Let's talk chili!

Cafe Society
1

Everyone seems to make chili differently, and to accompany it with different sides/condiments/etc. I’m just curious how other folks make and serve their favorite chili.
I don’t really measure, but I usually end up with two soup pots worth of chili. My recipe includes:
Ground beef and whatever kind of pork sausage I have in the freezer
Onions
Dark red kidney beans
Stewed tomatoes (or diced, whatever I have)
Tomato soup
Diced potatoes (started adding this when I had more mouths to feed)
A diced sweet pepper if I happen to have one
Chili seasoning (right now I’m using Chili 9000, but I also like Mexene)
Lime juice to cut the sweetness of the Chili 9000

I like to eat it naked, no cheese or anything. On the side, Zesta crackers (because they’re the saltiest!) with peanut butter or cheddar cheese. Milk to drink.

I’m working my way through the vat I made a few days ago. So Good!

So…how do YOU do chili?

2

uhoh, you said ‘beans’…

3

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs beef - steak or some sort of stew meat, but a nice steak is tender…
• 1-2 lbs boneless pork roast (pork chops, in a pinch)
• 10 tablespoons Chili powder (or less if you are a wuss)
• 1/8 - 1/2 tsp cayenne (depends on your heat tolerance)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped fine or pressed
• black pepper and salt (or lemon pepper)
• 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
• 4-6 tablespoons masa flour (or cornmeal) to thicken as needed
To simplify the spices, Carroll Shelby sells a mix you can find in a brown box/bag in many grocery stores.

Preparation

Cut beef and pork into small pieces (bite sized is fine)
Saute onions and green peppers in olive oil, add garlic when onions are transparent and saute a bit longer
Brown beef and pork in olive oil with black pep and salt (or lemon pepper)
Add meat and veggies to tomato sauce and 1 can of water (or beer)
Add chili powder and cayenne
Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
For thicker chili, mix masa flour with a half cup of water, mix and add to chili. Stir and cook for another 15 minutes.

Adding a couple of shots of tequila at the end will make people sit up and take notice…

4

For quick “weeknight” chili I:

  • Brown/drain ground beef

  • Saute onions, bell pepper, garlic

  • Dump the beef back in and add canned chicken broth, canned pinto beans, chili powder/ground chipotle/smoked paprika/ground cumin/salt/pepper, maybe some canned diced tomatoes.

  • Serve with tortilla chips and grated cheddar.
    When I have more time I like to make this Texas-style chili - fantastic and completely different from the above, it takes time but is not at all difficult.

I also like to make my own chili powder, using a take on this Alton Brown recipe.

5

I start with 5-6 slices smoky bacon. Chop these up and fry until about half done. Add in a chopped onion (I like sweet red) and a few cloves garlic (I like to use a lot). When the bacon is just about done, and the onions somewhat carmelized, add in about a pound ground beef or venison. Brown the meat, then drain most the fat. I like to leave in a couple tablespoons for flavor, more if I’m using venison.
Add in one can tomato soup or sauce, a cup of salsa or Rotel, and about 1/4 cup beer (I use MGD because that’s what my husband drinks, you can use your favorite). If I use fresh peppers I add them in now. Let simmer about 20 min.
Add seasonings, chili powder or flakes, whathaveyou, I have a nice homemade blend I like to use with homegrown habanero, jalapenos, bird peppers, and a few others. I like to experiment, so sometimes I’ll add in a little cumin, rosemary, thyme or whatever. Simmer another 20 min.
I like to add cheese sometimes, maybe some toast on the side. It’s usually too filling to have much else.
The leftovers are always better the next day :slight_smile:

6

Stone the heretic!

NO BEANS!

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Ha! Real chiliheads cook it naked!

8

Oh, yes, LOTS of beans. Chili just doesn’t seem like chili to me if it doesn’t have beans. Without beans, it’s…meat, right? Seasoned meat?
I like meat but I want some other stuff in there.

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Screw you, I like Black Bean Chili.

More bothered by “tomato soup”. Scald some tomatoes, skin and deseed them, chop 'em up and throw them in.

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I would totally cook it naked but I don’t want to traumatize the neighbors.
If I put those shots of tequila that jasg mentioned on the side and as a first step, though…maybe. :smiley:

I know the tomato soup is a little weird, and sometimes I do without it. My mom always used it instead of actual tomatoes, so I guess it’s a warmfuzzy thing to me. Plus I like my chili soupy, so if I leave it out I’m left with the dilemma of creating soup without adding a lot of water. And I have a ton of tomatoes in there already.

