I like a lot of meat and aromatic spices as well as my secret ingredient that keeps everyone else away, blue food coloring. Any other secrets out there I could use?
Diver
Are you after secret ingredients to make chili good or keep people away from it?
My secret ingredient (really, really secret) is molasses. Dark sulfer molasses. Just a little - but hoo boy, that’s good stuff.
I also have a super secret ingredient for making a really kick-ass brisket, but you didn’t ask for that.
I always try to toss in a couple of chipotle chiles and a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce. The sauce helps to round out the flavor a great deal and as long as you’re not too heavy-handed, no one will realize what it is that’s doing it.
As long as there are no beans, its OK. Hot and spicy is a plus too.
Why blue food coloring? Darker more hearty color?
sorry, I didn’t clarify…the blue food coloring turns the meat bright blue. People look at it and refuse to eat it. Hence more for me. It’s really for a joke because it doesn’t affect the taste, but it makes it look funny.
molassas, eh? i’ve used some white cane sugar before and even red sprinkles (for ice cream, etc) but molassas definitely sounds better.
Are you talking about the entire batch, or just what would taste good in your own serving? I’ve been known to put a blob of thousand island dressing on my chili. My wife says I’m a sick f*ck.
I have always liked to add shoepeg corn to my chili. It adds a little something. The corn is slightly sweet and kind of off-sets the heat of the spices a little without diminishing them.
1/2 red beans, 1/2 black
crushed tomatoes
2/3 ground meat, 1/3 TVP
fresh crushed garlic
powdered cayenne
chili powder
fresh hot peppers
a large onion
served with scallions, sour cream, cheddar cheese and tomatoes for topping and fresh bread for a side.
And second-day-chili tacos are the best!
K.
Grated cheddar cheese.
The molassas idea sounds yummy!
Chuldruns.
And Nothing provides that heat better than the world’s hottest pepper, The Red Savina Habanero. You can but them in specialty shops, either whole, or as a puree. Both do well.
These peppers are so strong that you MUST wear gloves to hangle them. I’m serious. Don’t cut em’ up without gloves on. You will be sorry!
There is also an ingredient out there called “Pure Cap” which is simply the heat Chemical (capsaicin or however the hell you spell it)extracted from the peppers and suspended in vegetable oil. This stuff you don’t wanna mess with.
Wear thick gloves. Contacting your skin will result in a severe “burn” that will bother you literally for days. You have to sign a legal waiver to purchase it, promising that you will not use it for “practical joke” purposes, and that you aren’t drunk when you are buying it.
So, anyone care for some of MY chili? 
I put a little brown sugar in mine. I’m going to try the molasses in my next batch. The shoepeg corn sounds good, too.
The blue food coloring may put off adults, but it might entice my nine-year-old son! I may have to try that, as well!
Off to IMHO.
Being from South Texas I put no beans and no tomatoes in chili. That is as my grandmother so dearly called it, “Yankee Chili!” She wouldn’t even try to stomach it. I do eat the “Chili stew” that northerners are so fond of making but I never think of it as real chili.
I tend to go for a more basic set with fresh chilis, ground cumin, fresh onions, and a ton of garlic in it for a start. Oh and that beef that is ground up extra fine that I can’t remember its name that isn’t available up here anyway.
HUGS!
Sqrl
PS. I also put ground up saltine crackers in it and usually eat it with another cracker instead of a fork (good chili should not be soupy). MMMMM… Also, I rarely put in some sharp cheddar cheese.
HUGS again,
Sqrl
From the German who likes Italian food: Pork Green Chili
Ingredients:
1 Pd pork in small cubes, dust in flour
1 large onion diced
1 can cooked diced tomatoes
3 Pd Green chili(s)
2 cloves garlic
Salt
Fry the pork, garlic, and onions in a couple of tablespoons of oil. Puree 1/3 to ½ of the green chili. Combine all ingredients and bring to boil. Turn down and simmer until the pork is tender or falls apart easily. Umm, Umm good.
I don’t really have a chili con carne recipe…every pot cooks up different. (I’m discussing only the classic Bowl of Red here…obviously my Chili Verde is way different.)
If I was trying to impress someone, I’d probably use beefsteak cut up into small strips AND ground round or sirloin. The ground meat nearly dissolves into the liquid after a few hours cooking and acts as a thickener (I’ve never ben fond of masa harina in my chili).
I don’t use commercial chili powders. I buy ground ancho chile from Penzey’s Spice Co., and ground chilpotle chile. Both find their way into the pot…a quarter-cup or more of ancho, about a tablespoon of the chilpotle (smoked jalapeno; hot, hot, hot). Also fresh chiles of various kinds. Cumin. Oregano. Onions and garlic. Tomatoes.
I’m not a purist and I like beans, so I use either small red or, in a pinch, pinto. I don’t care for red kidney beans.
That’s about it. Keep that weird shit away from MY chili pot.
Beer–something darkish, like Sam Adams.
A shot of bourbon
Venison or rabbit when a hunting friend is willing to share.
Cumin
I sometimes mix in some corn, just for variety.
And for my own particular serving, I load up the bowl with Fritos and on top of that a bunch of grated cheddar cheese. Then I spoon the chili over it and wait for the Fritos to get a bit soggy. MMMMMMM…chili heaven!
A square of unsweetened chocolate.
Also, we use cashews in place of meat (Mrs. Pipe’s a vegetarian.)