Anyone got a good chili receipe?

[PeacefulHugger]

Or bean stew? What's your favorite food!


Remember - - Worrying is a lot like banging your head against the wall, it only feels good when you stop.  John Powers, author

 

[Dingfelder]

Epicurious has some good ones. I'll pick one or the other at random, but mostly stick to some simple guidelines for either beef or chicken chili:

1. Put a bottle of dark beer in it.
2. Find something to do with the other five bottles. You'll think of something.
3. Cook low and slow. A slow-cooker is ideal but not necessary.
4. Get most of your liquid from onions. Cooked long and slow, they pretty much disappear as something you'll see or have to chew through, but their liquid will lend a ton of flavor.
5. If you have the patience, cook one of the onions first to a deep brown. Add some salt; it helps the process.
6. Include a small can of tomato paste. If you can, sautee the tomato paste until it start to caramelize, being sure to scrape up any of the browning bits (the "fond"). Stir so it doesn't burn, but not so much that it doesn't caramelize. A good progression is to caramelize a whole onion first, then add the paste right on top and start to caramelize that. By the time you get through caramelizing both, you'll already have built up an immense amount of flavor. At that point, add some liquid to help loosen up the brown bits, and stir the onion/tomato paste/liquid together. Then start adding everything else.
7. If using beef or beans, consider going for more than one texture. I find well-drained ground beef plus a hunk of cheap seared stew meat makes for a really fun bowl. If you cook long and slow enough, you don't even have to cut the meat before adding to the pot; it will be fall-apart tender by the time you're done, and you can just tear it up right in the pot with a couple of forks and give everything a good stir. For beans, many different types and combos will do, but I like one of them to be black beans. They hold together better than most beans, so you'll still get a decent texture out of them, and they look good in the bowl.
8. The amount of chili powder doesn't have to be precise, and different powders taste different anyway. For me, a big slow cooker or big dutch oven takes four tablespoons, more or less.
9. Don't forget the cumin. One or two tablespoons in a really big pot is fine.
10. Pepper colors and textures fade out in long-cooked dishes. So if adding chopped peppers, save some for the last hour of cooking.
11. Make a lot if you can, because it always tastes better the next day. I'd go so far as to say ... consider not eating it the first day. The flavors really come together overnight in the fridge.
12. Get yourself some condiments. Chili doesn't need it, but it is still more fun when you add stuff on top of the bowl and stir it in. Typical favorites are diced raw onions, shredded cheese, chopped up green onions, some "hotter" sauce, or some added sour cream. Note: sour cream is nice and luxurious, but seriously dilutes the flavor of the chili. And a good-flavored chili is actually a more luxurious thing than sour cream in the first place!
13. Share it if you don't mind people feeling wonderful, because they will.

 

[John61CT]

I like putting in some nice cubed meat as well as ground for a mix of textures.

Nothing wrong with pork, loin is my choice, beef can get too chewy.

Adding a few spoons of Sambal or other straight-hot "fresh" chili pepper along with the Cayenne/black pepper with the initial meat fry-up gives more robust spice heat, add the onions/garlic after clearing out your sinuses.

Cumin whole seeds, fresh ground in a peppermill's fine or coarse is OK, about midway. But go easy, powerful stuff don't overwhelm.

Add a **little** cocoa powder midway. Or dark bitter cooking chocolate, but not sweet.

Try Worcestershire or other source of tamarind, for a little tang.

Chopped green scallions to garnish is better than raw onion for a garnish.

Extra Sambal **on the side** for those who like their chilli with plenty of chili. SriRacha in a pinch, but not a vinegary chili sauce.

And IMO good fresh chewy wheat-based bread's a must, more so than corn tortilla, but then I am Anglo.

I don't do tomato nor beans, but that's a religiius issue, do as you like of course.

The real key is minimum 3 gallons at a time, and it's not really done until cooked on low for 5+ hours. Ideally in cast iron but. . .

 

[John61CT]

Oh and leave the fat in, unless it really is a life & death issue.

Chicken chili? Heresy

 

[Moxadox]

New Mexico Bison Green Chili

Proportions are approximate, as I never measure anything. Make more or less, according to the occasion!

2 lb bison, ground or cubed
One large yellow onion, chopped small
One head of fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
4 oz Hatch green comes chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
Ground cumin
Garlic salt
Olive oil

In a Dutch oven, brown the onions in sufficient olive oil to completely cover the bottom. When the onions are limp, add the cumin and the fresh garlic. Add the garlic salt. Move these ingredients to the sides of the Dutch oven while you brown the bison meat, adding more olive oil as needed. Add the chiles and stir well. When the meat is thoroughly cooked, taste it and add more cumin and salt to taste. Add water to cover the meat, put a lid on and adjust the fire so that the pot bubbles gently. Stir it frequently, adding water so it doesn't scorch. In an hour you should have sumpin good to eat!

