Honestly love this thread <3 I will try to get a good one up soon you guys got me so inspired lol

Alright,

Made a batch of chili a couple weeks ago. Similar to my last batch. Incorporated some of the suggestions, though.

Browned meat in small batches and put aside:


Onions:


Poblano, Bell Pepper, Celery:


Jalapeno, red chilis, habaneros, some other random peppers:


Mix it all together w/ a bunch of spices:


Broth, beer, bourbon, tomato, oops a little too full!:


After simmering for ~90 mins:


After simmering another ~90 mins (some chocolate, crushed up tortilla chips, and more spices added somewhere in here):


Finished product:


Dinner time!:

Looks fantastic El D ... that onion shot is money

Yeah looks pretty good. Will be one of my first projects when I get the new place for sure

I was thinking about trying red wine in chili. I've made some great slowcooked beef recently with red wine/rosemary and a ton of peppercorns. Was wondering how those flavors might translate to chili.

Here was my first batch of the season:







Made this very similar to my last batch itt. Added and changed a few ingredients. Used chocolate for the first time which I think will become a staple in my Chili from now on. This batch had a real nice kick to it.

Peppercorns can probably be made to work in anything beyond corn flakes and I'm sure a good dry red wine could work it's way into chili easily.

Rosemary I think would be a little difficult with chili, it has a strong tendency to overpower other flavors and chili already has some strong spices going on with peppers/garlic/cumin. You might want to try seasoning a 16oz can of crushed tomatoes with rosemary in the chili mix as a cheap experiment first.

I would definitely skip the rosemary. It just would fight the oregano and tomatoes.

Been a while since I've made a good chili but I used to quite a lot. As I'm sure everyone does, I vary how I make it but kind of have a basic method that I stick to. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to post any pics as finding good ingredients here in Spain, especially chilis, is really difficult. Spanish supermarkets suck if you like anything that isn't Spanish.

Basic method

Brown the mince with half a chopped red onion and 2 or 3 decent sized chopped garlic cloves in some nice olive oil before draining. I usually add the garlic last so as not to burn it.

add about half a bottle of decent quality red wine and leave it to steep (off the heat ofc)

time to chop the veg up which could be anything but usually a few medium sized peppers of different colours, maybe some mushrooms, the rest of the red onion adding them to the pot as I chop them

drain and wash a can of kidney beans

I think the key to a good chili is to have a variety of chilis in it rather than loads of the same kind. It seems to let you rev up the scovilles without it being unbearable.
So, Kenyan bird eye chillies are quite evil; they are only small and I'd put 2-3 of them in there, finely chopped ofc
scotch bonnets or habineros are good but I wouldn't use too many. 1 habanero is fine.
And 1 of each other kind there is in the shop so maybe about 5 or 6 in total as well as some dried chili powder and paprika. Sea salt and ground black pepper are welcome additions too.

If I can find Roma tomatoes I blend about 5 or 6 of them; if not, just a family sized tin will do

I usually leave out the beans till I've brought the mix to the boil then add them and reduce to simmering temperature. Simmer for about 25 minutes with a hat, stirring it often then turn off the heat and leave it, covered, for as long as I can wait.

I have, on a couple of occasions, made it for the next day which is much better. I like boiled wholemeal rice but whatever. Nachos are always a good way to scoop and munch the chiliz.

Think I might try it with beer the next time I get a chance. I've never cooked with beer before. If only the Spanish palate weren't so ghey and I could get a decent chili on the go...

do you guys find that scotch bonnets are similar to habaneros in terms of heat? i used like 7-8 of them in my last pot of chili but still didn't really get the heat i wanted. i guess i should try ghost chilies but i have no idea where to get them.

