Let’s see your Chili recipe

C

CHNeal

Joined
Nov 24, 2019
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Hey all,
AntDog AntDog gave me an idea for a thread in shinyedges shinyedges A Game To Play thread. How about a place to see how the world actually likes their Chili!


Heres the deal. Post your favorite chili recipe with or without beans. This can be yours or your moms or your great uncle Earls….Let’s at least try to keep the name calling to a minimum as I know how decisive the beans / no beans lifestyle can be.

Nowhere in todays screwed up world is there a greater divide between people then this issue. Let’s try to learn to live together as one hearty, delicious, meaty, spicy, with or without beans, stew/soup meal eating community.

Ill start. This is mine personal recipe. Created years ago to use up leftover brisket from a rained out grad party I catered. I know it only cooks down for a couple of hours but it takes 16 hours to smoke the brisket and 5 hours to make the sauce so feel free to substitute your favorite store bought sauce and brisket from your favorite takeout place if you are not the the grill master you want to be.


Smoked Brisket Chili

2 pounds sauced, smoked brisket
2 cans stewed tomatoes-undrained
2 cans stewed tomatoes with jalapenos- undrained 2 small cans chopped green chilis-undrained
2 cans kidney beans (chili beans) with liquid
2 cans black beans
2 15 oz cans beef broth--low or no sodium
2 Cup's Jim Beam Bourbon
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tbsp Lawrey's seasoned salt 1 Tbsp black pepper
1⁄4 cup dark brown sugar
4tsp A1 sauce
1⁄4 Cup olive oil
1⁄4 Cup prepared mustard
3 Tbsp corn starch, diluted in cold water
2 Tbsp concentrated beef base (recommend Better than Bouillon)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (or 6 fresh cloves, minced) 1 large white onion, chopped
6 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped.
Saute garlic and onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until onion is translucent. Add celery, saute for 2-3 mins.
Turn stove up to high, add chili powder, cumin paprika, salt, black pepper, mustard, mixing well. Deglaze pan with Jim Beam.
Add all canned goods without draining. Stir well.
Add beef broth, and beef base, brown sugar, A1 bring to boil.
Add brisket.
Lower heat, simmer for 2 hours.
Adjust salt, other spices to personal taste.
Return to boil, slowly add cornstarch solution, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve and enjoy!
Serve with cornbread.
Feeds 12 hungry people, yielding approximately 2 Gallons of Chili
 
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i dont work from a recipe, but do have a base. I adjust ingredients based on what is in the pantry and how much I am making.
made some this weekend with the cold weather that went like this

2 lbs ground beef and 3/4 lb smoked chuck roast leftovers diced into 1/4" pieces
1bell pepper, 3 jalapeno peppers, 1 onion, garlic sauteed in beef grease
3 cans crushed and diced tomatoes
2 cans beans - i generally dont like kidney beans, but thats what we had on hand
chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper
splash of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses

we served some over macaroni, then some on nachos, and leftovers for lunch this week.

sometimes I"ll add ground pork or sausage, hot breakfast sausage or chorizo makes a good addition
I prefer black beans and bush's chili pinto beans usually. the skins on the kidney beans are too thick IMO
spices I'll mix up too, but that above is the base. I've used seasoned salts, bbq rubs, old bay and others.
I like a little sweetness to cut the tomato acid, but don't want a sweet chili - have used honey, agave, and chocolate rather than molasses in some batches
 
l1ranger said:
i dont work from a recipe, but do have a base. I adjust ingredients based on what is in the pantry and how much I am making.
made some this weekend with the cold weather that went like this

2 lbs ground beef and 3/4 lb smoked chuck roast leftovers diced into 1/4" pieces
1bell pepper, 3 jalapeno peppers, 1 onion, garlic sauteed in beef grease
3 cans crushed and diced tomatoes
2 cans beans - i generally dont like kidney beans, but thats what we had on hand
chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper
splash of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses

we served some over macaroni, then some on nachos, and leftovers for lunch this week.

sometimes I"ll add ground pork or sausage, hot breakfast sausage or chorizo makes a good addition
I prefer black beans and bush's chili pinto beans usually. the skins on the kidney beans are too thick IMO
spices I'll mix up too, but that above is the base. I've used seasoned salts, bbq rubs, old bay and others.
I like a little sweetness to cut the tomato acid, but don't want a sweet chili - have used honey, agave, and chocolate rather than molasses in some batches
Click to expand...
You have a similar method to how my wife makes it. It’s never the same 2 times in a row but always great! Thanks for sharing.
 