The Dire Wolfess

 

[max+sophia]

A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadery"><b>meadery</b></a> nearby has a chili event every year, and they put honey in theirs.  Best I ever tasted. Nice and "HOT" and thick.

 

[Dingfelder]

Oh and leave the fat in, unless it really is a life & death issue.

Chicken chili? Heresy

White bean chili can be really good!  And you'll really surprise people with it too.

Re chocolate, I've added it before, as raw, unsugared cocoa powder, which I also put in my coffee.  It seems to tame the chili a bit, make it a bit smoother perhaps?   In the end I found myself neither for nor against, though many people swear by it ...

Definitely worth a try so people can see if it works for them.

 

[mrsNomadicHacker]

Okay so I just cooked a huge pot of chili last night, was craving *the* chili from a certain restaurant and had to try my hand at recreating!

(Meat can be purchased in any size, buy less if you have less space to store)

-Beef stew tips (omit if low on fridge space)
-Pork tenderloin
-A few slices bacon (I unfortunately can't eat wheat, beer instead of bacon is also A+, or, BOTH!)
-Butter or any cooking oil, if necessary
-Kidney beans (1 or 2 cans precooked depending on how much you like beans, really ANY beans will be tasty, pick your favorite)
-Onions (1 or 2 depending on how much you like)
-Garlic (I used a whole head but we love garlic)
-Chili powder
-Cumin seed or powder
-Salt to taste
-Oregano (optional)
-Honey, maple syrup, agave, or any sweetener (teaspoon to tablespoon depending on acidity of tomatoes)
-2 jalapenos, or any hot pepper
-Several banana peppers (we also love these!)
-1 jar sport peppers
-1 (12 oz) can crushed tomatoes
-1 (12 oz) can diced diced tomatoes (omit if this is a ridiculous amount if chili for you)
-1 can tomato paste
-Water  (really don't know how much, but make sure you have some to thin the tomato paste, or use beer!)

@Dingfelder's first post is a great cooking guide regarding carmalization etc.

Read through instructions first, some steps must be done in a conjoined manner.


*Recipe takes 4-6 hours, mostly low heat, the longer it cooks the better it tastes...could be eaten sooner if you're hungry or conserving on cooking fuel

1. Cook bacon low and slow in the pot you will use for chili. When it's done to your liking, remove from pot and set aside. When cooled enough, chop into small pieces.
2. Use bacon grease in pot, (add more cooking oil or butter if necessary) turn to med/high heat, add whole tenderloin. Sear on both sides until it's nice and dark brown (leave it alone, if you keep touching, flipping, or moving it the Maillard reaction won't happen.)
3. Right after you flip the tenderloin to brown other side, add onions to begin caramelizing. If using beef stew tips, add those in prior to onions to brown those (the onions will release moisture which will inhibit the meat from getting that deep brown -read yummy- crust.)
4. Adjust heat as necessary (hot enough to hear a simmering sound, but not so hot oil and butter are spraying all over every where.)
5. Add garlic for a few minutes, it browns quickly, so if it cooks too fast have the jalapenos, banana peppers, and sport peppers already chopped up, add to pot to stop the garlic from burning.
6. Salt everything (liberally, but don't go crazy, you can always add more later but can't easily take it out!)
7. When everything in the pot has a nice yellow/brown coating, add in tomato paste and chopped bacon for a few minutes.
8. If the pan is really hot, don't wait and just add in crushed and diced tomatoes.
9. Add water/beer until liquid is thin enough that when it simmers it's not spitting tomato sauce everywhere, also so the bottom doesn't burn.
10. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and teaspoon of sweetener (taste after an hour or two and add more of all if needed), cover pot.
11. An hour or so before you plan to eat, add beans (adding too early they will fall apart, add them with water if you like that, personally I like them to still have a bit of texture.)
12. It's done when tenderloin pulls apart easily with two forks! If it's too liquidy for you, take cover off and reduce until you reach desired thickness.

Top with sour cream and cheddar cheese, or just eat because you've been waiting long enough to bother with shredding any cheese xD.

 

[Weight]

Even vegetarian chili needs bacon.

 

[mrsNomadicHacker]

@Weight no truer words have been spoken xD


*Correction, I actually used 28oz cans of crushed and diced tomatoes, and also through in some left over spaghetti sauce, which yeilded about 2 gallons of chili! Happy eating

 

[AMGS3]

Or bean stew?

So here's the bean soup my family has eaten forever.

