Chili Fest

Mott the Hoople

Mott the Hoople

Sweet Jane
I just love Chili. I love its flavor, its texture and its complexity. There has to be a zillion ways to make chili.

So let's start a thread about Chili. What are your award wining recipies? Do you like wild, mild or nuclear?

Here's a recipe I created. I made the mistake of showing my nephew how to make it and he made it for a couple of family events. Now everyone calls it "Zack's Chili". Aint if funny how things like this work out? Just like your job, you do all the work and the sales guy gets the bonus? Oh well....Here's Zack's (Mottleydudes....and yes...I do have sour grapes about this) Chili.

on a heat scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being mild and 5 being nuclear this is about a 3 to 3.5.

Zack's Chili;

Ingredients
1.5 to 2 lb chuck roast.
1 lb smoked sausage (if you have access to good charizo sausage use that.....good luck with that if you live in Ohio, we only have the crappy stuff that comes in a tube).
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 pablano chili's
2 ancho chili's
3 to 4 chipotle chili's in adobo sauce
1 tsp red pepper sauce (any variety will do)
2 medium onions
2 stalks celery
1x24 oz can tomato puree
1x6 oz can tomato paste
2 qt can tomato juice
1 x12 oz can beef broth
1 bottle of beer, preferably a dark beer (negros modello?)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cayene pepper
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
2 squares of unsweetened bakers chocolate or 2 heaping tbsp of coco powder.
2 x 12 oz cans of black beans.

Prep;

Cut chuck roat into small pieces and chop to a rough grind in a food processor.

Roast pablano peppers on stove burner till singed on all sides then place in a ziploc baggie for 5 minutes to sweat. Then peel off skin under running water, remove stem and seeds and dice.

Dice rest of vegies except the ancho chili's set them aside.

Slice sausage into rounds then cut into quarters.

Cooking.

In 4 qt pot add oil and sausage and fry on medium hight heat till sausage is crisp. Remove sausage and add diced vegies and sautee till onions start to carmalize. Add ground chuck and cook till about half done (medium). Add the rest of the ingredients except tomato juice and ancho chili's and beans, and stir together.

Add tomato juice till you almost reach the top of the pot. Remove stem and seeds from ancho cilli's and break into small pieces and stir into chili.

Bring chili to a low boil on medium high heat. Stir once and reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer for 2.5 to 4 hours till chili reduces to desired thickness. Do not stir while chili is simmering or it won't reduce and it will bubble and splatter due to trapped air. Add beans and turn heat up to low till beans have heated through. Serve with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream.

Whatever isn't eaten you can place in a tupperware container and freeze.

BTW, this recipe won first prize at the Greenville county fair as, you guessed it, Zack's Chili (He's definately out of my will!).
 
The midwest and the northeast have the absolute worst sausage anywhere, yet people from New York are proud of their bland self.

I don't know how many times I had to choke down bland sausage and mild tasteless Italian food of one type or another because of a lady at work who thought New York Bland was the best cuisine that was ever invented by mankind. She would take trips to New York to visit family and bring back that "Awesome New York Sausage" (You could hear the capitals in the words as she said them) and then feed them to us.

Thankfully in Colorado Chorizo sausage isn't only easy to find, but it isn't any more expensive than regular sausage.

I would cook my Green Chili (and no you don't get the recipe of my super-secret stuff, I may post a good recipe for Green Chili later, but it won't be my best) and she'd die as it entered the room. She'd start tearing up and talking "spicy" and all I did was plug in the crock pot.
 
Damocles said:
The midwest and the northeast have the absolute worst sausage anywhere, yet people from New York are proud of their bland self.

I don't know how many times I had to choke down bland sausage and mild tasteless Italian food of one type or another because of a lady at work who thought New York Bland was the best cuisine that was ever invented by mankind. She would take trips to New York to visit family and bring back that "Awesome New York Sausage" (You could hear the capitals in the words as she said them) and then feed them to us.

Thankfully in Colorado Chorizo sausage isn't only easy to find, but it isn't any more expensive than regular sausage.

I would cook my Green Chili (and no you don't get the recipe of my super-secret stuff, I may post a good recipe for Green Chili later, but it won't be my best) and she'd die as it entered the room. She'd start tearing up and talking "spicy" and all I did was plug in the crock pot.
Click to expand...

We must be the only Chili fans? Damned barbarians!
 
I just made a big batch of rellenos yesterday with ranchero sauce to top them with.

Oh so yummy, I like "chili" but there are so many other chili dishes.
 
2-3 lbs. Ground Chuck
1/2 lb. Chorizo (can use pork sausage instead)
2 cans of Pinto Beans
1 cans of Stewed Tomatoes (chopped up)
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 Hershey's dark chocolate bar
1/2 cup of your favorite beer
1/4 cup finely chopped chili peppers
1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup red cider vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Saute peppers and onions in the olive oil, adding black pepper and salt.
Brown ground chuck and chorizo and combine with the saute and chili powder in a big pot.
Add all the tomato stuff and beans.
Add the red cider vinegar and mustard.
Pour half a can of the beer you're drinking in...
Last, add the chocolate bar.

Let simmer for 2 hrs and enjoy.
(Can substitute possum for the ground chuck, only for the deep south.)
 
Dixie said:
2-3 lbs. Ground Chuck
1/2 lb. Chorizo (can use pork sausage instead)
2 cans of Pinto Beans
1 cans of Stewed Tomatoes (chopped up)
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 Hershey's dark chocolate bar
1/2 cup of your favorite beer
1/4 cup finely chopped chili peppers
1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup red cider vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Saute peppers and onions in the olive oil, adding black pepper and salt.
Brown ground chuck and chorizo and combine with the saute and chili powder in a big pot.
Add all the tomato stuff and beans.
Add the red cider vinegar and mustard.
Pour half a can of the beer you're drinking in...
Last, add the chocolate bar.

Let simmer for 2 hrs and enjoy.
(Can substitute possum for the ground chuck, only for the deep south.)
Click to expand...


Hmmmm, interesting touch with the vinegar and mustard. I'll have to try that.
 
evince said:
I just made a big batch of rellenos yesterday with ranchero sauce to top them with.

Oh so yummy, I like "chili" but there are so many other chili dishes.
Click to expand...

But that's kinda the point Desh. That's what so great about Chili. You're only limited by your imagination. Same with Gumbo.
 
Mottleydude said:
But that's kinda the point Desh. That's what so great about Chili. You're only limited by your imagination. Same with Gumbo.
Click to expand...

Gumbo varies as much from batch to batch as it does from cook to cook.

I make a mean gumbo, but it all depends on what handy. A good roux and some andouille sausage are critical. The rest if negotiable.
 
mottley im going to give that a shot. I already cooked chilli by steppenwolf so now it is your turn lol.

Question: what's the texture of your chilli? Is it really chunky and thick or more soupy?
 
Damocles said:
The midwest and the northeast have the absolute worst sausage anywhere, yet people from New York are proud of their bland self.

I don't know how many times I had to choke down bland sausage and mild tasteless Italian food of one type or another because of a lady at work who thought New York Bland was the best cuisine that was ever invented by mankind. She would take trips to New York to visit family and bring back that "Awesome New York Sausage" (You could hear the capitals in the words as she said them) and then feed them to us.

Thankfully in Colorado Chorizo sausage isn't only easy to find, but it isn't any more expensive than regular sausage.

I would cook my Green Chili (and no you don't get the recipe of my super-secret stuff, I may post a good recipe for Green Chili later, but it won't be my best) and she'd die as it entered the room. She'd start tearing up and talking "spicy" and all I did was plug in the crock pot.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for the northwest but here in the midwest you can get some good sausage at some markets. Most meat markets make their own varieties of sausage and they are excellent. But if you're going to Krogers, your probably only going to find generic Italian and Polish smoked sausages.
 
Solitary said:
Gumbo varies as much from batch to batch as it does from cook to cook.

I make a mean gumbo, but it all depends on what handy. A good roux and some andouille sausage are critical. The rest if negotiable.
Click to expand...

as long as you get the rouex right, it's hard to screw up Gumbo but again...this is the Chili thread and not the gumbo thread. Let's stay on topic.

What's your Chili recipe or unique spin?
 
Grind said:
answer my question!!!
Click to expand...

Sorry Grind;

The recipe I posted I let simmer till it's thick and chunky. You can practically stand a spoon up in it. I often serve it Cincinnati style (on spaghetti). My wife likes it on top of a bed of rice. (but to be honest she'd probably eat fried shoe leather if you put it on a bed of rice.).
 
cook it down like Mott does and simply add good water or broth to it to get the consistancy you like.

I do that with all my sauces. It builds the flavor when you slow simmer it forever.
 
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