As a participant in the OG thread mentioned above, I will gladly play along. And yes, there are room for both us beans lovers and non-bean lovers in the big, chili bowl of life.

My *general* recipe.

1 lb of diced chuck or whatever you prefer (1/2 inch cube)
.5 lb each of ground beef and chorizo (I've been known to put ground turkey in too)
I've learned to love chunks of beef + ground meat in my chili. Its a must have for me now.

1 small can of no salt black beans, no salt pinto beans, diced tomatoes, and stewed tomatoes. I use the whole can.
diced: onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno to taste. If you really want to fart a lot and piss off the wife/significant other, use habanero or worse.
tad of tomato paste
dry spices : cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
Guinness. Amount varies on how the liquid in the pot looks.

Crock pot FTW.

It was a 12 hr work day so pardon the lack of details. I know I'm forgetting stuff.

Yes, I like a chunky chili.
 
Sure, you can go all out. You can do things with chocolate, smoking your own peppers, etc. I'll do that on occasion. Usually though, I'll just wing it. It's a lot like stew in that respect. I look at what I have on hand. Then I put a bunch of stuff in the crock pot, let it cook, and adjust as needed to get the flavor right. Here is a close approximation of the last chili I made.

2lbs ground meat
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 bag frozen corn
3 small jars salsa
3 tubes tomato paste
1 stick quality butter
Chili powder, cumin, and garlic to taste

The particulars depend on what is on hand. The meat gets browned in either olive oil or bacon fat before adding. The pan gets deglazed with a little wine, beer, broth, or just plain water and that gets added too. Using salsa is a great hack but I've found it necessary to balance it with tomato paste. The butter gets added in the last hour of cooking. I have hot sauce at the table so people can control their own heat level. I strongly recommend "Raw Heat Vintage 69" for chili.
 
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gazz98 said:
As a participant in the OG thread mentioned above, I will gladly play along. And yes, there are room for both us beans lovers and non-bean lovers in the big, chili bowl of life.

My *general* recipe.

1 lb of diced chuck or whatever you prefer (1/2 inch cube)
.5 lb each of ground beef and chorizo (I've been known to put ground turkey in too)
I've learned to love chunks of beef + ground meat in my chili. Its a must have for me now.

1 small can of no salt black beans, no salt pinto beans, diced tomatoes, and stewed tomatoes. I use the whole can.
diced: onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno to taste. If you really want to fart a lot and piss off the wife/significant other, use habanero or worse.
tad of tomato paste
dry spices : cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
Guinness. Amount varies on how the liquid in the pot looks.

Crock pot FTW.

It was a 12 hr work day so pardon the lack of details. I know I'm forgetting stuff.

Yes, I like a chunky chili.
Click to expand...
I like the chunky chilis I have had. Mine is more stringy with the brisket. I tried to cube it the first time I made it and of course being brisket it just came apart. The chorizo sounds great in chili.
 
Chronovore said:
Sure, you can go all out. You can do things with chocolate, smoking your own peppers, etc. I'll do that on occasion. Usually though, I'll just wing it. It's a lot like stew in that respect. I look at what I have on hand. Then I put a bunch of stuff in the crock pot, let it cook, and adjust as needed to get the flavor right. Here is a close approximation of the last chili I made.

2lbs ground meat
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 bag frozen corn
3 small jars salsa
3 tubes tomato paste
1 stick quality butter
Chili powder, cumin, and garlic to taste

The particulars depend on what is on hand. The meat gets browned in either olive oil or bacon fat before adding. The pan gets deglazed with a little wine, beer, broth, or just plain water and that gets added too. Using salsa is a great hack but I've found it necessary to balance it with tomato paste. The butter gets added in the last hour of cooking. I have hot sauce at the table so people can control their own heat level. I strongly recommend "Raw Heat Vintage 69" for chili.
Click to expand...
The salsa is a great I hadn’t thought of. The butter intrigues me.
 
