Author Topic: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe  (Read 6349 times)

NextTime

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Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« on: December 16, 2015, 11:58:35 AM »
I love strong and bold flavors. Spicy but not unbearably spicy.

What you guys got?

wvgirl

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2015, 05:40:32 PM »
My embarrassingly easy chili:  1lb ground beef, one can kidney beans, one 16oz jar of salsa (we like Newman's own medium, but store brand is good as well). I get lots of compliments and it's so quick and easy.

Edited to add:  made a double batch tonight with 1# beef, 2 cans kidney beans, 1 can black beans, and a 32 oz jar of Kirkland brand medium salsa from Costco... Lots of kick in that salsa, but very delicious!
« Last Edit: December 16, 2015, 05:43:45 PM by wvgirl »

Jschange

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2015, 09:13:04 PM »
I don't have a recipe, but I've started adding a tablespoon of cocoa powder, which I find gives a rich taste.

RecoveringCarClown

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2015, 09:50:30 PM »
Similar to "regular" chili except:
use 1lb of Italian sausage instead of hamburger, I prefer the hot kind. (if you can only get big links, remove the casing using kitchen scissors )
1 can black beans (instead of kidney beans)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (<-must have)
chili powder <-add to taste, for a big batch I add probably 4 or more tablespoons
1 can of diced tomatoes
add spaghetti sauce to consistency desired (~half a jar)
2 tsp minced garlic or garlic powder
tiny bit of powdered cloves..stuff is pretty strong so perhaps 1/4 tsp or less, you can always add more.
1 large onion chopped and fried up in butter

^ small batch scale up as needed.
 
Fry up the sausage (chopped like hamburger) in a tall skillet, use lots of water and sort of boil it so that there is no chance that it will burn. Make sure you kind of stir/chop it a bit while cooking so that is stays "ground up" instead of becoming one big fat patty. Add sausage and the tomatoes and beans into the crock pot or stew pot.  Go back and fry up the onion and add it into the crock as well.  Stir in the cilantro, chili powder, garlic, cloves and add spaghetti sauce.  It can be eaten pretty much right away but better if it slow cooks a 2-4 hours.

The stuff freezes really, really well so I suggest making a monster batch anyway.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2015, 10:53:02 AM by RecoveringCarClown »

Hadilly

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2015, 10:15:27 PM »
Melissa Joulwan has an excellent chocolate chili recipe. Very well spiced. I usually make mine in the slow cooker, often use fresh instead of canned tomatoes, up the cocoa powder a bit, and add butternut squash when I have it. Delicious and full flavored. Plus, Whole 30 compliant!

http://meljoulwan.com/2009/02/22/my-favorite-chili-recipe/

Edited to add: I don't love the taste of coconut oil in savory food, so I use avocado oil to sauté the onions and garlic. You can also add red/orange/yellow bell peppers to the recipe.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2015, 10:17:25 PM by Hadilly »

TJ79

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2015, 12:31:10 AM »
http://sharedappetite.com/recipes/fire-roasted-chili-with-beer-braised-short-ribs-2/

I usually just use a pre-mixed chili powder rather than the specific ones in the recipe, and I add a couple chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. But, using short rib meat in chili is just f'ing awesome.

dantownehall

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2015, 07:20:35 AM »
I had some chili recently that had a bunch of cinnamon in it and it was incredible!  Different from classic chili but tastes awesome.

Apocalyptica602

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2015, 07:23:44 AM »
My embarrassingly easy chili:  1lb ground beef, one can kidney beans, one 16oz jar of salsa (we like Newman's own medium, but store brand is good as well). I get lots of compliments and it's so quick and easy.

Edited to add:  made a double batch tonight with 1# beef, 2 cans kidney beans, 1 can black beans, and a 32 oz jar of Kirkland brand medium salsa from Costco... Lots of kick in that salsa, but very delicious!

Ha! Sounds similar to mine, I love using salsa as a lazy chili base.

NextTime

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2015, 07:33:58 AM »
Thanks all.

@RecoveringClownCar - sounds great. Any way you could give exact measurements? I'm a strict recipe follower and it makes me anxious when I have to guess.


shotgunwilly

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2015, 07:37:19 AM »
Find a Good chili recipe.
Replace the meat with Venison.
Boom, Awesome chili.

NextTime

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2015, 07:43:25 AM »
You read my mind @shotgunwilly.

RecoveringCarClown

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2015, 10:50:53 AM »
Thanks all.

