Its chilly, so let's talk chili

[spinbaby]

Chili is, in my opinion, the perfect food for getting through a cold snap. It’s cheap, it’s tasty, it’s warming, and you can make a huge batch and eat it all week.

My chili varies depending on mood, but here’s what I have in the InstantPot this morning:

Three pounds of ground beef browned in batches along with two chopped onions and two chopped jalapeños. I added a good bit of chili powder and cumin (didn’t measure) to the last batch of beef as it was browning.

This all then went into the cooker with a large can of crushed tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, a can of Bush’s chili beans, a can of black beans, about a cup of water, and a few good squirts of liquid aminos.

I’ll have chili for lunch later with a nice topping of grated cheese.

[Ohiogal]

1. Sounds exactly like the ingredients I use!

What a great cold-weather dish! Now you're making me hungry....

I have found that I can stretch it when I don't have enough for my guys by serving it over top of baked potatoes.

[spinbaby]

4. Chili goes well over any starch

Potatoes, rice, tortillas, polenta, spaghetti noodles, you name it.

[woodsprite]

2. I *LOVE* chili!

And have been trying to talk my work into having a chili cookoff for the Super Bowl. So far, no takers.

I do mine very similar to yours,

3 lbs beef (or ground turkey), browned
2 large onions, chopped
1 large can kidney beans, washed and drained
1 large can black beans, washed and drained
1 large can navy or cannelini beans, washed and drained
1 large can petite diced plum tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 bottle of beer (I use Killian's Red - didn't care for the dark bitter beers)
Chili powder (to taste, but I start with 3 tblsp)
Cumin (to taste, but I start with 1 tblsp)
Cinnamon (approx 1 tsp - or just enough to taste it)
Brown Sugar (2 tsp)
Dark Chocolate (2 tsp)

Once it's boiling, I simmer it down for 45 min to 1 hr. Let it sit for 30 min. before serving with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar, a swirl of sour cream, and a sprinkle of minced raw onion and parsley. I usually serve this with corn bread. If I go boxed cornbread, I use Krustaez brand.

Chili is so awesome as a salad topper as well. Lay down some greens, dump 3/4 c. warm chili on top, and top with some crumbled tortilla chips or Fritos. That's one of my favorite lunch dishes.

[spinbaby]

5. I've seen the chocolate done

Chocolate is classic in Cincinnati chili. I’ve added it and not added it and have not been impressed either way.

I add beer sometimes, but tend not to have beer in the house in the colder months when I make chili.

I really like Bragg liquid aminos for salt and umami without adding an Asian flavor like you would with soy or fish sauce.

[Major Nikon]

3. I make chili a little differently each time I make it

I do almost all of the prep in the food processor.

I like making my own chili powder. I'll use a mixture of two or three types of dried peppers and process them into a powder along with some cumin seed. With this I'll combine some garlic and onion powder and paprika.

After this I'll process some fresh chilies, usually jalapeno and/or serrano peppers along with some onion.

I like grinding the meat myself and I also do this in the food processor. I'll use some sort of beef that tends to have a lot of connective tissue and a decent amount of fat, like chuck. I'll cut it up into about 1/2" by 2" strips and process a few at a time. This gives me a good bit of mix between well ground and chunks of meat and I can control that texture by how long I process.

I mix everything together and let it get all happy in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Then I'll brown the meat in a hot pot with some oil, salt, and add some processed can tomatoes. After about 30-45 minutes of stewing I'll give it a final salt to taste and add crushed corn chips to thicken as much as I want before serving.

[spinbaby]

6. Fatty meat is better

I go for ground beef that’s at least 85/15.

[Major Nikon]

7. I agree. That's why I like using chuck which is about 80/20

Traditionally chili was made with grass fed suet which is nearly all fat. The reason is because it was usually packed into bricks for reconstituting later. Although certainly authentic, most people aren't going to want to make it that way unless you are looking for trail food. Masa is the traditional thickening method and I do use that (in the form of corn chips), and a bit of fat helps to make the masa work better as a thickening agent.

[Auggie]

8. With smoked paprika and sweet potatoes ...

Seriously:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground beef, turkey, chicken, or pork
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided, or more to taste
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Two 14.5-ounce cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, water, or a combination
One 15-ounce can dark (red) kidney beans
One 15-ounce can light (pink) kidney or pinto beans
1 1/2 pounds orange- or yellow-fleshed sweetpotatoes, or a combination, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 5 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Shredded cheese, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, diced avocado, sliced jalapeno, chopped onion, shredded cabbage, and/or sour cream, for garnish

Instructions:

In a large saucepan or small stockpot over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, until brown, about 5 minutes. Add the black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, or more to taste. Transfer the meat and any juices to a bowl and set aside.

