Give me your Chili recipe

[RyDogg66]

It is cold. Really, really cold. The super bowl is right around the corner, and our Wisconsin team might be playing in it. So what better time to exchange and talk chili recipes. I love making chili almost as much as I love to eat it, but the last few times I have made chili it has bombed, not sure why (I think because I have been trying to 'dumb it down' so my kids will eat it).

 

So lets get to it. How do you roll with your chili??

[burniebrewer]

I love chili as well and look forward to reading some recipes.

 

I like mine with some kick, but I don't have a personal recipe yet.

 

If anybody has a recipe for making a larger batch, I'd like that too. It seems that just doubling the recipe doesn't always work as well for a larger pot full.

[berniebrewer4life]

BB4L's Venison Chili

 

4 pounds Boneless, cubed venison

2 Jalapenos seeded & chopped

3 tablespoons Bacon grease

3 tablespoons Soy sauce

5 tablespoons Fresh ground cumin

1/2 cup Chopped green bell pepper

5 Garlic cloves minced

2 Onions chopped

1-1/2 Cans of beer [*not lite]

8 ounces Can tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

2 cups Stewed tomatos

6 Jalapenos fresh & whole

2 tablespoons Masa harina(corn based flour)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 ounce Jack daniels whiskey

 

Brown meat in bacon grease. Saute the onions, the chopped jalapenos, & the Bell peppers in the bacon grease until the onions start to become transparent. Meanwhile bring the beer & whiskey to a boil and add the meat, seasonings, except for 1 Tblpsn of cumin, & the onions/peppers to the pot. Allow to boil for 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium then add the tomatos & tomato sauce. Stir occassionally while continuing to cook for 30 minutes. reduce heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour.

 

If anybody uses this, please let me know what you think of it.

[RyDogg66]

Is that recipe exclusive to venison? Does it lose anything if you use ground beef or sirloin?

[berniebrewer4life]

Honestly Ry, i've never used ground beef. But i would assume it wouldn't lose anything. It tastes like ground beef to me when i eat the chili.

[dadofandrew]

I often make mine in the crock pot:

 

1-2 pounds ground beef

Few onions

Garlic, as much as you like

Tomato juice

Chili powder

 

Brown the onions and garlic, add some juice to pick up the yummy pieces. Dump into crock pot. Fill with juice, leave a few inches at the top. Chili powder to taste, then add some more about an hour before you are ready to eat, otherwise it kind of gets "cooked away". I also add in a few drops of tabasco, if you like hot foods, you can in as much as you want. I let it simmer uncovered until meal time.

 

My wife cooks up pasta to add to hers, but my chili has no room for pasta. Sometimes, however, I will add some swiss or cheddar into the bowl when I dish it out. I have often thought of adding in some steak, but never have.

[homer]

2 lbs ground beef (ground chicken works too I suppose)

1 medium sized onion - chopped

3 stalks celery - chopped

1 can tomato paste

1 can chili beans

1 can kidney beans

1 20 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 tbl spoons chili powder

pinch of red pepper

2/3 cup water

salt to taste

 

brown beef

drain fat

add to pot and add all remaining ingrediants

simmer for 30 minutes or until celery and onion are soft

 

My dad adds macaroni noodles but I usually don't. I like this recipe because it's fast and easy - just dump a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it cook. I also add some picante sauce when I serve it to give it a little kick.

[dadofandrew]

Heh, one drains the fat, another adds bacon grease.

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I have never made the same chili twice, I have never used a written recipe. I don't believe noodles have any business in a chili pot. The following I have been the happiest with, although I like a sweeter chili.

 

Pick your own amounts to use, based on what you like. I included what I usually use.

 

Meat:

1 or 2 lbs. Ground turkey (healthier and you really can't pick out the ground meat in chili)

1 lb. Beef chunks/strips (sometimes packaged as 'stir fry' beef at the store)

 

I tried adding bacon in the mix once, cooking it and cutting into bite size pieces, I felt it didn't really add enough to do it again. It's an insult to bacon to just have it get lost in a big mix like that.

