Need help with my Chili

[Wild_Bill83]

real quick here is my recipe (WARNING: Big Family)

6 pounds ground beef

2 BIG cans pinto beans

2 BIG can ranch style beans

3 BIG cans diced tomatos

1 BIG can Rotel diced chilis and tomatos

2 Stalks green onion

6 bellpeppers (2 yellow 2 red 2 green) for flavor and color

Corn (optional, my wife loves it, she is hispanic lol)

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Drain all cans except, the pinto beans. Add everything to pot (all cans). Leave on low heat. Chop all veggies up and add to pot. Season beans and veggies with chili powder, garlic powder, salt to taste. Brown and season the beef with Lawrys season all. Drain beef add to pot and let simmer till veggies are done.

We also dice onions but put them on top of our boel of chili and eat them raw.

Here is the deal, I love the chili. My dad cooked it this way for years. But it is starting to taste exactly like what it is. Meat, beans, salt and garlic. I would really like to give it a bit of twang not heat so much as like a south west twang lol thats all i can describe it with. Almost like a salsa kick or something.

Any suggestions? Also I would like a little critique on my recipe, be gentle it WAS my fathers. I know it needs a bit of help though. Should I use a different bean? Different seasoning?

[Davidtxs]

herevbit goes lol that aint chili its bean soup get a pack off wick follwers tweak it add some heat just play with it it will give ya a start

[Wild_Bill83]

herevbit goes lol that aint chili its bean soup get a pack off wick follwers tweak it add some heat just play with it it will give ya a start

What is wick follwers?

[Davidtxs]

herevbit goes lol that aint chili its bean soup get a pack off wick follwers tweak it add some heat just play with it it will give ya a start

What is wick follwers?

its a store bougt mix le me look


http://www.food52.com/recipes/11440_a_bowl_of_red


ive wanted to try this one but wicks is great they give ya the choice of heat

[Boots]

My wife likes the Williams brand, but me, I don't use an off the shelf mix at all, just my preference to do it from scratch. Some suggestions, feel free to use 'em or reject 'em, just some ideas:

1. I always used chili grind (rough ground instead of fine ground chuck - some stores sell it, ask the butcher) or stewmeat. I use straight good fresh red chili powder (from New Mexico if you can get it, they import the stuff from all over, but the stuff from NM comes I think from real ancho peppers and I just like it better). If you really wanna get basic, buy the actual dry red chile pods (again from New Mexico, ask yer grocer) and steam them gently in a stock pot for about an hour. Let them cool, then split them down the side, strip out the seeds and veins, and using a spoon, scrape out the red "meat" and separate it from the skin. A whole big bag of pods will yield you probably 2-4 cups of chile "meat" paste. Now, using either the paste or the dry powder, roll yer meat in it and stir with like a wood spoon until the meat is thoroughly covered. Cover the pot and stick it in the fridge for 2 or 3 hours or even overnight to let that meat soak up and inhale that chile goodness. Then, pull it out and before you start yer normal chile procedure, brown the meat in yer stockpot in butter only until the meat is about half cooked through...much easier to do this if it is stew meat, you can fish a piece out of the pot and cut it open to see how it is progressing then throw it back in...this will help the meat stay tender and not toughen up. You are using the sear to do half the cooking, and then later the simmer to get it the rest of the way there, kind of like braising the meat. Once the meat is half done, throw all other ingredients in the pot after it, bring to a weak boil, then turn it down and simmer it until done - usually I let mine slowly simmer for 2-4 hours, depending on how lazy I am. By mariating the meat first and not cooking it through in the browning stage, I find my has richer flavor and more tenderness. Also, just to me, a little cumin goes a long way. It gives chili a distinctive flavor, but can easily overspower if too much is used. For this reason, I hold off adding it until all the other ingredients are in the pot and simmering, and then I add it slowly until I get the taste I want.
2. No beans for me, thank you, unless the wife gets to me first, I always try and sneak it by her without beans. Would rather cook the beans separate with onions, garlic, salt, cilantro, and other goodies. BUT if you have to put the beans in, Ranch Style is good or try their Ranch Style Pintos with peppers in them.
3. Another way to spike it up is to do what I do, adding about a quarter to half a chipotle pepper to a big pot of chile along with the other ingredients after the meat is ready. You can buy little cans of chipotle in adobo sauce, take them out, and freeze them individually in baggies for later use. WARNING, these little pistols are stout and can rip yer head off unless you are real fire eater...I use gloves or a fork and knife to handle them, and dont accidently rub yer eye unless you just enjoy running around the house screaming and knocking over furniture and pouring beer in yer eye to put the flames out...note that 'ol Boots is describing a historical experience here. If you are more heat averse, try roasting and using a poblano pepper instead. It has a unique smokey flavor and a lot less heat.
4. You can thicken it a bit if you like by adding a little corn masa through the simmering stage, until you get the taste, texture, and color you like.

