Chili Variety

[Cusina]

I love chili and when the weather gets cold it is a staple at our house. Part of the beauty of the dish is that there are so many variations. What's yours like?

[SobaAddict70]

Definitely with beans.

Ancho and/or chipotle chiles en adobo in addition to the usual spice suspects, and depending on the season either fresh or roasted tomatoes. Try making it with chorizo -- Spanish or Mexican works best. Once I tried it with the Filipino kind, didn't work out as much as I'd hoped.

Soba

[GG Mora]

Ground pork. Black beans. Roasted poblano peppers. Beer. Turkish Urfa pepper flakes. Puréed guajillos. Sometimes leftover coffee. Plus the usual suspects.

[KatieLoeb]

Turkey, Black Beans and Chorizo. Recipe is in the archives.

[memesuze]

My favorite is Kit Williams' Bad Attitude Chili: pork roast, ground beef, Hatch chiles, tomatoes, Mexican beer, bourbon, bitter baker's chocolate, onion, garlic, hot paprika, cumin, bouillon cubes, salt

[Rich Pawlak]

Ground beef or ground turkey, diced tomatoes and chiles, small red kidney beans, onions, chipotle peppers, crushed tomatoes, lager beer, crushed garlic, bay leaf.

Works every time, and can be a flamethrower, depending on the chipotles.

[bloviatrix]

We're having chili for dinner tonight. It's got ground beef, diced onion, green peppers, garlic, chipotles, diced tomatoes (muir glen has a charred tomato), cumin and chili powder.

Oh, and black beans. How could I forget that?

Edited December 2, 2003 by bloviatrix (log)

[Bond Girl]

chili powder, red beans, lentils, soaked bulger wheat, lots of pailla chili, and charred poblano chili, jalepeno, and may be a bottle of negra modelo.

[Al_Dente]

I love all kinds, but one of the faves that I make is with NO beans and some big cubes of skirt steak. I render bacon , reserve the bacon to add later as garnish, drain some of the fat, brown the steak in that grease. Then most of the usual suspects are added along with chipotles and garlic. Makes for a beautiful smoky rich chili.

[Chad]

NO beans. Chipotle, ancho and other chiles, depending on how my garden turned out. The Carolina cayennes and SuperChiles were great this year, the habaneros less so. They made some kick-ass, strip-the-copper-off-the-pan chili. Chorizo is a must, but lately Andouille has been a big hit in the chili. I'm thinking of switching over entirely, especially as the chorizo around here is pretty hit or miss.

Oh yeah, blood of my enemies, lamentations of their women -- indespensible, if a little hard to incorporate.

Chad

[Carolyn Tillie]

My immediate gratification chili is ground venison, diced onion, garlic, red beans, can of tomatoes, can of tomato paste, diced yellow and red bell peppers, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili pepper, and a huge splash of red wine. Takes about twenty minutes to get it going and a half-hour later, I top it with goat cheese.

More complex chili is beanless with diced veal, skirt steak, and pork...

[mighty quinn]

bacon-rendered to fry up red onion, red and green bell peppers. cumin, thyme, black pepper, chili powder to the veggies. half ground venison/half ground pork. black beans, kidney beans, black-eye peas and chick peas.san marzarno tomatoes. simmer with lager beer. add chipotles for heat. gets better with age. sometimes add a little cinnamon and some mexican chocolate if i can get it.

[rgruby]

You folks is hardcore!

Ground VENISON!! Whoa!

Anybody add thickeners - masa harina for example?

Cheers from a chili newbie (preparing, not eating),

Geoff Ruby

[beachcove]

Mine is mundane, compared to these, but I use ground beef, pinto beans, the usual seasonings, and a can of Green Giant Mexicorn, well drained and rinsed. (You have to trust me on this!)

Also, masa harina to thicken.

[Chad]

You folks is hardcore!

Ground VENISON!! Whoa!

Yup, venison makes great chili. It adds a slight sweetness to the dish. Venison has an earthier taste than ground beef. It's a little too lean to use on its own, I find, but mixed with some ground beef or pork it's hard to beat. If you don't have a friend who hunts, you can sometimes find venison at farmers markets.

Take care,

Chad

edit: spellig

[Huevos del Toro]

My chili is fairly standard. No Armadillo or other "funny" stuff. I've tweaked this for the past 30 years until it pretty much fits my personal taste. I invariably tweak it more, each time I make it. It seems I change the recipe to meet my current mood.

I've tried dozens of "Championship" chili recipes but they are all pretty bland. Maybe bland isn't the right description. One dimensional seems to describe them more accurately, at least to me. For the life of me I don't know what the judges are looking for but it doesn't seem to be "eating" chili.

