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Doom Rooster posted:I believe that he is referring to you accidentally posting your Beef with Vegetable Soup in the chili thread, instead of the "What did you cook last night" thread. Feh. Chili is as chili does, and if you'd smelled it or tasted the meat, you'd have said, mmm, chili.  EDIT: Hmm, new page. Let's ask this question. Adding liquid, I always hear use a can of beer. Alton Brown just recommends a "middle of the road" ale; so far I've used Guinness, Newcastle Brown, Mexican Coke, Crispin's Apple Cider... what all do people like? sfwarlock fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Mar 3, 2013 |
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Mar 3, 2013 20:44
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sfwarlock posted:Feh. Chili is as chili does, and if you'd smelled it or tasted the meat, you'd have said, mmm, chili. I would recommend buying the type of beer you like to drink and then drinking it while you add chilis, meat, and small amounts of chili or meat based liquid to your chili so you don't end up with orange soup.
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Mar 3, 2013 22:29
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Honestly it's mostly water that's going to boil away anyway. I would put in whatever beer you like, as the flavor addition will be minor. The problem with adding beer or other liquids is that the extra reduction time could make the meat mealy when it breaks down too much. My understanding is that you should limit the amount of excess liquid used so that it can reduce down as fast as possible. Didn't Alton Brown make some chili recipe that was terrible? I recall there being some controversy.
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Mar 3, 2013 22:29
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Will definitely be making my next chili with less liquid as per cornface's suggestions. Beer must go in though.
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Mar 3, 2013 22:31
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As much as I love Alton Brown, he is from LA, and went to college in Georgia, where he currently lives. His chili credentials are not up to par, and the resulting recipes have proven to be unworthy of the name. As far as what type of beer, you want something with a very strong flavor, since you will not be adding much. I go with coffee stouts usually. Doom Rooster fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Mar 3, 2013 |
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Mar 3, 2013 22:42
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fuckpot posted:Will definitely be making my next chili with less liquid as per cornface's suggestions. What I like to do is saute onions and garlic and then deglaze the pan with beer.
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Mar 3, 2013 23:09
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I honestly can't taste the difference between chili with just beef stock and some beer tossed in. but I go for dunkle bocks if I'm going to add some beer. Schneider Aventinus is perfect, but I feel bad wasting large amounts of such a wonderful beer. chili tastes awesome if you make it right, no need for that extra alcohol-liquid.
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Mar 4, 2013 11:24
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Beer4TheBeerGod posted:
I just had Lizano sauce in Costa Rica for the first time. I fell in love too, I brought some of that back along with some 'Chilero' sauce. Long ago I read this thread and started making my own chili powder, never turned back. The store bought stuff smells so horrible after you make your own.
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Mar 5, 2013 07:49
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Although beer is a regular addition to my chili, the only one I ever used that had a significant impact was a rauchbier. It was a very good addition. I may have been able to achieve the same effect with liquid smoke, but I really dislike that stuff from my experience. It wasn't a cheap way to put that flavor in though, the rauchbier I got was like 5 bucks a pint. How much do you guys end up spending per serving on chili? Mine tends to come out pretty god drat expensive for what it is honestly. Like 5 bucks a quart at least. I need to start using shittier cuts of meat and not using beer I think.
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Mar 5, 2013 08:18
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Isn't "lovely cuts of meat" half the point? Shoulders, short ribs, ox tails and other chunks with lots of connective tissue are your friend. My last batch couldn't have been much over $15 for a gallon, starting with some pork shoulder on sale.
dis astranagant fucked around with this message at 08:38 on Mar 5, 2013 |
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Mar 5, 2013 08:36
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yeah, I've made chili with expensive rear end beef and cheap rear end beef, and the difference isn't worth the money. just make sure you're using enough fatty bits and have a gelatinous stock, and it will be great in the end.
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Mar 5, 2013 10:15
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mindphlux posted:yeah, I've made chili with expensive rear end beef and cheap rear end beef, and the difference isn't worth the money. just make sure you're using enough fatty bits and have a gelatinous stock, and it will be great in the end. The difference is huge, but it's that the "cheap" meat will taste better. if you make chili out of a prime rib you're going to have a soft and tasteless pile of mush after 2 hours. Use chuck roast or steaks. They're cheap and make delicious stews/chilis.
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Mar 5, 2013 16:07
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Do you guys really think reducing chili down as soon as possible and using less liquid is a good idea? What i usually do for a texas style chili is start with a lot of liquid, more than a quart of chicken stock and 8 oz of tomatoes for 2.5-3 lb of chuck roast, and cook it with the cover off the entire time, adding more stock as water evaporates. If i let the chili get too thick too soon, i can't reach just the right simmer i need to braise the meat over 2-3 hours. Then near the end, after about two hours, i let the gravy reduce to just above the meat. It doesn't add much cooking time, really.
