Absolutely,

My mom always lets the beans rehydrate over night. hey taste sooo much better.

Some awesome chili itt .

Simply far better taste and texture. I did some pinto beans for my last chili, and they were amazing.

Works for all beans, I have tried garbanzos (chickpeas) and cannelinis as well. Yummy!

+1 on the necessity of re hydrating beans. I mean, if you just think to yourself "hey I'm making chili later on tonight", then by all means just get some canned stuff. But if you are making it far enough in advance that you have time to plan, you HAVE to do the beans up right.

Also, bay leaves are a must for me in chili. Really in any sort of stew, and most hearty soups.

went chili shopping today. got a 3 pound beef roast that was on sale.

i think we should cut it up and brown it in a pan. morello thinks we should roast it in the oven and then cut it up for the chili. what's my play?

Brown it in a nice non-stick pan, after you saute your onions/garlic/other veg. After, deglaze with a bit of chicken stock, or some beer.

"Everyone is going to get to know each other in the pot"

I just made chili last week for the first time in my new home in Japan. Since I do not know how to operate my oven, I am reliant on stovetop cooking these days and chilis is super awesome to do.

Topping it with sour cream and avocado is a must do, as is sprinkling my mire poix with spices, then adding more later with the tomato. Vegetables are bloody expensive here but legumes are even more expensive, and I will have to get a hook up for dried beans via mail. But the chili was worth it even if it was the most expensive batch I have ever made.

I don't think these exist. And even if they did, they're probably a last option for cookware.

Good catch. I meant a pan that was not non-stick, such as cast iron or stainless steel. I have a cast iron pan, and it was perfect. If you use non-stick, there won't be anything to deglaze.

I made a good recipe the other night:

Meat:
-1 lb. ground beef (I used 85/15)
-3/4 lb. beef sirloin, cubed

Veggies:
-2 onions
-2 red peppers
-3 jalepenos
-3 poblanos
-4 cans kidney beans
-1 cup corn
-1 can diced tomatoes
-2 6oz. cans tomato paste

Liquids:
-1 can dark beer
-1 cup strong coffee
-1 can beef broth

Spices:
-1 1/2 tbs cumin
-1 1/2 tbs coriander
-1 tbs cocoa
-1 1/2 tsp cayanne
-1 tsp oregano
-1 tsp sea salt
-3 tbs Sriracha

1. Mix meat, onions and red peppers in pot. Cook until meat is browned.

2. Add beef broth, coffee, beer, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.

3. Add spices, corn and 2 cans kidney beans.

4. Simmer for 3 hours.

5. Add remaining 2 cans of beans.

6. Simmer an additional hour.

7. Enjoy.

2trips (also to zinn who posted earlier),

Is that the consistency you like to eat your chili? I know some people like/eat it as almost a soup, but I prefer to have it much thicker and not soupy at all.

Trips - overall yours sounds and looks pretty good. Coffee seems like a good idea to me.

I agree with whoever said it's best few days later. I made a batch a while ago (my first time making it) and on the first day it just had this strong smell that I didn't really like..I figured out it was the cumin, by the 2nd day that strong smell was mostly gone and it was really good...I had eaten it all in 2 days but I imagine the 3rd day it would have been better.

most slow cooked things taste better a few days later (chili, curry, stews, etc...).

Actually those pictures were taken about a half hour after I started simmering everything so it's not the finished consistency at all. I should have taken some when I served it (w/sour cream + cheeze obv) but I was a lazy photog by then.

Thickens up considerably once in the fridge for a day.

Thanks for the comment, I feel it is a pretty solid recipe. I've only made chili a handful of times and I want to keep tweaking and perfecting this recipe

<3 my slow cooker. My go to recipe lately has been lean ground beef pre-browned, along with an equivalent weight of chicken breast cut into small chunks pre-cooked on stovetop. Is chicken a non-traditional chili meat? I did it on a whim once and like the dueling protein taste that results. When cooking both meats beforehand I use a decent amount of A1 to enhance flavor, some of you may not be a fan of this.

Also in there: onion, green pepper, jalapenos, chili beans, stewed tomatoes, salsa (probably not necessary and maybe blasphemy), bloody mary mix (learned that in an OOT cooking thread, adds a distinctly nice spiciness), brown sugar, cumin, chili powder.

