Chili – Cook-Off 15

[Katie Meadow]

This is one of those times I wish I had never opened my mouth. As I said above, I have nothing against using fresh tomatoes and roasted green chiles to make a salsa. I simply meant that I tend not to mix green chiles into a sauce that is made with dried red chiles or red chile powder. And if I am having a "verde" dish, be it enchiladas or posole or whatever, if I wanted more heat I would chose to add roasted green chiles over any type of hot red salsa, bottled or otherwise.

 

Thanks @Lisa Shock for clarifying the "Christmas" concept. Now I sort of remember those combo plates: basically if you can't decide if you want red enchiladas or green enchiladas you can get both kinds next to each other on the same plate.

 

And of course the truth is that you use what you have to make something you like to eat. That's the nature or regional cooking.

 

As for Hatch Chiles, the story is long and twisty, and anyone confused about the type of chile pepper that is grown in the Hatch NM area can join the crowd. There is something called the New Mexico Chile pepper, and it is grown widely. And, as you would expect, it's all about terroir. The area around Hatch just seems to produce a heat and flavor that's very appealing. In the sixties and seventies when I lived there, the heat (Scoville type) was reliably consistent: Everyone seemed to be in agreement that Hatch chiles were very hot. Obviously they were using seeds that produced a distinctive chile.

 

Now I think Hatch growers are producing milder chiles called "Big Jim" and others, and the last time I tasted so called Hatch chiles they were not as hot as I remember, and individuals varied within batches. I believe most of the crop is picked green for the markets and for roasting, but I'm sure some make it to a ripe red color if they get picked later and could be dried if so desired. Again, I don't pretend to be an expert; a NM botanist or Ag Sci from UNM might be a good source. Or some very dutiful research on the net, being careful to sift for misinformation. Mine included.   

[suzilightning]

all-righty then....

testing out a recipe for a new book that includes beef cut into cubes, ground bison and ground pork.  

The instructions said it feeds eight.....eight linebackers, maybe.

I have the first go round in my Dutch oven but will have to split up this in order to add the next set of herbs and the beans.

Smelling pretty good so far.......

[lindag]

6 hours ago, suzilightning said:

all-righty then....

testing out a recipe for a new book that includes beef cut into cubes, ground bison and ground pork.  

The instructions said it feeds eight.....eight linebackers, maybe.

I have the first go round in my Dutch oven but will have to split up this in order to add the next set of herbs and the beans.

Smelling pretty good so far.......

 

I'd love to see the recipe although I'd understand if you aren't allowed to  share it.

[suzilightning]

Just now, lindag said:

 

I'd love to see the recipe although I'd understand if you aren't allowed to  share it.

not yet but probably within 3-4 months....

[lochaven]

Goodness, haven't been in here in awhile and first thing I see is chili.  Here's my recipe.

 

 

This recipe is easy to multiply where I’ve made it for 50 servings.  First time I followed the recipe exactly and it was a winner.  You may want to do the same.

Serves 6-8
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. chili meat
4 cloves fresh garlic (peeled and chopped finely) 
1 medium onion (chopped, medium) 
1-15 oz. can Tomato Sauce
1 quart chicken broth
½ tsp. Salt
5 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. chili powder
½ tsp. Ground cumin
½ tsp black pepper

Slowly brown the meat, garlic and onions in 1 tbsp. vegetable oil.  Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, monosodium glutamate and salt.  

Simmer one hour.  Heat the 5 tbsp. vegetable oil in a sauce pan over medium low heat.  Fry the flour, pepper, cumin, and chili powder for 5 minutes, then add this roux to the meat.  Be careful not to burn the flour. Simmer over low heat for ½ hour.  Serve in bowls with hot corn tortillas or saltines.

I like it with Saltines.

[Dejah]

Haven't made chili for a while. Found this recipe called "Our Favorite Texas Beef Chili" by Rhoda Boone Epicurious September 2014

No beans, no tomato. Called for the following chilis: dried ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, pasilla chiles,  chipotle chiles, and chiles de árbol. These were roasted then soaked in hot water before being pureed. I skipped the cayenne pepper.

The recipe said cooking time of 3 hours. I used my Instant Pot on the chili setting - 30 minutes, but the cubes of beef were not quite "tender". Put it on for another 15 minutes along with a can of black beans. Beans ended up mushy enough to "thicken" the chili.

Nice bit of heat (not overpowering. Good enough to warm me up on our first real snowfall.

Eaten with shredded Tex-Mex cheese and pita bread.

                                        

 

[Jaymes]

My New Mexico roots go pretty deep. I often reply "Christmas" to that most New Mexican of questions: "Red or green?"

 

But I've never seen them mixed together in one bowl. It's not like that. Perhaps it's easier to understand if you think of it as: "Red sauce or green sauce on your enchiladas, huevos rancheros, chile relleno, mojarra...?"

 

Or if you were asked whether you prefer the chocolate or the raspberry sauce on your dessert crepes.

 

And you replied that you'd like a little of each. 

 

In the case of the chile sauces, that would be, "Christmas."

Edited November 5, 2017 by Jaymes (log)

[chappie]

I recently found this article on seriouseats.com titled "The Best Chili Ever Recipe."

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/01/the-best-chili-recipe.html

 

It's one of those pieces that troubleshoots and discusses every aspect of chili, from which kind of meat to use, dried chiles vs. chili powder, etc. I adopted several of the themes in a batch for Halloween and everyone raved about it. Short ribs made for amazing chili (even though my wife prefers ground beef, which I find rather boring). I think reading this through several times has given me some new ideas about chili, which I used to always just wing without any recipe or guidance (and still had some great results).

 

One thing I never understood is why so many people outside of Texas fret about whether or not to add beans, in terms of "authenticity." No offense to Texans, but I live in Maryland. Why on earth should I care what Texas thinks belongs in my chili?! I've done it both ways. But I vastly prefer chili with beans. And if you're feeding a crowd -- and started with pricey short rib, e.g. -- it certainly helps flesh out the pot.