I AM going to try Kit Anderson's Bad Attitude Chili. It seems in line with my own preferences.

Chuck in fairly large pieces (they will break down over time and I like some “chew” in my chili)

“Pure” (unadulterated) hot chili powder (from New Mexico)

Hot Hungarian paprika

Toasted Cumin seeds

Ground Cumin

Ground Mexican Oregano

Salt

Sugar (balances the tomatoes acidity)

Black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Garlic

Onion

Stock (& sometimes a little Dos Equis, Bohemia or, especially, Negra Modelo)

Tomato Sauce or Green Chili Tomatoes

Cilantro

Balsamic Vinegar

Mexican Bitter Chocolate

NO beans (but I’ve been known to serve them on the side for those that insist).

Sometimes I'll also serve freshly diced onion, cilantro, and grated cheese on the side. I happen to be one of those that really likes the bright flavor of cilantro.

Masa Harina isn’t needed (although I DO like the corn taste). This chili sits in the refrigerator overnight and tightens up on its own.

I'll post the recipe is anyone really wants it.

[alacarte]

My favorite chili to make is vegetarian, and very colorful:

Red kidney beans

black beans

Chopped red pepper

Chopped green pepper

Onion

Frozen Corn

Box of Pomi Tomatoes

Cumin, Garlic, Chili

Tobasco to taste

Optional -- 1/2 cup of bulgur for a "meaty" texture. I usually omit this though.

Serve over white rice tossed with frozen peas and carrots for confetti effect.

Excellent with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and/or cilantro on top.

[Suzanne F]

Chili is one of those never-to-be-repeated recipes, different every time I make it. This is not to say the chili does not repeat; oh, that it does!

No beans

Usually beef: ground-at-home, store-bought-ground, or diced

Some kind of oil

Onions

Garlic

A mix of whatever chilies I happen to have: fresh serranos, jalapenos, or habanero (more than one and I have to make a whole new batch of chili to mix together, the way you have to when you oversalt); the same chilies pickled, plus banana chilies; chipotle paste; canned chopped green chilies.

Canned chopped tomatoes, sometimes with peppers.

Sometimes, chopped red and/or green bell peppers.

Chili powder (a cuvée of various kinds)

Cumin

Mexican or Dominican oregano

Beef stock and/or beer

Maybe a shot of red wine vinegar

A few glubs of Tabasco: regular, green, or chipotle

Unsweetened cocoa or bitter chocolate.

And probably a few other things I've forgotten, although masa harina is not one of them.

I used to make it with ground turkey, but it was too bland no matter how

much other stuff I put in it. Ditto using crumbled, thawed tofu, although I still sometimes add a bit to stretch it.

[sherribabee]

How timely..l.I just got home and was about to whip up a batch of chili to have for tomorrow. Here's what tonight's version will be:

ground beef

cubed sirloin

chorizo

crushed tomatoes

diced tomatoes

jalapenos

onion

garlic

chili powder

cumin

oregano

cayenne

cocoa powder

[Al_Dente]

Must. Make. Chili. This. Weekend.

Chorizo is catching my eye in the above threads. This will be part of the equation.

I'll be making plenty-- drop on by!

[fresco]

I'm planning to make some with caribou and pork. What other stuff do you serve with your chili?

[GG Mora]

Did anyone else hear about the guy who won the chili contest in...I think it was Texas? He had to forfeit his win on account of his secret ingredient, which was...other entrant's chili. He brought no chili of his own, just went around with sample cups and collected small portions of everyone else's, then mixed them all together in a pot. Delicious!

Heard about this on NPR's "Wait, Wait..Don't Tell Me".

[Cusina]

GG Mora, Very devilishly creative.

Al, thanks for the invite. I'd love to accept, but it would be kind of a long commute. Not that your chili wouldn't be worth it of course.

I just realized that I started this post and didn't post my OWN chili makings. Duh, sorry.

Ours is usually goes something like this:

Ground Beef

Chopped tomatoes

Tomato paste (we like a thicker consistency)

Red and white, sometimes black, beans (whatever is around)

Onion and garlic

BBQ sauce (either a simple homemade or sweet baby rays)

Chipotles in adobo sauce

S & P

Cilantro

Next time I'm going to add chunks of beef and some chorzio to the mix. The more meat the merrier. Also want to try dark chocolate and venison sometime. They sound interesting.

[Cusina]

And the only side with chili, in my world at least, is cornbread. Ours is a sweetish version with honey and whole corn kernels in the mix. Not traditional but tasty.

[sherribabee]

I'm not sure I've ever actually eaten a side with chili. Is cheese considered a side? Sour cream? Fritos?

Sometimes, if I don't have enough left to make a decent meal, I'll dump it over pasta.