@RecoveringClownCar - sounds great. Any way you could give exact measurements? I'm a strict recipe follower and it makes me anxious when I have to guess.

I edited my post for more exact amounts.  Give it a try and then make changes as you like.  I did win a local contest once, so it must be decent.  I like to experiment though so I am constantly making variations on that base theme. :)

geekette

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #12 on: December 17, 2015, 11:32:26 AM »
I cook a chicken chili that we enjoy.  It's much like your basic beef based chili, but a good change of pace.

Dice and salute 1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a little oil in a sauce pan.  When they're cooked, add a diced onion, a diced green pepper, and some minced garlic.  When soft, add a can of diced tomatoes (I'll use Mexican style, if I have them on hand), a can of chili beans (basically seasoned, well cooked pintos), a 1/4-1/2 cup of salsa of your choice, a tablespoon of chili powder, and a teaspoon of cumin.  Simmer until you're ready to eat.  Top with sour cream, shredded cheddar, green onions, avocado - whatever you like.




jacksonvasey

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2015, 12:38:30 PM »
If you want to get really into it, search for and read Kenji Lopez-Alt's posts on SeriousEats.com for messing with chili.  Great stuff.

That said, the best chili I ever made was a vegan chili that I made and then added some browned ground beef to.  As far as I can recall, that recipe was:
    diced onion and garlic cooked down,
    cooked brown lentils that were blended up (to thicken it),
    a can each of black, light-red kidney, regular kidney, and cannelini (white kidney) beans.
    canned diced peppers (anaheims, cubanelles, whatever),
    a diced jalapeno,
    a chipotle pepper with adobo sauce,
    your usual spices (cumin especially),
    a can of beer (cheap beer's fine, IMO, though it kinda smells like cheap beer when you're done, even though it doesn't necessarily taste that way). 
    a can of hominy, which is nixtamalized corn and is delicious - think marbles of corn tortilla and that's close enough. 
    some diced tomatoes, but not tons. 
    some marmite, which gives it a bit of umami since there's no meat (yet).  You can use fish sauce or sardines or any other umami-heavy addition you want (I've used straight-up MSG 'flavor enhancer/salt replacement' before).

So yeah, you basically mix that all together after you cook the onions and garlic, and you get a very nice vegetarian chili (could be vegan depending on if you use fish sauce or not, etc...).  And like I said, adding some shreddar cheese and/or beef to it really brought it over the top to be the best chili I've had.  It's not necessarily a simple/quick one, but it is damn good, and scales/freezes well.

That said, I don't always want that kind of chili.  Sometimes I want something that's just meat, peppers, and spices.  Sometimes it's for green or white chicken chili, which is delicious too.  Back in college I would cut up a steak (housemate's dad worked in a slaughter house and sent these terrible frozen sirloins) and brown it up, then deglaze the pan with a shot of jack daniels, and then lay in cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder and mix in a bit of water to make it a sauce.  I'd put that on top of spaghetti, with some shreddar cheese, and that was delicious too, if not technically chili.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2015, 12:46:26 PM »
Lots of good advice so far.  Only thing I do different is add some vinegar for tang, probably 3-4 tablespoons to a 3-4 quart batch.  Used to add about that much Texas Pete, but the young'uns couldn't handle it, so I switched.

Fishindude

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #15 on: December 17, 2015, 01:45:31 PM »
Recipes are for cowards.
Wing it !

Roboturner

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #16 on: December 17, 2015, 01:49:12 PM »
Green Chili is master race chili

4 stalks of celery chopped
1 onion chopped
1 large jalapeno chopped
2 cans black beans
2 cans corn
4 cans green chilies
~40 oz of green enchilada sauce
black pepper
cilantro
pork/chicken if you want

crock pot on low all day

ooeei

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #17 on: December 18, 2015, 08:20:09 AM »
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/01/how-to-make-the-best-chili-ever-recipe-super-bowl.html

The Food Lab hasn't let me down yet.  I haven't made this chili, but I've made his ramen broth, pizza, gyro, and a few soups that are all great.  It uses whole dried chilis ground into a paste rather than chili powder.  The above link is the article explaining how/why it is made the way it is.  The recipe is linked in the article.  It's definitely not a quick weeknight meal to make, but if you've got some time and want to go all in, it's worth a shot.

NextTime

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Re: Searching For an Awesome Chili Recipe
« Reply #18 on: December 18, 2015, 09:32:43 AM »
Recipes are for cowards.
Wing it !


I am a coward!

I don't enjoy cooking so I want to make sure it tastes good.