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How To Make The Best Chili, According To Chili Cook-Off Winners (And A Judge)
HuffPo ^ | 10/14/2022 | Julie Kendrick

Posted on 11/10/2022 11:25:30 AM PST by simpson96

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To: Sirius Lee

“Looks good. If chili doesn’t have beans and onions as well, then it’s useless.”

I am pro-beans too. I like to see half beans and half meat. They go along well together. I understand how some (Texans?) are very anti-beans. To each his own.


81 posted on 11/10/2022 12:56:39 PM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: simpson96
I've made chili every which way you can and I've decided I like it with beans best. The farting afterwards is part of the experience and without beans it just doesn't live up to it's potential.

I've got nothing against Texans but I really don't care what their opinion is on chili, the only one that matters is mine. I'm the same with their mediocre BBQ, it really doesn't matter what they think about it. Much better BBQ comes off my smoker than anything I've tasted from Texas.

82 posted on 11/10/2022 1:08:02 PM PST by GaryCrow
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To: simpson96

Without beans it’s beef and tomato soup.


83 posted on 11/10/2022 1:09:38 PM PST by muir_redwoods (Freedom isn't free, liberty isn't liberal and you'll never find anything Right on the Left)
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To: gop4lyf

*** Makes me fart like a plow mule.***

You sound pretty proud of yourself there, pardner!


84 posted on 11/10/2022 1:10:37 PM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: Leep

“My secret to homemade chili is to cheat and put a canned chili in it.”

Aldis has some very good canned chili beans. 70 cents a can. Buy some cans of this and then add the meat (beef) as you see fit. Add other items too. Onions, peppers, spices and so on.


85 posted on 11/10/2022 1:12:07 PM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: simpson96

I’ll very heartily vouch for the Merritt’s Chili recipe. I’ve made it about a half dozen times now.

Best damned chili I’ve ever had. It’s bursting with flavor. Everyone who’s had any of mine loves it.


86 posted on 11/10/2022 1:15:38 PM PST by nesnah (Infringe - act so as to limit or undermine [something]; encroach on)
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To: simpson96

Now I am sitting here angry; looking at the skinless chicken breast for dinner. I would prefer chili, but nooooooo.


87 posted on 11/10/2022 1:29:04 PM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: FamiliarFace

About 99% of Cincinnati-ans. I prefer the original. Skyline Chili.


88 posted on 11/10/2022 1:37:14 PM PST by mfish13 (Elections have Consequences.)
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To: Leep

Its good to know how to do to spice up a can of chili into something better.


89 posted on 11/10/2022 1:43:27 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: mfish13

Yeah, I think they’re crazy. Nastiest stuff ever. No offense.


90 posted on 11/10/2022 1:55:40 PM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: Vermont Lt

You can cook that tomorrow if you want. Go run out and get you some chili fixins! Fast!


91 posted on 11/10/2022 1:56:59 PM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: Boogieman
Try using raisins instead of honey. A touch of sweetness is nice for mellowing a chili’s flavor but too much or too bold a flavor can be distracting.

Takes about one or two handfuls of raisins for a typical chili pot. YMMV on amount. The raisins dissolve during simmering. If they don’t then simmer longer.

92 posted on 11/10/2022 1:58:28 PM PST by Hootowl99
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To: FamiliarFace

You have to be raised on it as I was.


93 posted on 11/10/2022 2:02:16 PM PST by mfish13 (Elections have Consequences.)
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To: mfish13

Dixie on Monmouth in Newport. After bar after burner. 6 way with onion and garlic. My wife asks no questions cause she can’t stand the smell of the answers.


94 posted on 11/10/2022 2:29:59 PM PST by bleach (If I agreed with you, we would both be wrong.)
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To: simpson96

I make really good pinto beans. My wife makes really good chili (beef, not ground, and dries and grinds her own chilies). But beans and chili are two separate things. She also doesn’t put chocolate or pineapple or spaghetti or any other nonsense in it.


95 posted on 11/10/2022 2:32:06 PM PST by Burma Jones
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To: simpson96

Really nicely done article.


