303 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

Milagai et al: let's get those recipes into RecipeGullet! They sound great -- even if they are crimes against nature....

See, I use 100% cubed chuck, period. I can't quite imagine using anything else, actually, as chili to me means, well, 100% cubed chuck, sautéed, seasoned, and braised for a good long while. Then, you start trying little chunks, and they go from chewy, to chewy, to chewy, to chewy, to chewy, to magical, red ambrosia....

[Chris Amirault]

OK . . . I have gotta play in this one. First, I found this great site that gets into the history of the dish.

That site is fantastic, Linda! Among the many things I didn't know about chili was this:

[T]he first chili mix was concocted around 1850 by Texan adventurers and cowboys as a staple for hard times when traveling to and in the California gold fields and around Texas. Needing hot grub, the trail cooks came up with a sort of stew. They pounded dried beef, fat, pepper, salt, and the chile peppers together. This amounted to "brick chili" or "chili bricks" that could be boiled in pots along the trail. [DeGolyer] ... believed that chili con carne began as the "pemmican of the Southwest."

Seems like chili has real parallels to the great dishes of French provincial cooking (especially daubes), Moroccan tagines, and other one-pot braised meals. Necessity, invention, all that stuff.

[DTBarton]

This is the season for the best chili since the chili pepper plants in the garden are finishing up. It's a great way to use up all the ones left on the vine. I love making chili with fresh peppers, you use quite a bit less dried chili powder.

Forgive my vague quantities, just taste as you go. None of these quantities is gospel.

10 garlic cloves, diced
1 large or 2 medium yellow onions, diced
Fresh chili peppers, seeded and diced (I use a bunch)

note - I don't pick the peppers until I'm ready to make the chili, this retains the fruitiness. I have pablano, cayenne, and jalapeno peppers or you can get some at the store. I stick with mild to medium hot ones. Anaheims and banana peppers can be gotten pretty cheap sometimes.

Saute the veggies in a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Spinkle with salt and pepper at the start.

2 pounds cheap steak (chuck, sirloin, whatever's on sale at the store) remove fat, membrane and cut in to 1/2 inch cubes.

2 pounds cheap pork chops (again whatever's on sale) remove fat, bone, and cut in to 1/2 inch cubes.

Add the meat and saute for a few minutes

Add:
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS oregano
1 TBS paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 can diced tomatoes (regular size, not large)
1 small can tomato sauce
enough water to just cover the meat and veggies

cover and simmer slowly until the meat is braised tender, usually a couple hours at least. Stir every 15 minutes or so and ensure the simmer stays gentle.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more of any of the dry seasonings to taste. Simmer uncovered to desired thickness, if needed. I add a little beef soup base if it's a little thin, but it's usually not.

Serve in hot bowls. I like to serve it with diced sweet onion, shredded pepper jack cheese, favorite hot sauces, and sour cream as available garnishes. The final touch - HOMINY!

I get dried hominy at our local amish market. Takes about four hours to cook, but it's worth it. Simmer 1 part dried hominy in 4 parts water. Canned is OK, but can taste canny and salty. If using canned, I recommend rinsing the hominy in a colander and sauteeing it in a little butter and black pepper (don't add any salt!).

I puts my hominy in the bowl under the chili.

[fifi]

. . . . .
Seems like chili has real parallels to the great dishes of French provincial cooking (especially daubes), Moroccan tagines, and other one-pot braised meals. Necessity, invention, all that stuff.

I didn't read the whole page I linked to but one of the "Gee-I-didn't-know-that" moments from Robb Walsh's The Tex-Mex Cookbook was the fact that cumin became a standard ingredient after Mexico brought in folks from the Canary Islands to help settle the sparsely populated land that is now Texas and they brought cumin with them. The cumin was so good that it stayed.

[fifi]

Milagai et al: let's get those recipes into RecipeGullet! They sound great -- even if they are crimes against nature....
. . . . .

Your wish is my command . . . Whacked-Out Chili

[JEL]

has anyone ever had green chilli................

i lived in northeast CO for a while, and it was a staple there..........

in most small towns you could get anything on a menu "smothered".....

usually it was cubed pork steak with all the bling one would put in chilli, but everything was green, instead of red......

a few crushed red tomatoes at the very end.........

it was pretty damn good. i've never seen it anywhere else........

[Milagai]

chrisamirault:
i am not sure my recipe can be called a "recipe":
it's a suggested list of ingredients and you edit at will
often i add bell peppers if i have any....


malawry:
thanks for that bulgur wheat endorsement!
i was pretty nervous sharing that secret as i was
sure i'd get 'beaned' for it....
one can always leave it out, or there's the
'tvp crumbles' option.........

milagai

ps: i've heard of the term green chili but never had any...

has 'cincinnati chili' been discussed upthread, and what
do others think about this?