Made a big batch yesterday, and it turned out great. I think most of the goodness in chili is based on those first few steps where you're individually cooking/prepping each ingredient. Just to reinforce some basic cooking techniques to get maximum flavor:

- Brown your meat in small batches. Do not crowd the pan. If you're doing cubed steak, there should be plenty of room around each piece. (I see a lot of crowding the pan.)
- Caramelize onions, and roast the peppers.
- Use fat (oil, bacon grease) to roast the spice mixture. After a few minutes, deglaze with some liquid and use a flat wooden spatula to get all the fond.
- Alcohol is used to extract extra flavor from tomatoes because there are some flavors that are alcohol-soluble only. That's why things like marinara + vodka sauces exist, so make sure not to add all the alcohol before throwing in the tomatoes.
- Those chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are awesome, but be careful with adding too much or else it ends up a horrible smokey mess.
- Don't season with sugar/salt/pepper until near the end. It's unwise to season a stew that hasn't finished reducing.

On the Scoville scale they're about the same. I've been using Bhut Jolokias and Naga Morrichs recently, you definitely should try them if you like hot stuff. Try a local Indian shop if one's near. I bought 3 Ghost Chillis for £1 at a Indian grocers.

I think Scotch Bonnets are the hottest that supermarkets here in the UK have. I don't think we do Habaneros.

try 11-13 of them?

that won't do it. upping the scovilles by 50% is barely noticeable in terms of taste.

try 1100-1300 of them?

Preparing to try chili for the first time. Is there a rule of thumb for how much liquid to have before reducing (like what it should look like)? And is there any reason I can't just simmer until I have the desired texture to shed extra liquid?

cit,

It should be pretty soupy. Lots of "before" pics in this thread. I'd err on the side of more liquid than less. You want to have enough liquid so you can simmer for a long time. You can always simmer longer or add masa harina or crushed up tortilla chips to thicken more.

These chili recipes just have way too many damn ingredients for me to bother with.

If you had to prioritize the top 5, what do you think they would be? (outside of the beef/beans).

Also, tried out serrano peppers last time. Was pleasantly surprised that they were hot but a little sweet also.

cumin, tomato product, beef broth, chilis, onions

not sure if cumin belongs on the list but the rest of this is def correct

cumin is more key than any other spice in chili.

The hierarchy goes cumin, paprika, oregano, cinnamon with cinnamon even venturing in to the optional territory, but cumin is for sure #1.

Otherwise you just end up with spicy bolognese.

Have seen many no broth recipes. Was going to make chili without tonight. I guess I should rethink that. Re too many spices, they make the list long, sure, but they are mostly things you should have in the house all the time.

Agree with amoeba but beef broth is not necessary and a bit redundant if you're using stew meat/cubed steak IMO.

As far as how much stew liquid, there should be enough liquid such that everything is submerged. Having less than that would make it a braise more than a stew, and the steak would not have enough time/heat to tenderize. Don't sweat it if you don't have enough liquid though, just add some hot water. OTOH, if you have too much liquid, all you can do is keep reducing.

A chili pretty much needs only the following:
chilis
protein
liquid

The most important ingredient in chili, including the meat or beans, is the ingredient in the name: chili pepper. Without chilis it isn't chili. Most recipes use more than one type of chili - a larger quantity of milder chilis and a smaller quantity of hot chiis. As a chili is a stew, it needs a protein source. Beans are the most traditional protein in the home of chili, greater Mexico, but the most famous American chilis are based on meat, usually beef, and most omit beans. Finally as a stew, it needs some form of liquid.

Suet used to be a common ingredient, but has gone out of style in the last two generations.

Often, tomatos are included, and may be the source of liquid. Most often, onion and garlic are also present.

Cumin is the most common dominant flavour other than that provided by the chilis themselves. Mexican oregano (different species than true Mediterranean oregano) would probably be more authentic than true oregano, (commercial "chile powder" is usually a mix of ground dried chilis, cumin and oregano), cinnamon or paprika, although all are common (paprika perhaps less so). Cocoa is an authentic local ingredient, as are cilantro and lime. Anise and cloves are common spices in mexican food, but I am not familiar with them being used in chili.

Vegetables are sometimes added. The most authentic would probably be corn and squash and perhaps celery and carrots.

If I had to make a chili with only six ingredients, they would probably be

Poblano chilis
beef
tomatoes
onion
chipotles
cumin

I agree that cumin tops the list, but don't understand why you have paprika ahead of oregano and cinamon. Most chile powder contains chilis, cumin and oregano. AFAIK, cinnamon is more traditional in Mexican cuisine than paprika.