Return the saucepan or stockpot to medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, coriander, cumin, oregano, cayenne, cinnamon, and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cooked meat, tomatoes, broth or water, beans (with their juices), and sweetpotatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the sweetpotatoes are very tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Add lime juice and more salt to taste.

Serve the chili garnished with shredded cheese, diced avocado, sliced jalapeno, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, shredded cabbage, and/or sour cream.

[irisblue]

15. I'll make this again. The spice combo was really enough heat for me.

I did switch up a few things, I used what I had on hand. Too cold to do a grocery trip today.

[Auggie]

16. Wow -- glad you liked it!

Did you use a sweet potato? I thought that was a great idea.

[irisblue]

17. Yeah, but it was a white fleshed one, kinda dissolved away.

A garnet or red/orange would be sturdier in the cooking process I think.

The hurricane in the Carolinas affected the sweet potato fields& the store had the pale sweets last week.

[Auggie]

18. Too bad for those farmers ...

IMO the orange-flesh sweet potato goes better with this recipe. Those are the red and orange skin ones you mentioned.

Now I'm hungry for a batch!

[Freddie]

9. That sounds great!

Never heard of liquid animos. Would it be in the spice section, condiments or “international” foods?
Was looking for something in the pantry today and found about 6 cans of kidney beans, I’ll buy this whenever the local Giant has a special on canned veggies. Have to try using crushed corn chips as a thickener, sounds great.

[irisblue]

14. I found my bottle in the 'healthy foods' section. I use it instead of soy sauce

My mom has a thyroid problem & for years gets over excited if we use soy sauce. Someone some distant past told her that soy is bad for you.

[The Polack MSgt]

10. I hope it's ok to repost a thread when the subject coes up again

https://www.democraticunderground.com/115774735

[dem in texas]

11. Made Chili today

I used ground sirloin because that is what I had on hand, but I like ground chuck best for chili.
Had to do a pantry hunt, found a big can of tomato sauce and a can of Ranch Style beans

Here is how I made it
1 1/2 Pounds ground sirloin
1 onion chopped,
3 large cloves garlic finely chopped,
4 tablespoons Gebhardt's Chili Powder
Large Can Tomato Sauce
Can Ranch style Beans
3 shakes tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 Knorr's tomato bouillon cube.

Brown meat with onion, at the last minute add the minced garlic and cook a minute more, stirred in the chili powder so it mixed with browning meat, let it cook a minutes or so , then added all other ingredients. add some water and let it cook for about 45 minutes, add a little water to it from time to time. turned out to be pretty tasty.

here is what I made to go with

Chili Cheese log
8 oz cream Cheese, at room temp
8 oz - sharp cheddar, grated
1/4 cup milk, pepper,
shake Louisiana s hot sauce
A Shake of Worstershire Sauce.

I put all this in the food processor and processed it until was a nice creamy mixture. Put the cheese still in the bowl in the ridge for 20 minutes to firm up the mixture.

Spread out some waxed paper, sprinkled about 3 tablespoons chili powder on waxed paper
took half the cheese mixture and formed a log which I rolled in the chili power until the outside was coated. Wrapped the cheese log in fresh waxed paper, then wrapped in foil and twisted ends to seal and in put the fridge to chill and age. I made another roll from the remaining cheese mixture. This I put on a plate with crackers so we could eat it with our chili. Yum, Yum, it was so good.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. My team's chili actually won a chilifest fan favorite

a couple years ago. (Although it may have been because we were nice lol). Your recipe is very similar except for a couple things:

1. Depending on the amount you're making add a can or two of beer. It adds a nice, earthy background flavor. We used Abita since our booth had a New Orleans theme.

2. We tested a number of spice combinations. I don't know why, but a combination of individual spices never tasted the best. I am usually 100% against anything packaged but the envelopes of chili spicing always won out in out blind taste tests. I don't know if they're bloomed or not but they tasted less harsh and way more cohesive. Try French's or McCormick's can't recall which one but it's just a simple powdered chili spicing. And "melt" it. This is a Paul Prudonne word which is just letting the spices bloom or melt on low into oil first.

3. Use high quality tomatoes. San Marzianio's and the good paste in the tube. Save some to add toward the end because the fresh tomato taste needs to shine through.

4. Other good toppings ...sour cream and chopped raw sweet onions

[Laura PourMeADrink]

13. Oh, and forgot. Use prime chuck - nothing super lean. nt