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Mar 5, 2013 17:17
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Christmas Miracle posted:Do you guys really think reducing chili down as soon as possible and using less liquid is a good idea? What i usually do for a texas style chili is start with a lot of liquid, more than a quart of chicken stock and 8 oz of tomatoes for 2.5-3 lb of chuck roast, and cook it with the cover off the entire time, adding more stock as water evaporates. Or you could just put the lid on it and throw it in the oven at 300-325 for three hours and solve every problem at once.
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Mar 5, 2013 17:29
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cornface posted:Or you could just put the lid on it and throw it in the oven at 300-325 for three hours and solve every problem at once. I've tried this before, but i didn't prefer it for two reasons. First of all I like to have the chili on the stove top so that i can skim off any foam that forms, second i have found that when i cook it in the oven, when i open the oven to check it and take the top off, it's often boiling too hard for me. I don't cook the meat until it's shreds, and i have found that reaching too hard of a boil makes the final product more tough. That's actually part of the reason i cook it with the cover off, if i put the cover on it almost always reaches a boil, but my chili almost always turns out better if it's at a very light simmer the whole time. It's a matter of taste, i guess. I'd be interested in other people's thoughts on this.
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Mar 5, 2013 19:48
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Christmas Miracle posted:I've tried this before, but i didn't prefer it for two reasons. First of all I like to have the chili on the stove top so that i can skim off any foam that forms, second i have found that when i cook it in the oven, when i open the oven to check it and take the top off, it's often boiling too hard for me. I don't cook the meat until it's shreds, and i have found that reaching too hard of a boil makes the final product more tough. I'm not sure why anyone would want to put it in the over at that high a temperature. Even on the stove, you want it on a very, very gentle simmer at the hottest. The meat will break down just fine at that temperature. The only reason I cook it on the stovetop most times is literally just because I like having my house smell like delicious chili. If I am going out to run errands or something, I just get my chili up to the right level of simmer, then put it in a 210 degree oven, covered. Comes out absolutely perfect after 3 hours. You won't get any reduction/thickening, which is fine, just don't put in too much liquid at the start.
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Mar 5, 2013 20:24
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I've had good results cooking my chilli in my Egg, as a bonus it gets a bit of that smoke flavor. Over the weekend I dried out/smoked some jalapenos to grind up for spice. Turned out really well, had them in the smoker for about 27 hours at 130F. Ground them up last night and put in a spice container. Used it in an omelete and it was very good. Here's a pic before i put them in my spice grinder. Going to make sure I do more next time. 
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Mar 5, 2013 20:54
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Christmas Miracle posted:I've tried this before, but i didn't prefer it for two reasons. First of all I like to have the chili on the stove top so that i can skim off any foam that forms, second i have found that when i cook it in the oven, when i open the oven to check it and take the top off, it's often boiling too hard for me. I don't cook the meat until it's shreds, and i have found that reaching too hard of a boil makes the final product more tough. Its boiling more fiercely in the oven is far better than it at that speed on the stove. The oven is heating it all around so you're not at risk of anything burning to the bottom. I have to use a lot of liquid because the old dutch oven I use no longer has the lid sit on it straight so the seal is crap. After 5 hours cooking though 500ml of beer and 250ml of stock/blended dried chillies and all the liquid out of onions has boiled off sufficiently with the lid on.
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Mar 5, 2013 23:03
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Braising meat in the oven at 300 degrees for three hours is totally normal. It isn't like you are launching it into the sun. Take it out and give it a stir and a peek every hour. If it looks done, don't put it back in. It is less complicated than carefully tending a giant pot of liquid on the stove and the results are more consistent. Or don't. It's your chili/soup/whatever.
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Mar 6, 2013 00:04
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niss posted:I've had good results cooking my chilli in my Egg, as a bonus it gets a bit of that smoke flavor. Those look delicious, good job. What kind of smoker are you using? And what wood did you use?
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Mar 6, 2013 04:10
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cornface posted:Braising meat in the oven at 300 degrees for three hours is totally normal. It isn't like you are launching it into the sun. I kinda like tending a pot all day, it is a great excuse to drink beer and hang out in the kitchen listening to music.
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Mar 6, 2013 05:48
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Seconded. Planning away 6-10 hours for shopping, prepping, cooking, and eating is like half the reason I cook chili.