Edited by Milagai, 25 October 2005 - 10:47 AM.

[fifi]

. . . . .
has 'cincinnati chili' been discussed upthread, and what
do others think about this?

I have been told that Whacked-Out Chili is a sort of Cincinnati Chili but I am not sure of that. I have seen some recipes called that and they have a similarly outrageous list of ingredients. But I really don't know if that is what makes Cincinnati Chili. If anyone knows, please tell.

[CaliPoutine]

Here is one I made about a month ago. I made it so that it would be Weight Watcher friendly.

I use ground turkey( breast meat), crushed tomatos, onion, peppers, barley, chili season mix, and beans.

I never follow a recipe, so it tastes different every time.

[ScorchedPalate]

Our two favorite chili recipes are

- "Very, Very Good Chili" from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen -- probably the one in Rick & Lanie's Excellent Adventures is similar -- which is actually a sub-recipe/suggestion for his ancho chile paste:
Recipe on the Simon & Schuster site (scroll down/search for "chili")

- Venison Chili with Red Beans from David Waltuck's Staff Meals from Chanterelle. We always use beef bits and cannellini, having no access to venison nor love of red beans. :)

[KatieLoeb]

I think we are going to be eating  A LOT of chili in the next couple weeks.

Katie, do you think we could use ground chicken instead of the turkey?

Kristin:

I don't see why not. I'd try to make sure it's not all ground breast though, or it might be kind of dry at the end. One of the consistent comments/compliments I've always gotten about this recipe is that you totally can't tell that it's made from ground Turkey - it tastes just like beef chile, I think because of the chorizo and the smokiness the black beans add. Actually you could probably make your chili out of almost anything, and just use the spice paste part of my recipe. That's what really does it, but the overall result is always delicious too.

[Daniel]

Our two favorite chili recipes are

- "Very, Very Good Chili" from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen -- probably the one in Rick & Lanie's Excellent Adventures is similar -- which is actually a sub-recipe/suggestion for his ancho chile paste:
Recipe on the Simon & Schuster site (scroll down/search for "chili")

- Venison Chili with Red Beans from David Waltuck's Staff Meals from Chanterelle. We always use beef bits and cannellini, having no access to venison nor love of red beans. :)

Yeh the Bayless is awesome in my opinion.. Just found a photo of the last time I made it.. I am ready to call it a day and start making this stuff..



Now the question is, do I serve with cheese fries, tater tots, or spaghetti.. Either way i am a happy man..

Edited by Daniel, 25 October 2005 - 11:27 AM.

[Bill Miller]

has anyone ever had green chilli................

i lived in northeast CO for a while, and it was a staple there..........

in most small towns you could get anything on a menu "smothered".....

usually it was cubed pork steak with all the bling one would put in chilli, but everything was green, instead of red......

a few crushed red tomatoes at the very end.........

it was pretty damn good.  i've never seen it anywhere else........

I make a green chili stew using hatch chilis and pork--it has New Mexican roots. Very good.

[Chufi]

Here is one I made about a month ago.  I made it so that it would be Weight Watcher friendly. 

I'm so glad you posted that
After I saw that pic in the WW thread I was literally dreaming about it.. made chili with barley a couple of days later.. it was sooo good. It added a delicious chewy texture.
next chili I make, I'm sure I'll add barley again.. heresy maybe.. but heresy that tastes great..

[mizducky]

. . . . .
has 'cincinnati chili' been discussed upthread, and what
do others think about this?

I have been told that Whacked-Out Chili is a sort of Cincinnati Chili but I am not sure of that. I have seen some recipes called that and they have a similarly outrageous list of ingredients. But I really don't know if that is what makes Cincinnati Chili. If anyone knows, please tell.

Mind you, I have yet to even visit Cincinnati, let alone try that town's chili, but a bit upthread I posted this link to a page all about Cincinnati-style chili, including a copy-cat recipe for Skyline Chili (Skyline is apparently one of the reigning purveyors of this style of chili). Reading the recipe, I'm intrigued by the choice of spices, but I'm so married to the idea of a thick stew-like chili that I'll probably try some other style (if I get it together to take part in this cook-off, that is).

Re: vegetarian chili--I too have used various incarnations of the Moosewood recipe with the bulghur. I really like how it turns out texture-wise--prefer it to using TVP as the latter's texture/mouth-feel never quite feels right to me.