 

Fresh Stuff:

6-8 Fresh tomatoes, whatever ones look the best at the store, usually the kind that still has vines on them, sometimes Roma

1 Big Sweet Onion (Vidalia if you can find it, otherwise Jumbo Sweet Yellow)

4-5 Jalapenos (cut stem off, leave seeds and membrane)

*secret ingredient* 1 large Yellow Bell Pepper (cleaned and seeded and cut into good sized chunks, has to be Yellow, NOT Red or Green)

 

Others:

Chili Powder

1 or 2 small cans of Tomato Paste

Jarred Minced Garlic

Brown Sugar

Canned Beans

 

I cook the turkey with salt and pepper, drain, and add to the pot. Next, I cook the beef chunks with some of the onions and garlic. Drain, add beef to pot. Take the onion and garlic from the beef pan and add with the rest of your onions, more garlic, jalapenos, and fresh tomatoes and puree everything in a blender. Once it is super smooth (will look pinkish and gross), add to main pot with some tomato paste (as much as you want to thicken it), chili powder, beans, and brown sugar. Turn on the heat and bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduced to a simmer for as long as you would like to thicken. Taste during the simmering phase, good time to add more brown sugar, another jalapeno, or chili powder. Add chunks of bell pepper at the end, it adds excellent color, texture, and flavor.

 

*I find this step to be one of the most vital*

 

Put the whole batch in the fridge over night, then warm in a crock pot the next day, or microwave individual servings. The flavors really mix well doing this, I have never had the chili taste the best fresh off the stove. I don't go overboard with toppings, if anything, just some Fritos on top.

 

The last batch I made I used Usingers Hot Italian Sausage chunks as the meat, and I highly recommend that as well.

[burniebrewer]

Sometimes, however, I will add some swiss or cheddar into the bowl when I dish it out.

 

I like to add fresh diced onions and sour cream.

[Fatter than Joey]

I have a friend that is a chef, and he told me that a lot of people add chocolate to counter the acidity of the tomatoes.

[RyDogg66]

I tried the "real Chili" recipe yesterday, and I think it turned out pretty well. Of course the REAL Real Chili recipe is a secret, but I got it off of a Marquette U. website, it tasted pretty close.

 

1 lb. Gr. Beef

1 lb. Gr. Sirloin

1/2 c. onion

1/4 c. Chili Powder

1/4 tsp/ cayenne

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. All Spice

1 tsp. Nutmeg

dash garlic powder

1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce

2 14 oz. cans been broth

2 tbs. cider vinegar

 

Cook onion, brown beef, add spices, chocolate, sauce and broth and Vinegar. Simmer 2 hours. serve over beans and/or spaghetti noodles, top with shredded cheese, sour cream and diced onions. Its supposed to be better the next day...I'll try some during the Packer game.

[dadofandrew]

I agree, it does taste better the next day.

 

I added some cut up brats in mine once too, they were ok.

[JoeHova]

I'm like Ross in that I don't really have a set recipe. I love making chili because you can vary the recipe so much without ever really going wrong so it's easy to try different things.

 

My general recipe calls for ground beef (I like an extremely lean cut but I'll use whatever). I've tried cubed, but it doesn't work as well for me because I like to let my chili simmer for 5-6 hours at least. Cubed meat will start to fall apart within that time frame so it kind of defeats the purpose. In addition to the ground beef, I like to add in some ground pork or Italian sausage (the kind that is not in casings), usually at a ratio of 2 parts ground beef to 1 pork.

