Help With Chilli

Gosh homefire just drain the grease off and pat it dry I pour in some liquid smoke when browning the meat, maybe ridgerunner uses kangaroo down their?  Some of our beef here in the usa is pretty tuff to chew sometimes.    shortribs

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,57406.msg278784.html#msg278784

   Yea, our meat have gone to crap the past 20 years or so.  

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,57406.msg278787.html#msg278787

Ok....First off, it's clear NO ONE who has answered you is a Texan.   Homie's basic recipe is a very good one, BUT as EVERY Texan knows "anyone who knows beans about chili, knows chili has NO beans!"   That being said because most of the chili I make is for non-Texans I usually either cook it with beans in it or cook beans at the same time so they can add them if they want.  Using hand cut meat rather than ground usually makes for a more satisfying chili.

And when it comes to heat, flavor is more important than heat is.   Concentrate on getting the right flavor balance first.   Then you can add heat, but don't dial it up so much that you lose the flavor.   As for how hot hot is, that depends entirely on the person eating it.   My dad use to send back dishes for not being hot enough that would make everyone else in the room cry.   And I've seen other folks that think it's to hot if you use mexi-bells (mexi bells are basically a cross between a bell pepper and any of the hotter varieties from anaheim to habernero. 

Personally, I like to use a variety of chili's (anaheim or hatch, poblano, jalepeno, and if I'm cooking for a group that can handle it one or two habernero's).   I also like to use a various dried chil's.   You don't have to use tomato sauce to make a good chili (including a good red chili) but it helps.   I also like to use a bottle or two of beer in my chili.    Sautee the meat and the onions and garlic with some of the fresh chili's until the onions are translucent and the meat is about half done.   Add the beer and the other liquids and stir in your your powder ingredients.  Depending how long you plan on cooking it you can add in un-cooked, partially cooked, or fully cooked beans (pinto, great northern, navy, black, or a mixture of the above) unless you want to stick true to the Texas Red tradition.   

Like a lot of "soups" the longer chili cooks the better (and hotter it gets).   In fact the leftovers the day after are usually better than the bowl you served the night before.

BA

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,57406.msg278813.html#msg278813

AU,

       Here's a good base recipe that's pretty close to what I do (I don't measure much and I adapt my recipe based on what I have on hand):

Recipe type: Main Dish Cuisine: Traditional Southwest  lifted from

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

Serves: 6 to 10
Authentic Chili Recipe, a.k.a. Bowl of Red
Author: Donna Kelly
Authentic San Antonio, Texas style Red Chile.
Ingredients
4 slices bacon
3 pounds beef cut into 1 inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 cup ground chile pods (guajillo and ancho where used)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon salt
8 cups water
Instructions
1. Cook four slices of bacon in a large stockpot. Remove bacon and mince.
2. Cook 3 pounds of beef until very well browned.
3. Add in 3 cloves of garlic, minced, 1 onion, diced, 1 cup of ground chile pods (I used guajillo and ancho), 1
tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon salt and 8 cups of water.
4. Return bacon to the pot.
5. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours, stirring frequently, until cooked down and thickened.


I'd definitely substitute a bottle of beer for an equal amount of the water.


and here's another one that was published by my alma mater before I was born:

Tolbert's Original Bowl of Red Chili Recipe  (Frank Tolbert founded the Chili CookOff in Terilingua, so you could say he knew his stuff):

Recipe Type: Beef, Soup/Stew, Chili, Chile Peppers
Yields: serves many
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 hr


Ingredients:

3 pounds lean beef
1/8 pound rendered beef kidney suet (if you want to go for it)
1 teaspoon each oregano, cumin powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and Tabasco
3 tablespoons chile powder (optional)
4 hot chile peppers
At least two chopped cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons masa harina, cornmeal, or flour (optional)*

* The masa adds a subtle, tamale-like taste, but it also thickens the chili.
 


Preparation:

Sear beef in a large soup pot or cast-iron Dutch oven. You may need a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. When the meat is all gray, add suet and chile peppers and about two inches of liquid (you can use water, I use beer). Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add spices and garlic, bring just to boil; lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes. NOTE: Add more liquid only to keep the mix from burning. Skim off as much grease as you can, and add masa harina. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust spices if necessary.

This is a spicy chili, so leave out some of the spicy stuff in the beginning if you have a tender tongue. At this point, I refrigerate the chili overnight which allows the chili to mellow and you can skim off all the grease.


***************************************

If it was me I'd start by figuring out what I liked about each of these two recipes and go from there.   (And the BEER is the heat shield in Texas Red)

BA

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,57406.msg278816.html#msg278816

Thanks BA, That's Heaven Right There, I have heard a lot of talk about Texas Chilli but never had the Chance to Try It

I will give you a sitrep as soon as I get all the right ingredients, Thanks Mate, cant wait.

AU

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,57406.msg278821.html#msg278821