[bobthecockroach]

Red or white. Beans or no beans. Spicy or mild. Your choice. Just make your chili and post a picture (or a dozen) and a recipe by March 2 31, 2011. That gives you four weeks. Get cooking!

[S.B.Nichols]

I'm in!

[scared2mosh]

I just made chili TONIGHT! WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING!!!!

Basically I used tomato juice and cooked it down for like 8+ hours then added tomoato chunks, seasoning, 3 kinds of beans, Indian chili sauce (sounds out of place... but totally not) and ground venison.

Served with Hvarti cheese on top. And Jimmy Johns bread on the side. dollop of sour cream is optional.

I'll post pics of some leftovers and the full recipe tomorrow.

[bobthecockroach]

Let's extend this out another month. New deadline March 31!

MAKE CHILI!

[JesusFreakGirl]

I'm in. I could use some chili

[scared2mosh]

hmmm I do have some angus beef thawing.

I'll try it again... and maybe I'll even make some chilimac

[redbaron]

My practice chili tonight came ot much better than expected. A few tweaks and a charged camera and I think I'll be ready to go

[MrCrabby]

Forgot to take a picture. Also forgot to measure stuff, but hey, that's how I roll.

Chopped up a large sweet onion, sauteed in a big pot with olive oil
Threw in 7-8 chipotle peppers
Chopped and added a large green pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1 green jalapeno (de-seeded)
Added 1 & 1/2 lbs ground sirloin, browned and drained
Added tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (canned, not fresh), and spices:
black pepper,
cumin,
smoked paprika,
chili flakes,
chili powder (probably 2 tbsp),
cayenne pepper.
Brought to boil, then turned down to med-low, put a lid on it, and let it simmer for ~45 mins.

Topped with shredded cheese and used onion dinner rolls for dipping.

[redbaron]

Ok, so the ingredients first:


For my chili powder:

3 Pasilla Chiles
3 Chipotle Chiles
4 Ancho Chiles
4 Chile de Arbole
1 Naga Jolokia (Ghost Chile)
1 tablespoon 90k Cayenne
2 tablespoons whole cumin

I de-seeded all of the chiles (my experience is that the seeds burn before they warm up and start to exude their oils), and then threw them in a hot pan with the toasted cumin. Once everything got fragrant and the natural oils started to come up, I threw it all in a blender with two tablespoons of dried oregano and ground it to a powder.

On the fresh side of things:

2 Large yellow onions
4 Poblano Chiles
4 Large celery ribs
6 cloves of garlic
1lb Ground Lamb
1lb Ground Pork
2lb of cubed round
3 large cans crushed, peeled tomatoes
1 8oz can of Tomato Paste

I actually ended up using two pans simply because I don't like it when meat basically gets boiled, and I wanted to make sure i got some decent sear.

Got two pans hot with some olive oil, then I split the onions/celery/chiles into three parts and put them two pans holding the third part. Threw the round in there to get nicely seared.

When I was happy with the sear and color on the veg, I put it all in the larger pan I had going, and added the garlic, tomatoe stuff, and a bit of water. At this point I added all but 1-2 large spoonfulls of the chile powder as well. I took the ground meats and browned them up with some of the chile powder, and the rest of the veg, and once done (and drained) I added them in with the rest of the stuff. I did add a pinch of cinnamon in with the lamb because I think it's super complimentary with the chiles & lamb.

Then basically brought it up to a fast simmer, and dropped the heat to low. Stir every 10 minutes or so to avoid burning/sticking, and let it cook as long as possible for epic tenderness. I'm a big fan of starting dinners like this at ~8am.

I served with extra sharp cheddar (shredded), chopped onions & poblano chiles, crema and cilantro.

Got numerous "best chili I've ever eaten" reviews from friends & family. There are some things that I'd like to improve, but it was darn good. I may make it again and get a picture but probably not before tomorrow.

I'll probably make it with fresh tomatoes but I'm kind of waiting for them to be in season, and I hate peeling them, even if it's fairly straightforward with a quick blanching. Too lazy.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I also added some Blair's Ultra Death Sauce because it has a nice smoky flavor, and I wanted to increase the heat without making the chili taste like hot sauce. I probably added 1/2-1 tablespoon. Most reports were "very legitimate 4 alarm". I would definitely omit that, as well as the ghost & half of the de arboles if you are not big on spicy.

I will say that while there's a lot of chili powder quantity, it doesn't get overpowering, and it tastes a ton better than the crap you buy at the grocery store.

Also, I assume that when you're sauteing or whatnot you're adding some kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste... You are tasting your food while cooking right?

I probably used two decent pinches of salt completely. I think with the right spices & herbs the need for a ton of salt to bring out the flavor really goes away.

[MrCrabby]

Good stuff.

So is Daniel posting his address for us to mail the chili to him? I really don't want to get a 'return to sender' on this.

[scared2mosh]

... will you come to my house and cook that for me??? that sounds friggin incredible.

[bobthecockroach]

That does sound pretty awesome. I never took pictures of mine, but I'll post a description later.

[S.B.Nichols]

I've been sitting on this for a while, but I guess today is the deadline. Shame on you guys for not posting pictures....

A bit more of an 'Americanized Classic Chili.' Make it as hot as you want, I can't handle too much anymore.

SugarBear's Red Bean Bacon Buffalo Chili

So, I begin with:
Ground buffalo (half pound)
Bacon (3 strips, thick cut, diced up)
1 large red onion (diced)
1 large red bell pepper (diced)
2 cloves garlic, (minced rough)
Few pinches of kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper

In a 5 qt cast iron dutch oven, cook down the buffalo, bacon, and salt. (If you used cheaper bacon, you'll need to drain off some of the fat. Then add the pepper, onion, pepper, and garlic and cook til soft...should only take about two minutes. The buffalo can burn very easy, so watch it.




Next we'll add in...
Diced tomatoes (I use 1 can, low sodium, drain well and wash....feel free to use fresh, 'bout 2 and a half good sized tomatoes))
Red Kidney Beans (1 can, drain well and wash)
Around 12-16 oz tomato sauce, to taste
4-8 oz oz of tomato paste, to taste
chili powder to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
cumin to taste

Throw in the tomatos and beans and cook for about a minute, then add the sauce and paste. For the spices I typically use about a tablespoon of each, but YMMV. I can't handle too much heat. This is also the time to determine if it needs more salt or pepper.




Turn the heat down to the lowest level, lid on, and simmer for a half hour or so. If you want to simmer longer you'll probably want to add more liquid. Don't forget to stir every few minutes.


Serve it up with some corn muffins or your bread of choice. Add cheese or sour cream if that's your thing. Also works great on a big plate of spaghetti.




The beans are controversial, I know. Just my preference. I also like the texture of the kidney beans here. Don't be afraid to eat.

[bobthecockroach]

So my chili went something like this:

Cook for 20 minutes:

Half an onion
A can of tomatoes
3 guajillo chiles
2 ancho chiles
a few chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo
some oregano
some cumin
salt
pepper
a few cloves garlic

Puree.

Brown a few pounds of beef with the rest of the onion, add pureed mixture, some more tomatoes and some canned red kidney beans. Cook until tasty and delicious.

[redbaron]

I totally forgot about chipotles in adobo. I will have to experiment with them because i bet that adds tons of deliciousness.