 

I generally start by browning a couple pounds of diced onions (some would call that overkill but I love onions). I usually use red but any kind is acceptable. I usually toss in a couple minced cloves of garlic too, just out of habit. I think the garlic flavor doesn't really last but, hey, why not? I salt and pepper the onions a little, then I use the same pot to brown the meat. While browning the meat, I make sure to liberally season it with salt and pepper, along with ground chiles and Mexican hot sauce (Bufalo, usually, because it's a little more subtle than American hot sauces and my wife doesn't like heat).

 

While the meat is browning, I dice up whatever vegetables I'm going to use. That usually consists of a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper, an orange bell pepper, several jalapenos, and a couple Anaheim peppers (if I was making a chili just for myself my pepper mix would be a lot heavier on spicy peppers but like I said, my wife isn't a huge fan). I seed those except for a jalapeno or two and then add them to the pot when the meat is browned.

 

Next, I add a can of crushed tomatoes. Never tomato juice, that is anathema to chili, imo. I like a thick chili, not a soupy one. I've tried fresh tomatoes as well and they don't seem to work out especially well for me. I guess it's because I want the tomatoes pretty much solely as a binding and thickening agent, not as a main flavor. Along with the tomatoes I add chili powder. Lately I've been using one from Penzey's and it seems to work nicely. I also add more of the ground chiles and hot sauce, as well as some ground cumin and a few cumin seeds. I sometimes add a drained can of diced or whole tomatoes (they'll fall apart during the simmering) if I'm in the mood for a little more tomato flavor.

 

I let that cook, uncovered, for a couple hours to let it reduce. Then I add a couple cans of beans. I was raised on kidney bean chili but kidney beans are not the right choice, imo. I prefer pinto or black beans (drained and rinsed, of course). Pinto if you want them to really incorporate into the chili, black if you want a little firmer texture. (The beans could easily be left out, I just like them.) Then I add tomato paste to thicken it and then I cover it (if you leave it uncovered after the tomato paste is added, you risk it burning. I keep an eye on it anyway).

 

After the beans and tomato paste are added I let it simmer, covered, for another 3 or so hours. That really makes all the flavors become incorporated.

 

Lately my wife has been having me add a rotisserie chicken (skinned and cut up) and a bag of frozen corn about an hour before the chili is done (add the chicken too soon and it falls apart, add the corn too soon and it gets mushy). That can really add flavor but it could be seen as going overboard so I don't do it every time.

 

My wife really likes cheese (sharp cheddar) and sour cream on top of the chili when it's served but I don't feel as strongly as her about that.

 

Anyway, if I've done it right, there will be very little liquid left after it's done cooking, just enough to coat the ingredients.

[BrewCrewForever]

Reading this thread has me all pumped up for some chili. Going to have to make some very soon.

[dadofandrew]

I don't like chunky tomatoes, so I use juice. However, Joe's use of corn is an idea I might try, even in hot weather. Maybe I'll add in a bit of steak this time too. Crock pots don't add heat, do they?

[InsomniacInkRoss]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs209.snc1/7628_1214494213114_1551593334_30567526_5275302_n.jpg

I let my awards do the talkin'

[JoeHova]

I don't like chunky tomatoes, so I use juice.

Makes sense. That's why I've been using the crushed instead of the diced lately. How much sauce do you shoot for? Like I said, I like a relatively dry chili but I know a lot of people like a much wetter version.

However, Joe's use of corn is an idea I might try, even in hot weather.

Yeah, it can add a nice crunch to the chili. It's nice because it's a bit healthier than just tossing some Fritos on top at the end.

Crock pots don't add

heat, do they?

I'm not sure. I've never tried making chili in a crock pot. I guess it's because I like to mess with the chili too much while it's cooking. Also, my chili pots are much bigger than my crock pot and I usually like to make a pretty big batch so there are plenty of leftovers (like a lot of people have mentioned, chili can taste even better when it's aged a little).

[dadofandrew]

I meant crock pots do not add heat to the kitchen. I do find I need to add more spice toward the end, I think some of the spice gets "cooked away" when you use a slow cooker.