Re: New Mexico-style green chili--I really like the idea of this, as I fell in love with green chiles on my brief visit to that state. Anybody got a pointer to a recommended recipe?

[jeniac42]

I have made chili once in my life and it came out really good.. It was a recipe from Rick Bayless's: Rick and Lanies Excellent Adventure.. Its a really solid recipe, I think..  My question is the only meat I have in the house is hanger steak.  Anyone think this will go well cubed in Chli, or do I go to the store?

I have such a hard time finding hangar steak that I'd go to the store and get a nice piece of chuck, or even use pork butt.

I know beef is traditional, but anyone else ever use pork?

I almost always do half beef and half pork. The pork makes it better, in my opinion.

[MicBacchus]

Upon arriving home and having a house at 62 degrees, chili was the perfect choice. I used two kinds of dried powders - ancho and chipotle, plus chipotle in adobo Wanted black beans but there were none on the store shelves, so I really drained a can of black bean soup - how desperate is that!! Now on to making the corn bread with whole corn, shredded cheese, and a hint of sour cream.

[snowangel]

Re: New Mexico-style green chili--I really like the idea of this, as I fell in love with green chiles on my brief visit to that state. Anybody got a pointer to a recommended recipe?

Over on RecipeGullet, there a recipe for New Mexico Green Chili.

[snowangel]

I'm starting to think that some of that leftover smoked pork butt in the freezer might make a darned fine chili!

[JEL]

what about all the diffrent ways it can be served.......

almost limitless options....

cornbread, tortillas of all kinds, pasta, potatos, atop salads, pizza, eggs, dogs, burgers, chops, chicken, shrimp.......

all kinds of appetizers and dips.........

it's a pretty amazing little concoction if you think about it.......

[Marlene]

Our two favorite chili recipes are

- "Very, Very Good Chili" from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen -- probably the one in Rick & Lanie's Excellent Adventures is similar -- which is actually a sub-recipe/suggestion for his ancho chile paste:
Recipe on the Simon & Schuster site (scroll down/search for "chili")

- Venison Chili with Red Beans from David Waltuck's Staff Meals from Chanterelle. We always use beef bits and cannellini, having no access to venison nor love of red beans. :)

Yeh the Bayless is awesome in my opinion.. Just found a photo of the last time I made it.. I am ready to call it a day and start making this stuff..



Now the question is, do I serve with cheese fries, tater tots, or spaghetti.. Either way i am a happy man..

This looks amazing. I guess chili is on my list this week.

[Milagai]

Re: vegetarian chili--I too have used various incarnations of the Moosewood recipe with the bulghur. I really like how it turns out texture-wise--prefer it to using TVP as the latter's texture/mouth-feel never quite feels right to me.

yay! another fan!
the barley suggestion sounded great too and i'll try and remember
next time i am shopping.

milagai

[fifi]

I'm starting to think that some of that leftover smoked pork butt in the freezer might make a darned fine chili!

OH MY . . . Yes! I have always thought of the Barbeque Posole as a sort of chili. I have made that basic recipe with only one can of hominy and added ancho paste. It was more like chili than a posole. I have also made it without the hominy altogether and with the ancho paste and it was chili. Boy, does smoky pork make for a bowl from heaven. I do like the green chilies in it though, and the oregano.

BTW . . . Anchos are my favorite for the basic chile pepper for chili. Then I add others of my choice or what seems to be a good idea at the time. I have had a hard time finding the pure chile powders in my local stores, even the Latin American places like Fiesta Mart. I can find the dried chiles pretty reliably so I have taken to making big batches of chile paste and storing them in the freezer in half cup amounts. All you have to do is take the stems off and the seed out. Then you soak them in hot water until soft and run them in the blender. If you need liquid to get them to blend, I use chicken broth. You have to be careful about using the soaking liquid as it can get bitter. A purist would toast the dried peppers on a griddle or comal before soaking. I usually don't bother. If I ever get a larger capacity spice grinder, I will probably make my own powders. If you do that, toasting them makes for easier grinding as it dries them out more. But you do have to be careful not to burn them. The bitter thing raises its head again. If you can take the time to stock your "pantry" with chiles of your choice (paste or ground) you can have a lot of fun blending your chiles to your own taste. Having that in your pantry makes a pot of chili a quick meal instead of a project.

[alycemoy]

I personally love smoky beef chili that's done in a little more Indian style. My Indian friends pretty much call chili a curry anyways (not too far from a good keema).

But, my boyfriend loves chili verde, and I have yet to encounter a recipe that he likes.

The RecipeGullet recipe for green chili didn't really work out for me.