In a large pot (2gal at least) add the following -
2 large onions, chopped
2 or 3 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped (no need to peel)
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped (can be just quartered, no need to finely dice, they pretty much melt into the broth)
A meaty ham bone (1.5 lbs)
1Tbsp black pepper
Half tablespoon of salt (check it later, may need to add more)

Sort (no rocks!) and rinse (at least twice) 2 lb of beans. Use Navy beans for long simmering soup. Use baby limas for quicker, brothier soup. Or use a mix if you like half of the beans to be disintegrated into the broth [emoji3].

Add water to fill the pot. Put a lid on it and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn it down to low/simmer and keep the lid on. If it starts boiling over your heat may be too high - either turn it lower or set the lid slightly offset so the steam can be released. If you do crack the lid, check the liquid level frequently and add water if needed, because if you forget it may all boil away.

For Navy beans - simmer 6-8 hours. Start checking at 6 hours.
For baby limas - simmer for 3-4 hours. Check them at 3 hours.

When the beans are done sample the soup liquid and add the spices (s&p etc.) you like if it needs any.

I've made this on a barrel stove, over a camp fire in both a stockpot and directly touching the coals in a Dutch oven, in a crockpot, even in a covered roaster pan in the oven.

It goes well with homemade biscuits or bread. Some people like to top each bowl with a teaspoon or so of apple cider vinegar. I like it that way or with a half teaspoon of sambal oelek (Thai chili paste). I have a cousin who puts a spoon of sour cream in each bowl.

It is much better with a ham bone, but if you don't have it, don't worry about it too much. It's still good.

As with most soups/stews, it's even better the next day.

Stay warm my friends,
~angie

Oh, and recently I tried freezer meal prepping this and it turned out awesome. I bought a ham and had used most of it so I cut the leftovers in half (about two lbs each) and put them in a gallon freezer bag. I cut and chopped all the rest of the veggies and put them in each bag too. Added the S&P and a couple cups of water (thinking this would guard against freezer burn), squeezed the air out and froze the bags. The last time I made bean soup I sorted and rinsed the beans and added one bag of prepped meat and veggies and water to fill the pot. I think that if you had a freezer for it this could work well on a camping trip or road trip.

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[John61CT]

IMO chili spices, peppers etc really should go in during the fat - searing stage with the meat, well before the onions,

best done outside, or at least windows open.

ideally least water as possible, so if using canned / pickled versions drain & set aside any liquid. Really fresh ones are best, include the seeds for heat.

Sambal from a jar is pretty good if no fresh is available, but a mix of different kinds helps make the heat well-rounded.

and yes garlic last, turn it down first, and have the any watery bits ready for first sign of the garlic browning

 

[Dingfelder]

It goes well with homemade biscuits or bread. Some people like to top each bowl with a teaspoon or so of apple cider vinegar.

That's a hugely useful pro-tip on anything very heavy or fatty, or that tends to absorb all the flavors into a unified whole and kind of lose them in the process.  A little acid brightens up such foods immensely.  Really good with, say, lentil or other thick, fairly uniform soups or sauces.

Any acid will do -- any kind of vinegar or lemon juice, even orange juice, or the zest from an orange, lime, or lemon.  It's almost like a magic trick for cooks.  You don't need much.

 

[John61CT]

The leftover juice from the jar/can if pickled chilies used, leave some chopped up in there.

Any restaurant in Thailand gives that as one of the "four tastes" condiment.

also sugar, fish sauce (salty, like soy sauce), and crushed red peppers.

 

[rm.w/aview]

A meadery nearby has a chili event every year, and they put honey in theirs.  Best I ever tasted. Nice and "HOT" and thick.

So where shall I go for this?

 

[MrNoodly]

1. Combine whatever sounds like it would be good in chili
2. Season to taste
3. Cook until done
4. Eat with fresh cornbread and beer

 

[MrNoodly]

There's still time to get to the Terlingua International Championship Chili Cookoff.

https://www.abowlofred.com/

 

[AMGS3]

My favorite way to eat leftover chili is to have it with Sunnyside up eggs for breakfast the next day. I've even had it in an omelette, but it's better with runny egg yolks. Yum!


^^^^^Mr.Noodly

That sounds like how I usually cook. Use what I have that sounds like it'd taste good together.

~angie

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[John61CT]

I make mine too spicy for brekkie, but maybe rolled up in a crepe with melted cheese or sour cream

Lunch over some fresh rice, or scooped up with flatbread, rolled in a tortilla, dip for corn chips, in a nice toasted roll like a sloppy joe, yep omelette filling.

Hmm chilli pizza anyone?

 

[MrNoodly]

A little acid brightens up such foods immensely.

This is the concept behind much-maligned pineapple on pizza.