The Great Chili Thread

[AlephZero]

Got some chili cookin'... 

Should have used two cans of chili beans, but oh well...

[Ron Who]

Do any of you ever use brown sugar in one of your recipes? It´s a trick I learned from my late aunt in South Carolina, she said it originates from Texas. The brown sugar will sweeten your dish, no doubt about that, but - unbeknownst to most - it will also add a hot and spicy flavor.

[AlephZero]

Not brown sugar, but I do put about tablespoon or two of sugar or honey in my chili every time, gives it more "earthy" taste methinks

[Nix]

Lookin' good, AZ! 

Ron, I also, sometimes, put a little honey in the Chili. I haven't tried brown sugar, but it sounds like it might work well. I don't think I've seen a recipe from Texas that uses brown sugar, but sometimes these ideas are guarded family secrets.......

[styx]

oh I'll have to try that

[Kev D]

oh I'll have to try that

+1 me to

[ThundahBeagle]

(Image removed from quote.)

Got some chili cookin'... 

Should have used two cans of chili beans, but oh well...

That looks like the right stuff, Aleph!

[ThundahBeagle]

Do any of you ever use brown sugar in one of your recipes? It´s a trick I learned from my late aunt in South Carolina, she said it originates from Texas. The brown sugar will sweeten your dish, no doubt about that, but - unbeknownst to most - it will also add a hot and spicy flavor.

Never tried that, Ron, although my father has lived in the Carolinas a long while and I've not heard of this

[AlephZero]

As far as I know, a little bit of sugar will enhance all other flavors... I swear I did actually read it somewhere, but can't remember smurf-all where 

[ThundahBeagle]

As far as I know, a little bit of sugar will enhance all other flavors... I swear I did actually read it somewhere, but can't remember smurf-all where 

I don't mean at all to call this into doubt. I have a sweet tooth after all. Just never heard it. But I'm gonna try it like I tried sea salt on chocolate.  And that turned out great

[MadPlumbarian]

Little guy made his for dinner,,
JR

[Choozoo]

Had a nice lunch at Blue Ash Chili this afternoon. Ordered a 5 Way of course...

[Nix]

Choozoo: Excellent!  That's our first posting of Chili 5-ways.....or even 3.....    Way to represent!

MP: nice chili dawg for the little guy. How'd he like it?

[MadPlumbarian]

Choozoo: Excellent!  That's our first posting of Chili 5-ways.....or even 3.....    Way to represent!

MP: nice chili dawg for the little guy. How'd he like it?

Oh please he loves them, especially when drenched with cheese..
JR

[ThePeacent]

As far as I know, a little bit of sugar will enhance all other flavors... I swear I did actually read it somewhere, but can't remember smurf-all where 

I don't mean at all to call this into doubt. I have a sweet tooth after all. Just never heard it. But I'm gonna try it like I tried sea salt on chocolate.  And that turned out great

sugar, salt and pepper in small quantities enhance the flavor of the foods and meals they accompany 

[SteveC]

Lookin' good, AZ! 

Ron, I also, sometimes, put a little honey in the Chili. I haven't tried brown sugar, but it sounds like it might work well. I don't think I've seen a recipe from Texas that uses brown sugar, but sometimes these ideas are guarded family secrets.......

I have a recipe for Texas chili that has Brown sugar in it.

I put some in my chili recipe along with some red wine vinegar. I post the recipe later.

[Ron Who]

 

[Nix]

In defense of sugar in your chili….

Ron’s earlier post triggered a memory for me. After digging around I found a recipe in Rob Walsh’s Chili Cookbook. I’ve seen other recipes pretty close to this one on the intraweb as well. If you poke around on the web, you’ll see that quite a few people add a spoon of sugar to their chili. So, it would seem there is some popular support for adding this ingredient in.

And it may be somewhat traditional….

The Rob Walsh recipe below is adapted from an old 1930’s restaurant recipe in San Antonio, Texas. This recipe is reported to be based on an older recipe based on the chili served by the famous “Chili Queens of San Antonio.”

The fame of the Chili Queens, who ran chili stands in the plazas of old San Antonio from the mid-1800’s to the early 1900’s, drew many visitors and are probably the reason chili became such a well known national dish in the developing USA.