As a point of reference, he really liked the two verde chilis at Encino's <a href="http://www.chilimyso...ors.html">Chili My Soul</a>.

Anyone know of where I can find a great chili verde recipe that is produces chili just as good if not better??

[TongoRad]

I personally love smoky beef chili that's done in a little more Indian style. My Indian friends pretty much call chili a curry anyways (not too far from a good keema).

But, my boyfriend loves chili verde, and I have yet to encounter a recipe that he likes.

The RecipeGullet recipe for green chili didn't really work out for me.

As a point of reference, he really liked the two verde chilis at Encino's <a href="http://www.chilimyso...ors.html">Chili My Soul</a>.

Anyone know of where I can find a great chili verde recipe that is produces chili just as good if not better??

Here is a recipe from the ICS recipe page that you can use as a jumping off point. Whether you use pork or beef, you should reserve a bunch of chopped chiles to add at the end. The RecipeGullet recipe features ground chicken so it isn't cooked to the point that the chiles start to lose flavor, but that can be a problem with cubed pork or beef. The one I linked to uses tomatillos so it should get you close.

I prefer beef myself, but either way is better with potatoes (cubed, added during the last 20 min or so). They give the end result a real comforting home-style quality. When I was in New Mexico I would order my chile verde extra hot and they would simply ladle in some of those chopped really hot Hatch sonofaguns to the base dish before serving. It's something I do at home now because my wife prefers it milder. When I make a pot of red I have a puree of chipotles/piquins on hand for that same purpose.

I still have to take an inventory of what I have on hand but if I do go ahead with the green I'll come back and post what I'm doing.

[suzilightning]

i grew up with my mom's sweet chili - ground beef, sugar, tomatoes, a bit of chili powder, kidney beans

then i went to TEXAS and learned what a BOWL OF RED is (at least in texarkana) - beef chuck cut into small pieces and cooked in a cast iron pan on one side only, dusted with ancho chile powder then doused with beer and served in a bowl. sides were cheese and onion.

came north then had some cincinnati chili served five way by a coworker - ground beef, tomato, and a spice sachet then served over spaghetti with beans, onion, oyster crackers and cheese.

now i do all kinds depending on who is around and what i want to do...

chopped venion, ground buffalo, organic beef, onions, beans, cheese, pork and tomatillo, hmmmmm
the next time it is raining and i can clean out the freezer i will have to play

[snowangel]

I personally love smoky beef chili that's done in a little more Indian style. My Indian friends pretty much call chili a curry anyways (not too far from a good keema).

But, my boyfriend loves chili verde, and I have yet to encounter a recipe that he likes.

The RecipeGullet recipe for green chili didn't really work out for me.

As a point of reference, he really liked the two verde chilis at Encino's <a href="http://www.chilimyso...ors.html">Chili My Soul</a>.

Anyone know of where I can find a great chili verde recipe that is produces chili just as good if not better??

Anybody remember Zantigo restaurants? Well, there are now four of five of them in the Twin Citites, still serving that fabulous green chili that they had lo those many years ago. I'm sure it has tomatillos. I've played, and played and played around with this many times, but not recreated this one. So, when I have a hankering for chile verde, I find an excuse to be near Zantigo.

[Daniel]

What a great time to have a chili thread.. Its about that time of year, especially in rainy cold, Manhattan.. Tonight, we made the chili from Bayless's Recipe.. Basically, it calls for ancho chile's to be blended with a some garlic.. Really easy, but provides a complex flavor.. Instead of using ground beef, I cubed hanger steak.. Also didnt have bacon so we used duck fat to brown the onion and steak.. Despite peoples warnings, it was really so gross out, and I wasnt leaving to buy ground beef.. The cubes were awesome and definately gave the dish an entirely different feel..




We served it with green and white onions, sour cream, and cheese..



Great bite..



We were going to serve with spaghetti if using ground beef. rice if cubed, but we then decided to go corn bread... Made the skillet corn bread from Hoppin John's Book..



Love the ridges the skillet gives it..



I have cooling on the counter, a Krispy Kreme Donut Bread Pudding. with Butter Rum Sauce.. Wish me luck

[suzilightning]

I have cooling on the counter, a Krispy Kreme Donut Bread Pudding. with Butter Rum Sauce.. Wish me luck

[/quote]


let's see daniel - does the word OVERKILL mean anything to you?

[lperry]

Deborah Madison has a fantastic black bean chili in the Greens cookbook. It has a wonderful chipotle flavor. I've recently taken to toasting and grinding my own instead of using the canned, or adding in a bit of Salsa Negra from Rick Bayless' recipe. That smokiness is so nice in chili.

-Linda