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Mar 6, 2013 07:24
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I'm still a big proponent of the Crock-Pot. I brown all the meat, caramelize the onions, and reduce the tomatoes, chiles, broth, beer, and whatever other liquid in pans on the stove. Then everything goes into the Crock-Pot and cooks on Low for like six hours or so. If it's too soupy by the time it's done, I just put it on High and take the lid off for another hour. I did this last night and the chilli was beautiful this morning. I used: 2.5 lb beef stew meat 2.5 lb pork stew meat 1 bottle of Breckenridge Vanilla Porter 1 bottle of IBC Root Beer (testing as a substitute for the Coke suggested in that recipe on page 1 of this thread) 1 can of beef broth 1 can chipotles in adobo 3 fresh habanero, diced 2 cans whole tomatoes 3 yellow onions 2 cans red beans Dried basil Chili powder Paprika Cumin Garlic powder Black pepper Salt I'll post photos later, and report on how it tastes after I have it for lunch.
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Mar 6, 2013 12:13
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Turds in magma posted:Those look delicious, good job. What kind of smoker are you using? And what wood did you use? Thanks, I have a Big Green Egg. I used a combination of Hickory and Apply wood.
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Mar 6, 2013 13:37
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Gonna try Iron Leg's Chili recipe with venison substituted for the sirloin steak and homemade chili powder! I'm really excited about my first real chili and will probably post pictures later. Oh also, I accidentally burnt the cumin a bit in my chili powder, which I think actually gave it a really good smokey flavor, but we'll see how it turns out. 
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Mar 9, 2013 20:36
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Let's talk cornbread. I made some quick chili tonight for dinner and decided to make cornbread, because that's what you do. Couldn't find my usual recipe, so googled this one: http://southernfood.about.com/od/cornbread/r/bl51231b.htm as I was out of milk but had a surplus of buttermilk. I threw in a diced jalapeno, a tiny amount of shredded jack cheese, and some green onion because hey why not. I don't know, I was underwhelmed. It cooked fine, and the skillet was good and hot in the oven with some lard - good crust, good crumb, but overall it needed something. What recipes do you all like?
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Mar 11, 2013 02:19
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My ghost peppers arrived today 
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Mar 11, 2013 19:58
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fuckpot posted:My ghost peppers arrived today Best thing about ghost peppers is their laxative effect.
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Mar 12, 2013 02:21
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I'm kind of interested to talk about the level of heat people like in their chili. I like making chili, and for a while i made chili that really scorched my rear end with just chipotle and habanero chiles, but lately i have been going a lot lower with heat. The main reason is that i think it's harder to taste your chili when it's too hot. I like to add a few tsp of chipotle chile powder to a whole pot of chili. I even deseed the chipotle before i grind them so i can get more smoke flavor, and they're still hot enough to just lightly burn my mouth. This way i can taste the beef, onion, and california chiles in my chili and i'm not sweating two bites into a bowl. At the end i am lightly sweating, but i don't build up capsaicin tolerance like some people because i don't eat hot chiles all the time. Keep in mind this is with about 2.5-3 lb of beef, about a quart and a half of finished texas chili. Another question for people that use home ground chili powder: do you prefer dry california or ancho chile as the basis for your chili? I like california better because i think ancho are a little more bitter, in fact i almost never use ancho although i have a couple bags laying around. California have a little more of a fruit flavor that's interesting in chili, in my opinion.
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Mar 12, 2013 05:18
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Whatever you like is what's best. Anchos are really the backbone of what most people think of as "chili" (generally along with a shitton of cumin). I like to use dried New Mexico chiles, which are similar to California/Anaheims but somewhat spicier and, I think, deeper in flavor, but I'd use them to supplement the Anchos if I were cooking for others who were expecting "chili". Otherwise, I don't cook with Anchos much at all.
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Mar 12, 2013 06:35
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I don't have the highest heat tolerance, but I think a real chili should be just hot enough that I feel like I need to keep drinking water while I eat it, but not so hot that I have to take breaks. VVVVV I am a weird nonperson and can't drink alcohol with food. I make up for it after I'm done eating. Adult Sword Owner fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 18:30
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The mistake you're making there is drinking water and not beer
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Mar 12, 2013 18:47
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Also not enough corn chips or salteen crackers. Or cornbread. Chilli should be spicy enough to make you want some bread-ish thing to eat with it. You don't want it to be too hot to eat but you should have some forehead sweat going by the end of the bowl.
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Mar 13, 2013 03:35
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angerbot posted:Let's talk cornbread. I made some quick chili tonight for dinner and decided to make cornbread, because that's what you do. Couldn't find my usual recipe, so googled this one: http://southernfood.about.com/od/cornbread/r/bl51231b.htm as I was out of milk but had a surplus of buttermilk. Try throwing in some corn kernals in for texture.
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Mar 13, 2013 04:11
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Saint Darwin posted:VVVVV I am a weird nonperson and can't drink alcohol with food. I make up for it after I'm done eating. oh, goons, what will you say next
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Mar 13, 2013 07:51
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I made a pot of chile verde the other day, and once I had it assembled and cooking, I thought it was a little bland. So I dug out a can of chipotles in adobo and minced one. Still bland. Minced another. Still bland. And so it continued through a can and a half, with nary a thought along the lines of "let it cook for a bit and see where the heat is later". I thought it was pretty  but everyone else was  .