11

I like beans in my chili. {gasp}

I like it spicier than avg, but not annoyingly hot. if it is too hot, I usually cut it with sour cream.

and I really like a peanut butter sandwich as a side on white bread, cut diagonally.

12

You’re right. If someone doesn’t have time to go full out or do it exaclty the way you would, they shouldn’t eat it at all. right?

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I’m all for everyone making and eating chili any old way they please. Especially if their method includes tequila and nakeddity.

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I start by sauteeing onions and garlic in olive oil. I then add ground London broil and some ground pork and brown it. Once it’s browned I add bell, jalapeno, Anaheim, and habanero peppers, pinto beans, chili powder, cumin, and Sazon Goya. To that I mix in about half a cup of cornstarch in water to bind the grease. I then add beef and chicken broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, and liquid smoke, boil and simmer for 2 hours.

It won 3rd place at the state championship in 2007.

15

I’m another heretic that puts beans in my chili. I’ve got no complaints yet. I make a bunch of chili at once, as I usually have anywhere from 7 to 15 people eating on it at once, plus I eat on the leftovers for a week+.

3 cans pinto beans, or 1 pound of pintos if you’re using dry beans.
1 can black beans.
1 can red kidney beans.
1 can black eyed peas.
1/2 jar banana peppers
4 cans diced tomatoes with chili peppers
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cubes chicken bullion
3 packets mild chili mix (As of tomorrow I’m going with a variant on this mix
Clover honey
1 lb ground beef

Mix all beans, seasoning, chicken bullion, and tomatoes in the crock pot.

Brown the ground beef, mixing in the onions and bell peppers. Cook until peppers and onions are done. Drain and rinse grease from this, then add to pot. Stir until everything is well mixed.

Coat the top in a hash mark pattern with clover honey, stir again. Let cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

I usually serve mine with soda crackers. Whichever is the cheapest. Sometimes I’ll serve it with baked potatoes.

I used to let it cook with a cinnamon stick in the pot, but my sister complained all the time about it, so I stopped. Now that she moved out, I can start cooking it that way again.

16

Wick Fowler’s 2 Alarm Chili Mix. Starter kit with all the spices. Add tomato paste, browned meat and cook. We always add a can of red beans.

We’ve tried various scratch recipes. Nothing has ever beat Wick Fowlers.

17

Chili is a dish of beans, tomatoes, and peppers, optionally with meat or other ingredients added as well. If you want “real authenticity”, you have to have the beans-- I guarantee you that the stuff cowboys ate out on the range had a lot of beans in it.

My recipe:

1/2 pound bacon
2 onions
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound pork sausage (either Italian or chorizo)
8 cloves garlic
3 cans assorted beans (typically dark kidney, garbanzo, and green)
15 jalapenos (or less, cut with the equivalent amount of bells, if I’m cooking for others)
Cumin, black pepper, celery seed, mustard, cinnamon, cocoa (not measured, but I know about how much to add)
Corn starch and cider vinegar, for thickening

Fry up the bacon in a big pot, over medium heat. Once enough grease has rendered out, toss in the onions, half the garlic, some cumin, and the meat to brown. Once the meat is brown, add the rest of the ingredients (including more cumin-- You didn’t add enough before), and turn it up to med-high until it starts bubbling. Then turn it down to low and let it simmer for several hours.

Just before serving, if it needs thickening, pour a splash of apple cider vinegar in a bowl, and slowly stir in corn starch until it starts ooblek-ing. Add to the chili and stir thoroughly.

This generally makes enough for a big meal for me on Saturday, and lunches for the remainder of the week. In fact, I’m halfway through a batch right now.

Note, by the way, that I do not use chili powder. I figure you might as well just go with the fresh peppers themselves.

18

Oh, as for side dishes and condiments: Cornbread, grated cheddar cheese, and sour cream are all good, though when I make it myself I generally don’t bother with any of those, because I’m lazy.

19

Once again in a chili thread, Chronos spouts nonsense.

The origins of chili.

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That link definitively shows beans in chili dating back to the 1880s, and alludes to them even earlier than that (like the Texas penal system making a stew from the cheapest ingredients available-- They don’t explicitly mention beans there, but beans would have been the cheapest protein available).