96 posted on 11/10/2022 2:40:49 PM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: simpson96

Colorado Pork Green Chili

19 lbs deboned pork shoulder, cut into 5/8 cubes

5 quarts freshly roasted/de-skined/de-seeded Big Jim green peppers

5 quarts crushed tomatoes and juice

2 quarts chicken stock or chicken broth

7 large white onions

18 medium shallots

1/2 cup minced garlic

Small amount of hot Pablano or other hot peppers to add extra heat

~2 TBS (slightly rounded) fresh ground Tellicherry blackpepper

~1 TBS (level) unrefined sea salt (if salt is needed)

Slice pork shoulder into 5/8” cubes and heavily brown. Deglaze pan with a bit of the chicken stock.

While pork is browning, use food processor S-blade to mince peppers, shallots, garlic and onion. Then stir that plus canned tomatoes and chicken stock into large stock pot, bring to boil and then cook in preheated oven at 325 degrees for one hour.

Then stir in cubed pork and cook in oven for 45 minutes, stir, cook for another 45 minutes, stir and then cook for 30 more minutes. Pork should be cooked but still a bit firm to chew, so total cooking time will vary.

Remove from oven and cool stock pot with ice water. Water and ice will have to be changed a few times if kitchen sink is used for cooling.

Once cooled, chili can be packaged for freezing.


97 posted on 11/10/2022 2:42:19 PM PST by catnipman (In a post-covid world, ALL "science" is now political science: stolen elections have consequences)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Yes..and that includes a lot of foods. My specialty


98 posted on 11/10/2022 2:53:37 PM PST by Leep (Hillary will NEVER be president! 😁)
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To: catnipman

Colorado pork chili looks like pea soup, green and hot. Useful for some things, but not actual chili. And not as useful as New Mexico style chopped green.
NM Chili is better.

But neither are in the “bowl of chili” class....


99 posted on 11/10/2022 3:36:48 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up..)
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To: simpson96
The first line of the OP excerpt said it well. Regional styles vary wildly. Many if not most of the variations are way too distant from traditional chili for my preferences. I'm stuck in the past.

Start at the beginning. Red chili has wildly different characteristics depending on where the field is located. New Mexico red chili is the best IMHO. The largest growing region is around Hatch, NM then extends from Hatch south to Las Cruces. The second region is around Albuquerque. Both of these are irrigated lands along the Rio Grande river. They each have distinctively different flavors but both are good.

Hit these valleys in the fall harvest season and buy your years supply by the pound. Roadside vendors setup chili roasters for the harvest season. A marvelous chili is grown in the Chimayo valley north of Santa Fe. About the only way to get this chili is to by farmer run roadside stand or more likely the back of a pickup truck. Farmer grown and roasted. Very dark red color and a smokey flavor.

My recipe was learned from my grandmother. Simple and good. Hamburger, tomato sauce, white onion, garlic and red chili. Pinto beans are cooked on the side and added to the pot about an hour before serving or at serving time directly into the bowl. Drain and rinse the beans and ladle into the chili. BTW, you can brighten up the flavor by adding a small amount of diced green chili while cooking.

For the liquid, I didn't figger this out until I was older and in college. Towards high school age, curiosity hit me on why was there often beer in the refrigerator and neither of my grand parents drank the stuff. Finally I caught grandmother and my aunt putting Coors in the chili, no water! Now I knew the secret ingredient.

Using roasted red chili is not a simple thing of just adding a fixed amount. You can tailor the heat level by how much is added but keep in mind that the heat level varies from one crop year to another and one field to another. When your adding chili to the pot, avoid adding to a level that is “hot”. As the chili simmers, it's going to get hotter and you run the risk of going nuclear. Add chili until there's a small bite then stop. Calibrate your next pot of chili to add a little more or less roasted chili to get perfection. Lol…

Back to the beer - This is important. First, you don't want to run out of beer. When topping the stew pot or crockpot with liquid, only use beer. Be sure to reserve some beer for yourself and any nosey helper. Later when the liquid needs topping up, it's always one for the pot and one for the cook. Can't go wrong. From start to table ready, I budget 5-6 hours. This length of time lets the flavor bloom nicely.

100 posted on 11/10/2022 3:46:04 PM PST by Hootowl99
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