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Mar 13, 2013 17:08
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LorrdErnie posted:Gonna try Iron Leg's Chili recipe with venison substituted for the sirloin steak and homemade chili powder! I'm really excited about my first real chili and will probably post pictures later. I realized looking back at that post that all the pictures have died for whatever reason. I'll have to take some new ones next time I make a batch.
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Mar 13, 2013 22:21
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Here in Australia it is almost impossible to find American/Mexican ingredients for chilli making. I have searched for years; so imagine my surprise when, whilst messing around on the internet, I found a deli on my doorstep that specialises in, amongst other stuff, American and Mexican ingredients. After cleaning the jizz from my underwear, I decided that tomorrow, I will make the proper chilli I have always been longing to make after reading this thread. I thought I'd post my planned recipe here to see if anyone can make any suggestions, or point out any horrific flaws I need to rectify*: The store I found sells the following chillies: Cascabel Guajillo Gunjillo (is this the same thing as the previous one and they just had a typo on the website?) Morita Mulato Yunnah Unless anyone has any objections, I'm just going to buy a packet of each and use equal amounts of all of them. I'm also going to add Cumin, dried oregano and smoked paprika. I'm going to use the 'soak to reconstitute then blend to a paste method' rather than grind to a dried powder because I think it will be easier, but please speak up if you think this is going to be a horrific mistake. Added to this will be a 198g can of chipotle in adobo sauce, blended into the paste. (The brand they sell is called El Mexicano, I haven't seen it mentioned here, so if anyone knows about it let me know if it's good) I plan to also use some fresh chillies - mostly Jalapeno. I'm not sure if I should add them at the start of cooking and let them disintegrate or treat them like a vegetable and add them at an appropriate time to retain their texture. Also going in: 2kg of beef (probably brisket or chuck) 200g or so of fresh chorizo 800g of red kidney beans (tinned) beef stock tinned diced tomatoes garlic onions bunch of fresh coriander (Cilantro in American) bay leaves cinnamon stick beer - This one is tricky for me - I know nothing about beer, and most of the brands you guys are used to using probably won't be available here, so I was hoping you could describe the flavour profile/style of beer that best goes into chilli so I can ask the guy at the craft beer place for a recommendation dash of Bourbon drop of liquid smoke (is this redundant if I add bourbon? I've never used either in cooking before) Thanks in advance for any advice I get! *Use of beans does not constitute a horrific flaw for the purposes of notifying me
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Apr 14, 2013 14:19
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Someone else will probably get more in depth on this, but if you put in 200g of chipotles and sauce in your chili, I doubt it's gonna taste like much else. I also might skip the coriander, or at least use it at the end as garnish. Also, if you're using tomatoes (and I like to) don't use canned diced. Either dice some fresh ones or use canned whole tomatoes that you just shred with your hands. I believe there's a chemical in canned diced that keeps them from dissolving, which is mostly what you want them to do. Oh, and the liquid smoke is pretty redundant if you're using chipotles. They're mad smoky already. Again, somebody is probably gonna know better than I, but I'd just stick to a couple types of pepper for your chili powder. I use a 3/3/1 (by pepper, not weight) blend of cascabel, ancho (for which I've subbed mulato with no problem), and chipotle, which is just a less spicy take on Alton Brown's powder: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/abs-chili-powder-recipe/index.html . I like it bracingly hot, but no one else whom I cook for does.
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Apr 14, 2013 18:06
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I am pretty sure morita are dried chipotle. So you'll get smoke flavor from those too. Mulatto chile i thought had a bitter taste, it's one of the ones that goes in mole sauce. Go very light on those if you use them. Guajillo seem like an excellent dry chile to use in your chili, and should probably be the base of your sauce. If you are using a bunch of dried ground chiles, you really don't need the can of chipotle in adobo or a bunch of tomatoes. Like the last poster said, diced tomatoes aren't the best choice because they contain, i believe, calcium chloride, which keeps them from breaking down. Unfortunately, many brands of whole tomatoes also contain calcium chloride, so you have to look in the ingredients. I use a small (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce in my texas style chili and i still get a really thick sauce, you want most of the thickness to come from dried ground chile peppers, which you have lots of. If you don't know anything about beer, don't add any. Use chicken stock. Don't be afraid to add a little brown sugar if it's not sweet enough. I actually adjust my chili with vinegar at the end to make it more sour, but since you have cilantro, you could also use lime juice. Nice find on that deli, you can also order various types of dry chiles from amazon. I've gotten some really good ones from there. Try california chiles out if you can get them.
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Apr 14, 2013 18:47
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