The Perfect Chili?

[Blasphemy.]

Just recently it had occurred to me that my family has no famous recipes, or any hand me down signature dishes in it's blood. I've decided to try and start one up and dedicate my life to try and make the perfect chili. Why not, chili has got to be one of the better foods out there in my opinon.

Are there any chili connoisseurs out there who have any good tips or ideas that you might think makes the perfect chili?

I plan on buying a huge pot and starting my mission in the next week or two.

[Willravel]

It's not exactly a family recipe, but it's a really good lesson in chili:

[inBOIL]

No beans. They're just filler.

[YaWhateva]

buy New Mexico green chili. roast it. peel it. freeze it. put it on everything. New Mexico has by far and away the best chili I have ever had. Tomato sauce "chili" isn't real chili.

[THGL]

This recipe was acquired here years ago. I can't recall how the owner is though.

1 pound London broil, trimmed and diced
1 pound center cut pork loin, trimmed and diced
3 slices of bacon, coarsely chopped (I think I'll try more next time - never too much bacon!)
4 ounces ground Sicilian sausage or hot sausage
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cups coarsely chopped green or red pepper
5 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 small jar medium-hot chilies (I couldn’t find med-hot so I used mild green chilis & about 1 Tbs. jalapeños - I'm using more jalapeños next time)
3 (6 oz.) cans of tomato paste
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatos.
1 medium can of pinto beans (I'm not a fan of pintos so I used Brook’s brand hot chili beans)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon of molasses
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons peanut oil-divided
3 cups water

Dry spices:
1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon basil
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 whole cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon cilantro
4 tablespoons chili powder (I'm a fan of chili powder so I used 5 or 6)

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to a five quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the butter and the coarsely chopped onion and cook until carmelized.

Once carmelized, add the beef, pork, bacon and sausage, stirring occasionally until browned. Add the lime juice, stir, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and 2 cans of tomato paste, stir, and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high, stir in remaining peanut oil, finely chopped onion, red or green peppers, chilies, tomato paste, crushed tomatos, bar-b-que sauce, all dry spices, and 3 cups of water. Stir, cover, and let cook for twenty minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low, stir and cook for forty minutes stirring often.

Increase heat to medium, stir in pinto beans, hot sauce, and molasses, cover and cook for thirty minutes.

[wraithhibn]

That is Hanxter's Chili, I haven't made that one though. I use the Wendy's Chili recipe that's all over the net as a base, and then play with it as it cooks.

[World's King]

Bacon fat.


That's the key to great chili.

[THGL]

That's it, Hanxter's! I knew it started with an "H" and it wasn't Halx's.

You should try it! Keep your calendar open though, it's time consuming!
Awesome chili though... and all the cinnamon makes the house smell nice (instead of a onion-pepper smell with other chilis).

[noodle]

i can tell you what's in mine, but not proportions. i don't give that out.

beef broth, organic
a can of guinness
cocoa powder
coffee, organic
garlic, organic
cayenne
chili powder
cumin seeds
oregano
salt
coriander
brown sugar
lean stew beef, cubed
lean ground chuck
canned diced tomatoes (organic) with spices
canned organic tomato paste
anaheim, poblano, habenero and jalapeno peppers
vidalia onion
more garlic
organic canned pintos, kidney and black beans.

[World's King]

Okay fine... I'll post my award winning recipe... I’ve never written it down and I don't have measurements because I don't measure. So take it the way it is...

Meat:
Ground Pork
Ground Beef
Bacon
Shredded Chicken

Veggies and peppers:
Onion
Tomatoes
Minced Roasted Garlic
Jalapeno
Habanero
Poblano
Serrano
Red Bell
Yellow Bell
A can of Chipotles (chopped) in Adobo sauce… You can find it in the “Ethnic” section.

Beans:
Whatever you want. Sometimes I use them. Sometimes I don’t. They’re just filler.

Spices:
Salt
Pepper
Green Curry Powder
Red Curry Powder
Chili powder
Smoked Paprika
Chipotle Powder

Extras:
Guinness
Dr. Pepper


Okay… lets put this shit together.

The chicken comes first. Use one package of breasts. A pound I guess. I do it the day before so I can chill it down because it’s easier to shred when it’s cold. Season the shit out of it with the chili powder and salt and pepper. Bake it at 250 for no less then three hours. It’ll kick ass. Trust me. Wrap it up and toss it in the fridge over night.

Next day. Early. Cook off an entire package of bacon. Set aside the bacon. KEEP THE GREASE. Eat two pieces of bacon to get you by. There is no way to make bacon and not eat it. But don’t eat it all. You need it.

Chop all the veggies. Including the chipotles from the can but set those aside. DO NOT include with the rest of the veggies. Take the lovely bacon grease from before and pour it in a large skillet. Let it heat up a little, just till you see a little smoke. Add the veggies. Add a little salt and pepper. Not too much. Sauté till you get a little browning. If you go too far, the tomatoes will get all fucked up and gross. So add them in last… maybe a few minutes after the rest. Set aside. Enjoy the smell. Taste. Love it. Touch yourself.

Cook off the beef and pork. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain the grease… don’t keep. Set aside meat. Brag to your neighbors about how good of a cook you are.

Shred chicken. Wash hands.

Now we must talk about which pot to use. Now it depends on how much you’re making but I will always lean towards my slow cooker/Croc-Pot. It really is the best way to go. If you’re gonna use your slow cooker be sure to pre-heat it. If not… blow me.

At this point it’s pretty easy. Add everything to the pot of your choice. (Slow cooker.) That includes the bacon from before. Just break it up into little pieces. If you’re using canned beans you really need to drain the liquid. It’s gross. Bring to a boil. This is why you need to pre-heat your slow cooker. If you don’t it will take an hour to bring all this to a boil. Once it’s at a boil turn it down as low as it can go and let it simmer for no less then four hours. Taste it along the way. Invite friends. Buy Pepto.

Best served with Corona and rugby games.

[Daniel_]

Originally Posted by World's King

Bacon fat.


That's the key to great chili.

QFT

[World's King]

Daniel, did you read my recipe?

[settie]

That was great WK. Printed and prepped for creation!
Now to wait for a frosty winter day to make it...

[Grancey]

Add a chocolate bar. Really. I'm serious.

[World's King]

Originally Posted by Grancey

Add a chocolate bar. Really. I'm serious.

That's what the Guinness and Dr. Pepper are for.

[Mister Coaster]

I have made Hankster's chili a few times, and it's fantastic! Never placed in any cookoffs, however (might have been my fault, though)

I laso posted a Chili Cookoff style Texas Red recipe a long time ago that is pretty tasty. This has won me some awards, a couple of 3rd place finishes. linky... http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...red-chili.html

[SSJTWIZTA]

im in love with this thread.

guinness? who knew.

[Hanxter]

and i am hanxter... yes, that is mine... help yur selves to it... and remember that in cook-offs cheating is legal

[Cynthetiq]

nice to see you hanx! I knew this thread would draw you out....

[Hanxter]

[Plan9]

Whoa, whoa, whoa... you mean I can put lean beef and a Hershey's dark bar in a pot with beans and it'll come out okay?

This is a must try.

[noodle]

A Hershey bar?!