approximate - I don’t measure the spices precisely)
Directions
Cook the bacon in a stewpot until it’s rendered most of its fat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
Cook the onion in the fat until it’s soft, about 5 min. Add the garlic and stir for another minute. Turn up the heat a little, then add the ground beef and return the bacon to the pot. Cook and stir the beef until all the pink is gone. Use a spoon to break it up while cooking, so that there are no large clumps. Add the spices and stir for another minute.
Add the tomatoes, beans, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down to a low simmer. Simmer for about 40 minutes (longer is fine).
I like it with rice on the side and sprinkled with grated cheese and chopped green onion, with a dollop of sour cream.
Especially cumin–frankly cumin (even fresh ground from seed) always tastes weirdly musty to me unless this is done.
Actually I do it slightly differently: I toast the cumin lightly in a dry pan, then add the oil. The toasting adds a really nifty layer of flavor.
Chili Verde
(Green Chili)
Use large crock pot for cooking, 3 - 4 qt. (Serves a bunch!)
3 lbs. Meat (Pork and/or Beef, whatever is on sale and is a decent cut)
3 cans Ortega diced green chilis
3 – 5 Jalapenos, diced (Your tolerance for heat dictates the actual number)
5 Anaheim chilis ½ cut in strips, ½ cut in rings(set aside rings)
1 large yellow onion, diced in 1 inch chunks
1 large potato, diced in 1 inch chunks
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
1 cup flour-dry measure
1 tblspn chili power
Garlic powder, salt and pepper (If you can find it, get Adobo seasoning, in the Mexican aisle at the supermarket)
2 tblspn dry Mexican oregano
Chopped cilantro
Flour tortillas
Mexican White or Jack cheese
Sour cream
Open a beer and taste. Set aside….for now.
Cut meat into 1.5 inch cubes and season with salt, pepper, Adobo and garlic powder.
Flour meat and sear in hot oil until brown on all sides. Add to crock.
In the leftover oil from meat, wilt yellow onion. Add to crock.
In same pan, over high heat, brown potatoes. Add to crock.
Deglaze pan with a bit of that beer from before. Add liquid and brown bits to crock.
Add to crock the strip cut Anaheims and ½ diced Jalapenos, diced tomatoes, beef broth, 1 can of Ortegas, chili powder.
Cover and cook on low for at least 5 – 6 hours, stirring occasionally. (The longer and slower you cook this, the better the outcome!)
Finish that beer from earlier.
Go watch the game/movie, do yard work, go shopping whatever, you got time to kill.
Half hour prior to serving, add remaining Ortega, jalapeno (remember, these are the HOT ones!) and Anaheim chili rings. At serving time, add oregano and cilantro to taste.
Serving suggestions;
-
Over white rice – Place 1 cup white rice in bowl. Ladle chili over rice and top with cheese, diced white onion and dollop sour cream. Tortillas on the side.
-
In a burrito – In a large flour tortilla, place chili, white rice, cheese and sour cream. Roll up loosely. Serve with refried beans.
-
In a mini-crock – In an oven proof soup bowl or mini-crock, place 1 - 1.5 cup chili. Cover with cheese and top with diced white onion. Place under broiler until cheese and onion brown. Tortillas or corn chips on the side.
All 3 serving suggestions should be served with ice cold Mexican beer. I recommend Modelo Especial (The MGD of Mexico, light and tasty), Pacifico (The more flavorful, under-appreciated sibling of Corona), Cerveza Victoria (if you can find it, this is my favorite Cerveza Mexicana!)