Everything in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours or so.

I'm in the "I like my chili soupy" camp.

In restaurants they use the cheap 10 buck ones and pitch them when the coating gets ****ed up. The nice home use ones are calphalon IME, they own the **** out of allclad

this recipe is very similar to my favorite, and im positive i'd have no problem at all with this recipe. in my humble and uneducated abode, i use ground turkey + cubed beef. i add a couple sticks of cinnamon, 3 bay leaves, a can of chipotle+adobo, i leave out the beer, and i use ~3 diced jalapenos instead of the habeneros, but i add some crazy spicy indian chili powder for some sweat-inducing heat. sometimes i add a couple tablespoons of peanut butter for some richness. i would never serve over fritos, but i accept that that is a personal preference of mine; i have no problem with it.

i brown the meats+sweat the veggies and add to a slow cooker for 8 hours. serve with cheddar cornbread, sour cream, and extra cheddar. the longer it sits in the pot or freezer, the better it is, so leftovers are more than welcome.

What I've been doing with my chili lately is using ground turkey instead of ground beef - healthier option imo.

For those that like their's thicker, how do you go about doing so? I find I don't know what I can do to thicken mine up. (I like both fwiw - soupy and thick).

Throw some tortilla chips in a blender, and make a not so fine powder out of them, and throw them in, it should thicken it up considerably.

Thanks, will try this next time.

AA,

Good suggestion, but I don't think you even need to bother with a blender. I used Alton Brown's suggestion of just crushing up a couple handfuls of tortilla chips in my hands and tossing them in, and it thickened up great. Masa Harina is the traditional chili thickener, and people also use cornmeal, flour, etc. Basically, a couple of tablespoons of any of this stuff and you're good to go.

Cool thread. Chili is one of my favorite things to make. Picked up a few ideas for sure.

I get my chili thick by cooking it for a few days. First day soupy, second day thicker, third day it's like a thick paste. Cook on low heat for 8 hours a day or so.

I read recently somewhere that smoked meat was good in chili. Sounded good, couldn't find any decent smoked meat (was looking for turkey) but I found some liquid smoke. I made a 15 litre pot and two tablespoons of liquid smoke makes such a huge difference, simply delicious, highly recommended.

I always eat my chili with grated cheese and tortilla chips. I use the tortilla chips to spoon the chili, no spoon required. Yum!

A different type of chili stew that many may not have tried before. Roasted Green Chili Stew - pork or chicken meat is usually the best.

Recipe Link: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/roaste...ew/Detail.aspx


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cubed
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
2 pounds roasted Anaheim or New Mexico chiles
4 serrano chile peppers, diced
1 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
salt to taste


Directions:

1.Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cubed pork, garlic, onion, cumin and oregano. Cook and stir until pork is browned.
2.Cook and stir for a few more minutes, then pour in the vegetable broth. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3.Add the potato to the stew, and simmer for about 45 minutes. You can roast your chilies during this time, peel, seed chop and add to the stew along with the serrano peppers. If the stew becomes too dry, add a little water. When the potatoes are soft and the pork is tender, add the tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and serve.


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

There are a whole variety of green-chili stews and I have tried many of them, from restaurants to family recipes at gatherings. Some are unique and taste superb. One key is fresh green chilies; the other is quality meat, especially for pork variety - Highly recommended for those with zesty tastes.

-Zeno

Zeno, I used to date girl who's mother lived in Santa Fe, and she made a green chile stew very similar to that. It also sounds a little like posole, but I imagine much thicker than that.

Not to derail, but good gosh, this forum could use a posole thread. Magnificent stuff!

Made my first chili thanks to this thread. I realized I didn't have any celery left so I left it out. I used like 15 jalapeño peppers though which I figured would add some celery-like crunch...lol

I also crushed some tortilla chips ( I used my mortar and pestle to make it fine) to thicken it, but after looking at pics I'm pretty sure I would prefer a thinner soup-like chili. I"ll make that version next.

Sour cream is a definite must for me. Sooo good. I don't really use sour cream for any other purpose.