How does the Cincinnati Chili mix compare with Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Chili Mix, which is very good?
Never had the Carroll Shelby brand, but I can bet a dollar that Cincy Chili is very different. It’s an acquired taste and not like a traditional beef, bean, tomato chilies most are used to. First it usually has cinnamon and in some versions chocolate. It’s more like a chili sauce after cooking down, the meat is chopped really fine and the chili is put on Spaghetti or small hot dogs, topped with cheese and onions. There are beans available for those that want them on the spaghetti but they are not in the cooked chili.
It is more a Greek meat sauce. I know someone who would use it in her moussaka where it was pretty good.
I buy Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Chili Mix in the 4 packs from Amazon as no grocery stores near me stock it anymore.
I use it as a base for my “Aztec 3 Bean Turkey Chili” but add a lot of other ingredients including a dash or 2-3 of unsweetened dark coco powder (must be the unsweetened dark), smoked paprika, a bit of balsamic vinegar, a few pinches of dark brown sugar, tsp of course ground country mustard. I use black beans, kidney beans and cannellini beans and red bell peppers, red onion, several cloves of garlic and fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste, adding some chicken stock if necessary if too dry.
The unsweetened coco and the smoked paprika gives it an earthy and smokey flavor, the balsamic vinegar and mustard some tang and the dark brown sugar some balance.
I sauté the garlic, onion and red bell peppers in some olive oil, then add the Carroll Shelby’s chili seasoning and red pepper and keep sautéing being careful not to burn. Then I add and brown the ground turkey (and yes I’ve made it with ground beef or chili beef too but for this I like lean ground turkey).
Then I transfer this to a large crock pot and add the drained beans and tomatoes and other ingredients. I cook on low in the crock pot for at least 4 hours and taste several times adding salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, add the masa from the Carroll Shelby mix and either chicken stock or water if needed.
I never serve over spaghetti. As I side I may serve with lime cilantro rice or corn bread but typically not as the chili is filling enough.
I serve in a bowl and top it with sliced green onion, a small dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican) and drizzle with some avocado oil.