Here’s Rob’s recipe, I’ve never tried it, but he does have some interesting techniques here, like making a roux with the chili grease:

5 ½ cups (1.3L) clean water
1 pound (450 grams) pork shoulder (½” dice)
2 ( 900 grams) pounds beef chuck (½” dice)
4 oz (113 grams) rendered beef tallow [substitute minced beef fat or pork lard]
2 (29mL) tablespoons salt
2 (29mL) tablespoons cumin, toasted and ground
1 (15mL) tablespoon ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano chiles, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups (950mL) Rob’s chile paste [substitute 1/2 cup (237mL) chili powder]
flour as needed.

Step 1: heat water in a large soup pot over high heat.

Step 2: add in diced pork, diced beef, tallow/fat, salt, cumin, black pepper, garlic, serrano chiles, and sugar.

Step 3: bring up to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer for 35 minutes.

Step 4: add chili paste (or powder) and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Step 5: at this point, there should be a layer of red-orange grease on the top of the chili. Skim the grease off and transfer it to a warm skillet over medium heat. To the warm grease, add enough flour (50/50 mix) to make a roux or thick paste. Cook until the flour is cooked and looses it’s ‘raw’ smell, about 2 minutes. [should darken slightly]

Step 6: slowly add the cooked roux back into the chili, stirring to keep it smooth and prevent lumps. Cook another 2-3 minutes or until chili thickens up. Serve!


The roux step may sound a bit complicated, but this looks to be a very simple and easy recipe. I was surprised that the beef and pork are just added to the hot water without browning. Apparently this was a traditional (and probably practical) method. Modern interpretations of this recipe call for browning the meat first. This move would seem to add a layer of flavor, but I think I’ll first try it the way Rob specifies in his book.

[Nix]

I put some in my chili recipe along with some red wine vinegar. I post the recipe later.

I've put a little vinegar in my chili as well. Red wine, cider, or balsamic. I think it can balance out any excessive sweetness when I add tomatoes.

When motivated, I make my own version of uncured Chorizo. I use Red Wine vinegar in making that. My homemade Chorizo is awlsome in chili! 

[Nix]

Oh please he loves them, especially when drenched with cheese..
JR

Nice. If he also likes watching baseball, can we talk about trading our skunk-smelling dog for your chili-dog loving son? I'll even throw in a SAK to sweeten the deal.....just a thought....

[MadPlumbarian]

Oh please he loves them, especially when drenched with cheese..
JR

Nice. If he also likes watching baseball, can we talk about trading our skunk-smelling dog for your chili-dog loving son? I'll even throw in a SAK to sweeten the deal.....just a thought....

Unfortunately he’s not big on sports, yet the other kid is, yet he’d eat you out of house and home! Especially of hot foods!
JR

[Nix]

Unfortunately he’s not big on sports, yet the other kid is, yet he’d eat you out of house and home! Especially of hot foods!

 

[ThePeacent]

I put some in my chili recipe along with some red wine vinegar. I post the recipe later.

I've put a little vinegar in my chili as well. Red wine, cider, or balsamic. I think it can balance out any excessive sweetness when I add tomatoes.

When motivated, I make my own version of uncured Chorizo. I use Red Wine vinegar in making that. My homemade Chorizo is awlsome in chili! 

when a foreigner says that word, this video always comes to mind 



I even posted twice in that video when it was originally uploaded 

[Nix]

 

Never hear it pronounced the same way twice.

[ThePeacent]

Never hear it pronounced the same way twice.

as a (maybe important depending on where you live) side note, "Chorizo" and "Choriza [feminin]" are universally used in Spanish speaking countries to mean that somebody is a robber, a thief, a corrupt, or a person of dubious morals or principles. 

"Ese hombre es un Chorizo" = "That man is a thief"
"Los políticos de este país son unos chorizos" = "The politicians in this country are a bunch of corrupts"

you don't want to be labeled as a "Chorizo" among Spanish speaking folks. Also, but less commonly, the "Chorizo" is the low-class word (among others) to refer to that appendix in between men's legs, as it resembles in shape and thickness to the cured meat 

for instance, "Cómeme mi Chorizo" = "Eat my d*ck!" and in that case the English word "D*ck" can be used both to describe a dubious behavior or a character doing impolite or illegal things ("My workmate is a d*ck") but also the appendix ("I just hit my d*ck with a baseball bat") and in those two cases the same could be said by using the word "Chorizo" ("My workmate is un chorizo") and ("I just hit my chorizo with a baseball bat") 

just for future reference 

[Nix]

just for future reference 

Excellent cultural lesson!