Toppings? Sour cream? Shredded cheese?

Me, I might throw some cheese on there to make it ooey gooey now and then but I usually do no toppings.

Like L l1ranger , I've been known to put chili on nachos too.
 
CHNeal said:
I like the chunky chilis I have had. Mine is more stringy with the brisket. I tried to cube it the first time I made it and of course being brisket it just came apart. The chorizo sounds great in chili.
Click to expand...

That's all part of the beauty. So many meats will work, from steak tips to brisket.

I mentioned using bacon fat to brown the meat. We don't do bacon often but we always get the natural bacon and strain the fat for further use. There is a magic that happens when you make the bacon for the chili, reserve some fat before going crispy, crumble the bacon, and then fry your other meat in the bacon fat.

Butter is the other magic. Get a good rich butter like Kerrygold or Finlandia. You don't need a whole stick if you are using bacon or have plenty of other fat sources. In the recipe I posted, a whole stick is just right.
 
gazz98 said:
Toppings? Sour cream? Shredded cheese?

Me, I might throw some cheese on there to make it ooey gooey now and then but I usually do no toppings.

Like L l1ranger , I've been known to put chili on nachos too.
Click to expand...

I will do some cheese, sometimes tortilla or corn chips.
No sour cream for me, ever, on anything.
I will take a bag of scoop style chips to eat my chili and leave the spoon in the drawer
 
3lbs ground beef / deer
2 yellow onions chopped
2 bell pepper chopped
2 jalapeño or serrano peppers chopped
6 cloves of garlic roasted and minced
4 tsp chili powder
3 tsp smoked paprika
3 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp roasted garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
24 oz diced tomatoes
24 oz crushed tomatoes
10 oz chipotle peppers in adobo sauce blended
3 Guajillo peppers steeped and blended
12 oz dark beer (Abita Andy Gator)



Optional

16 oz drained and rinsed pinto beans
16 oz drained and rinsed black beans



Cook ground meat on medium high until thoroughly browned, minimal stirring. Remove ground meat leaving grease to sautéed all vegetables in until tender,(10-15 minutes). Return ground meat, stir to incorporate. Add all dried spices, stir to incorporate and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add all tomatoes and liquids, stir to incorporate, cook on low 2 hours, stir occasionally. If adding beans do so in the last 30 minutes.



Chili will be medium/hot

Optional
Serve with sour cream,shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and chopped white onions.
 
I'm no longer sure my recipe tastes like chili. I just got used to it and nary a chance to eat anything else besides the Wendy's version.

3 lbs medium-lean ground beef
1 pack Mccormick CCC mix
250 oz tomato sauce
4 cloves garlic
2 small onions
1 small tomato
250 gms dry weight of red beans

sautee chopped garlic, onions, tomatoes
add ground beef, raise to medium heat, a pinch of S&P, brown till the tiny meat "knobs" shrink and clumps separate
pile meat to one side of the pan and ladle off fat you don't want (I never minded it until now.)
put in beans either soaked overnight or pre-boiled for at least 1 hour
add tomato sauce and enough water to just cover (enough for at least 1 hour 15 minutes simmering)

And so, simmer it for at least that long. An alternative to the Mccormick packet is one level tablespoon each of cummin, cayenne, and paprika.

I must add that beans are a must, since I like it somewhat "sweet", and because it's the only thickener I apply. To avoid toasting the beans at the bottom of the pan, just stir every 15 minutes (also the reason why I don't believe in simmering up to 2 hours.)
 
Everyone has their recipes, but there are two things I've kept throughout my ongoing chili recipes: a bar of EXTRA dark chocolate (like 90%+ cacao) and chili peppers with adobo. My mom used to use a generous splash of apple cider and a couple spoons of pickle relish. Instead, I use a splash of apple cider vinegar and (I know many will dissaprove but...) diced celery for a little veggie crunch. My friends have convinced me to keep the celery - my apologies to the purists!

Coffee is a great choice in lieu of the dark chocolate, but I find the chocolate to be more subtle. Throw in a bit of dark beer either way!
 
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