[BluDawg]

Chile aint got no beans if it has beans it's soup.

"A Bowl Of Red"

3# lean stew beef, ground using ½ inch diameter holes in the grinder plate or cut into 1/2 " chunks
12 pepper pods (anchos or similar)
2 oz. rendered beef kidney suet (optional)

Wash, stem and seed the peppers, and boil them in a little water until the skins can be removed. Then grind, chop, or run them through a colander. Save the water.

Sear the beef until lightly browned. Add the suet, peppers, and enough pepper water to keep it from burning. Add water if needed to cover the meat. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Remove from the stove. Add 1 tbsp each of dried oregano, ground cumin, salt, ground cayenne and Tabasco sauce. Add at least 2 chopped garlic cloves.

Cover and return to simmer for 45 minutes. Add pepper water if needed to keep the meat from burning.

Add 2 tbsp Masa Harina, and simmer covered another 30 minutes.

Adjust seasoning to taste. If it’s not peppery enough then toss in three more chile pods, stemmed, seeded and skinned but not chopped up. Some folks skim the grease off the top but the oldtime cowboys didn’t.

[Wild_Bill83]

I appreciate all the advice guys, pero viva la frijoles por mi!

=]

The sucklebusters chili seasoning, is it spicy, tomato-ey, salty? What does it add to the food?

[TXLNGHRN]

if you like beans keep them, but you need to add a lot more chili powder.
I'd start with some store bought chili mix and see what that gets you. I like the fiesta chili mix. I usually double what the instructions say.
Add a little cumin too.

[Wild_Bill83]

if you like beans keep them, but you need to add a lot more chili powder.
I'd start with some store bought chili mix and see what that gets you. I like the fiesta chili mix. I usually double what the instructions say.
Add a little cumin too.

I really try to add everything my self instead of season bags. But, I guess I will have to experiment.

[n2dabluebbq]

since your keeping the beans, why not switch out the ranch ones for kidney beans. drain them first though. and with chili powder i highly suggest you use a good brand like sucklebusters or grind your own. now, about those new Mexican chile's their green chile would be a nice addition to this concoction you have. that would definitely add a SW flavor profile to it. maybe use that instead of the rotell.

[Jarhead]

I use a mix from CookShack.
If I use beans, it's Bush's Chili Beans.
I also use V8 Spicy instead of tomato juice.



CookShack Chili Mix Recipe

Ingredients:
2 pounds Ground Chuck
2 cups water
15 oz can kidney beans
15 oz can pinto beans
2 cups tomato/vegetable juice
4 oz green chiles, chopped
2/3 cup CookShack Chili Mix

Directions:
Brown meat, stirring frequently.
Add other ingredients, simmer 20 minutes, slow cooker or smoker for 4 hours @ 225 F.
Use juice to control consistency.

Makes about 1 gallon.

Note: I use 2 - 15 oz cans of Bush's Medium Chili Beans and a slow cooker or smoker.