[Nix]

So back in post #107, I put up a recipe for "Chili Queen Chili".

I confessed then that I had never tried it. I felt a little awkward posting something I had never used, so I resolved to make up a batch to test out.

I got.....mixed results......but it was delicious, as chili tends to be.

Let me explain:

Mrs Nix likes her chili thick, not too salty, and no too spicy. So I was working around these parameters, try to adapt the Rob Walsh recipe for her tastes. When I started making this chili, it seemed like the 5 &1/2 cups of water would be just too much. So I cut that back to 2 cups. This was a reasonable move--I felt--because I had made Rob's "Chili Paste", which turned out to be a rather soupy chili sauce.

I figured the liquids would balance out. Even so, before I got the step where the roux gets added back to the chili, I was really worried it would end up being too thin and soupy.

And I couldn't resist browning a bit of the beef to add a bit of flavor.  After that, I followed the recipe fairly faithfully. I did cut my meats into smaller pieces, probably closer to a 1/4" dice. And I simmered it all for about two hours before making the roux.

And I tossed in a big pinch of Mexican Oregano.

Did I mention I have trouble following recipes exactly?

Yeah, well, so it goes. I did skim the "orange grease" off the top of the pot, and then used that to make a roux with a few big spoonfuls of flour. It was hard to spot exactly when the roux had been cooked sufficiently, so I just kept whisking it until the bubbling settled down and it looked a little bit darker. I then added some broth from the chili to the roux to make a thick, thick mixture. I then transferred part of this mix back into the chili, stirring as I did, until I got a nice thick sauce for the chili. I still had had the roux mix left over--that got stashed in the fridge for later. I'm thinking gravy for grilled chicken. 

I added a wee bit more salt after tasting, but used far less than the 2 tablespoons Rob specified. It ended up looking like this:




You can see there is a fair bit of pork bobbing around in that sauce. In hindsight, I'd be more likely to use 3 pounds of beef to 1 pound of pork to keep the flavor more focused on beef.
I served mine with a pinch of salt, a big dash of cayenne pepper, cheese, and chopped green onions. Same for Mrs Nix, but she topped hers with some Frito corn chips, too. Sort of an Upside-Down Frito Pie.





OK, so it was really good. As I worked through the recipe, it struck me that this is a very European-influence recipe with it's big dose of black pepper and a flour roux. But that makes sense since chili is really a fusion of food ideas between the various cultures mixing in Texas in the 1800's.

I'm definitely likely to give this recipe another try, but I think I'd do things a little differently: increase the beef, decreased the pork. Definitely brown the beef in advance. Use less liquid initially and add extra as needed. Beef stock would provide more flavor than plain water. The Mexican Oregano definitely work but might put that in more towards the end. I should mention that the 2 tablespoons of cumin seemed like a lot, but mellowed out over the course of cooking. Still, if you aren't a huge fan of cumin, it might be worth backing off on that a little.

It was fun trying to reach back to early 1900's Texas and get a taste of what some of those Chili Queens were hawking in old San Antonio's squares and plazas. I'd have gone back for seconds no doubt.........

[Kev D]

Chili tonight 

Tonight it will be in tortilla boats with salsa and sour cream on top

[ThePeacent]

that looks like a powerful meal 
You are indubiously talented in the cooking, something many so called men out there can't even picture 

As a side note, regarding Chorizo, [yes I know this is no "Chorizo" thread  ] I remembered while talking to a shop owner the other day, that in our language there is also a verb derived from the word, which is "Chorizar" (infinitive) with all the variations and derivatives. 

The word itself does not exist in formal texts but the dictionary accepts it as a colloquialism or universally used incorrection. It means "to steal", "to rob" or "to unlawfully take away" something from someone, 

so you can "chorizar" an item from a store, the politicians "chorizan" money from the taxpayers and that thief has just "chorizado" a mobile phone from a person
So you are a "chorizo/a" if you "chorizas" things from places and people 

Oddly enough the verb "chorizar" can't be used to describe the act of making Chorizo, and there are other words used for the preparation of that and other cold meats   

[Nix]

El P,

You are making me want to cook another batch of chili with Chorizo........

Mrs Nix convinced me to give the "Frito Pie" a try to night: