The best chili recipe you ever saw

[silent1]

I'm curious to see what the Texans think about it. I make my chili powder from scratch. No pre-made mixes here:

-6 teaspoon of hot chili powder
- 4 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne powder (maybe more depending on your spice tolerance)
- 1 teaspoon of dried basil
- 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and store away. Makes about a cup of powder.

For the chili itself, I like using 80% lean ground beef. In a pan, I brown the ground beef and drain the fat. In another pot, I add a can of tomato paste, a bottle of Sam Adams Oktoberfest (a good stout works here too), and the chili powder and mix it together. Once the paste is blended in, I add a can of diced tomatoes, a can of red kidney beans (strained and washed), about 5 garlic cloves (crushed), and a chopped yellow onion. Then I add the ground beef. Cook on low heat for about 1 1/2 hours.... more if you're using a crock pot.

I won a chili cookoff at work with this recipe, it's that good.

[squish]

True Texas chili doesn't have beans.

[K ren]

Darn you, now I want chili.

Not a native Texan here but I have been here long enough to know that "bean" is a naughty word when you are discussing chili. However, I have not been here long enough to agree. I always used the Brooks chili beans when we lived elsewhere but, alas, I have not found them to be available here so I have resorted to using Bush's instead. They can be had but you have to have a keen eye to find them on the store shelves as they are not prominently displayed here. I use a spice packet mix but I do add many of the spices in your mix to taste. Just before we moved here I started making mine with half ground round and half sirloin steak that I chopped myself into small cubes and we found that to be quite tasty but in the HEB stores here they actually sell a course ground beef specifically for chili that adds the little extra texture we like. I also add some chopped green pepper for flavor. Yours does sound quite delicious as it is though. I am heading to the market here soon so I guess I know what is going on the menu for this week at our house!

[silent1]

Originally Posted by Squish

True Texas chili doesn't have beans.

The International Chili Society says beans are a no-no. But I've never been one to follow the rules.

[silent1]

Originally Posted by K ren

Darn you, now I want chili.

Not a native Texan here but I have been here long enough to know that "bean" is a naughty word when you are discussing chili. However, I have not been here long enough to agree. I always used the Brooks chili beans when we lived elsewhere but, alas, I have not found them to be available here so I have resorted to using Bush's instead. They can be had but you have to have a keen eye to find them on the store shelves as they are not prominently displayed here. I use a spice packet mix but I do add many of the spices in your mix to taste. Just before we moved here I started making mine with half ground round and half sirloin steak that I chopped myself into small cubes and we found that to be quite tasty but in the HEB stores here they actually sell a course ground beef specifically for chili that adds the little extra texture we like. I also add some chopped green pepper for flavor. Yours does sound quite delicious as it is though. I am heading to the market here soon so I guess I know what is going on the menu for this week at our house!

Let me know how that comes out when you make it.

I'm starting to experiment with chili, so I am going to try the green chili next. It took a while to find tomatillos up here, but I found my ethic food store, so it's all good. I'm also going to try different meats now that I have a meat grinder. I've tried to mix in some ground turkey and got "ok" results, but I want to try it with more interesting meats like bison or even lamb.

[ms_tapestry]

Originally Posted by silent1

I'm curious to see what the Texans think about it. I make my chili powder from scratch. No pre-made mixes here:

-6 teaspoon of hot chili powder
- 4 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne powder (maybe more depending on your spice tolerance)
- 1 teaspoon of dried basil
- 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and store away. Makes about a cup of powder.

For the chili itself, I like using 80% lean ground beef. In a pan, I brown the ground beef and drain the fat. In another pot, I add a can of tomato paste, a bottle of Sam Adams Oktoberfest (a good stout works here too), and the chili powder and mix it together. Once the paste is blended in, I add a can of diced tomatoes, a can of red kidney beans (strained and washed), about 5 garlic cloves (crushed), and a chopped yellow onion. Then I add the ground beef. Cook on low heat for about 1 1/2 hours.... more if you're using a crock pot.

I won a chili cookoff at work with this recipe, it's that good.

My chili powder comes from the Chili Supply Company in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a blend of several different dried chilies. What you have created is a chili seasoning mix and it sounds pretty darn good.

I use a larger grind of beef called chili meat in these parts. It's a larger grind than regular hamburger meat. I also like to cut up a sirloin steak into the chili. Understand it has to cook a long time to break down those steak cubes.

Beer is a good addition because it tenderizes the meat.

I also have been known to add ground venison, when I can get it, as well as wild pig.

Beans are cooked in a separate pot and served "under" the chili, if so desired. One must NEVER cook them together as this signifies the end of life as we know it. . .

[YankeeBob]

I'm from New England. Beans go in my chili. I've been making my recipe for about 10 years with ever so slight tweaks here and there to dial it in. I too, use 80% ground beef. About 3# of it. But, I keep the fat in. I also use a pound of sliced bacon, also with the grease left in. 3/4 bottle of beer is standard with the other 1/4 going down my throat. You MUST drink it. I also put a couple shots of a good bourbon in. Also standard practice to have a shot for myself.
Say what you want about the beans...It's a damn good chili.

[SafetyMan]

Beans go in my Chili.

And this Damn Yankee can BBQ and make 'con pah too.

[griffin]

Beans in chili ? Blasphemy !

[Margarita]

I don't approve of adulterating perfectly decent chili with (ugh) beans but my REAL chili pet peeve is green chili made with red tomatoes instead of tomatillos. If it's red in color, it ain't green chili.

[Dinero]

I was all right up to the part about beans.

Beans are something you eat with corn bread or re fry as a side.

[Slick]

Ditto on leaving out the B-word.

Lately I've been using meat that is 1/2 ground beef (or course ground chili beef) and 1/2 plain bulk breakfast sausage and I'm getting good results (clean bowls and seconds & thirds being asked for).

[MrSurly]

Originally Posted by ms_tapestry

My chili powder comes from Texas. What you have created is a chili seasoning mix and it sounds pretty darn good.

Beans are cooked in a separate pot and served "under" the chili, if so desired. One must NEVER cook them together as this signifies the end of life as we know it. . .

That's what Ah'm talkin' about!

Originally Posted by YankeeBob

I'm from New England. Beans go in my chili.

A shocker for me, ages ago. I arrived at the Philly airport hungry and in a hurry...I bought a hotdog (think it was 7 bux) and there were BEANS in the HOT DOG CHILI!!!!!!

AAaaacckkkkk!!!!



By the Way: Around here we view hot dog chili as a different category of its own. We are quite forgiving about the stuff, it's just convenience food, just put whatever on yer dogs, even Wolf brand, if you must.

But don't confuse Hot dog chili with real Texas chili. Real Chili is the meal, the main course, to be sought after, planned around, savored. Add saltines or cornbread or tortillas or rice or chips or serve it over beans if you must, but we don't waste real Texas Chili on hot dogs.

[Slick]

Beans in chili is like dividing by zero. It might turn out OK, but do you really want to take that chance?

[Margarita]

I use half pork sausage and half antelope/venison burger in my green chili (I don't do red; tomatoes gross me out). I chop up whatever chiles are available at the store (erring on the side of heat without conflagration) with tomatillos, onion, and garlic and add a bunch of spices that vary from time to time but always include cumin and oregano. I have also been known to toss in a package of ranch dressing mix and sometimes hominy if I want more of a chili posole.

And of course like every other chili cook I have my secret ingredient which is not chocolate. I've lost count of the people who whisper that chocolate is their secret ingredient in chili. Newsflash: it ain't secret any more.