It's Chili Season!

[JRA]

After reading about your chili JRA, you've inspired me to put more effort into the next time I make a "pot".

--- well, this was a hurry-up-and-eat batch, but it sure is scrumptious, and i'm almost sure that you'd appreciate the "kick" even though both of us would gladly prefer it slightly hotter.

(FWIW: i edited the post: i added some garlic --- i think it will be even better tomorrow because of it!)

Wish we were neighbors! I'd help you eat your chili and then I'd love to see your fretless basses!

that's a great idea --- i'd serve chili and beer and fretlesses!

 

[MJ5150]

Y'all inspired me.

-Mike

 

[theduke1]

Here in NE Wisconsin we make chili many ways
My favorite is
Sauté onions, celery, and garlic, and bell peppers
add either 1lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken
2cans red kidney beans
2cans diced tomatoes
24 Oz V8 juice
Salt, pepper, and chile powder to taste
And sometimes I add elbow macaroni
Duke

 

[jmattbassplaya]

What’s this V8 in chili? Definitely a novel addition from my experiences. What does it do?

 

[basscooker]

Lol
Don't hate me. V8 is gazpacho in a can that they pureed too far.

And it's yummy anyway

Another good substitute for the tomato juice is bloody Mary mix. You get the flavor of celery without the added vegetable and associated liquid.

Or chili sauce

 

[Mike N]

Forgot to mention. Chili always tastes better on the 2nd day, 3rd day. Freshly made chili lacks some kind of undescribed flavor. It needs 24 hours to age. For the flavor to broaden out. Spaghetti sauce is kind of the same way. It needs 24 hrs before eating. IMO, IME.

I make a homemade Italian Sausage soup with a boatload of garlic and it's always better the next day.

 

[theduke1]

What’s this V8 in chili? Definitely a novel addition from my experiences. What does it do?

Where I come from our Chile is more like soup than the thick types with meat and beans
So we use V8 or tomato juice if you want to spice it up some you can substitute Bloody Mary mix which I have done on occasion
Duke

 

[Fishheadjoe]

My "trick" for chili is to brown the meat, drain the fat and add my spices to the meat. I keep browning the meat/spice mixture until the chili powder start to turn dark brown. I then de-glaze the pan with a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, scraping all the goodies from the bottom of the pan.
Next step is to add beef stock to the mixture, enough to cover all the meat, bring to a boil and cook off most of the liquid. I add that to my tomato and veg mixture.
Fishheadjoe

 

[WilbursaurusRex]

My "trick" for chili is to brown the meat, drain the fat and add my spices to the meat. I keep browning the meat/spice mixture until the chili powder start to turn dark brown. I then de-glaze the pan with a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, scraping all the goodies from the bottom of the pan.
Next step is to add beef stock to the mixture, enough to cover all the meat, bring to a boil and cook off most of the liquid. I add that to my tomato and veg mixture.
Fishheadjoe

That sounds like something worth trying!

 

[MJ5150]

The chili we made yesterday is starting to taste amazing. I can hardly wait to have a bowl.
Fresh diced onions and jalapenos to top it off with a few saltines.

-Mike

 

[gln1955]

The chili we made yesterday is starting to taste amazing. I can hardly wait to have a bowl.
Fresh diced onions and jalapenos to top it off with a few saltines.

-Mike

That's it! I'm going to the store tomorrow and buying a big ol hunk o' beef and make me some chili.

 

[MJ5150]

For anyone interested, this is where we get our beans: https://www.ranchogordo.com/collections/heirloom-beans
That is not a referral link. I will not benefit if you follow that link and decide to make a purchase.

-Mike

 

[A9X]

Chili season? Every day is chili season.

 

[hbarcat]

Here in Wisconsin, this is the only affirmation we need, that we can make any kind of chili we want. When I was a kid, this was always one of our meals on any camping trip.

The plant is alongside the freeway when you drive from Madison to Chicago. Can't miss it.

View attachment 4458818
World's Largest Can of Chili, Beloit | State Trunk Tour

I like driving by the Hormel factory because you can sometimes smell the chilli being cooked.

 

[shawshank72]

Beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato juice, garlic, chili powder, and some franks red hot.
Pour it over Fritos and enjoy some heaven.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

Y'no what other season it is?

 

[MJ5150]

40 MPH wind gusts, rain measured by the bucket, the last of our home grown Roma tomatoes, and a bunch of extra black lentils all thrown together and we end up with another pot of chili.
A dollop of Daisy sour cream, a dash of cinnamon, a sliver of Carolina Reaper, and a sleeve of a Premium saltines makes my dinner complete.

-Mike

 

[India_Sierra]

Option
We left out the celery. I don't see celery (or green bell peppers, as listed in above posts) as a viable chili ingredient.

Celery is an excellent chilli ingredient because it acts as a flavour enhancer. Much like in an Italian soffrito, you won't taste the celery directly but it adds a delicious savoury note that enhances the overall flavour of the dish. I like it very finely diced to really let the flavour out.

 

[mrpackerguy]

Really crazy! Yesterday, the first time in well over a year, I made a big pot of chili. And, now here I am reading and posting here on TalkBass about chili.

I think nobody makes a pot of chili the same twice. Usually, every time we make a pot of it, there are little variations.

Being from Ohio, I make what is probably called "Mid-Western Style Chili". It's got ground beef, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, garlic, onion and any kind of bean or beans that you like. (Yesterday, I home cooked 1/2 lbs of red beans. It wasn't enough so I added one can of red kidney beans.)

I make 2 kinds of chili. The kind others will eat and the kind that I eat. Mine has a bunch of crushed cayenne and diced jalapeno. Nobody will eat it but me!

Kind of a quickie about my chili recipe. A good one pound of ground been, maybe 1.25 lbs. I like around 90% lean and 10% fat. Cook it in a skillet with one whole diced onion and around 7 or 8 cloves of pressed garlic and garlic salt.

I either use one big jar of mild salsa or one jar of spaghetti sauce and 2 or 3 cans of Italian style mini diced tomatoes (Walmart). Two or three diced bell peppers. Three or four large stalks of diced celery. A second diced onion. A nice clump of cilantro diced up. Oh yeah, the "Texas No-No"...........beans. Any kind I feel like pinto, kidney, red beans, black beans. I like to cook my beans from scratch and not use canned beans. About 3/4 lbs of dry beans but of course cook them first for the chili. Depending on how I feel, I will use canned beans to save time. Kidney beans are really good. Also, canned chili beans. (No sugar in my recipe nor chili powder. I don't like it's flavor!)

I personally don't like thick chili. I like it a little bit on the soupy side so I add water if needed. I think that it allows more flavor to be tasted. "To each his own."

My chili is pretty tame. But, if I make it my way, I go killer hot!

Chili is a wonderful meal! It's got everything except dairy and cheddar cheese can be sprinkled unto the top of a bowel and then it is a complete meal.

Now, here's an old Steve Miller song for this thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is very close to the batch of chili I made the other day: tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, pinto beans, chopped celery, chopped onion, minced garlic, 3# ground beef, chili powder, 1/2 cup sugar, paprika, cumin, curry powder. I make it this way due to my wife being spice-averse. If it were up to me, there's be more chili powder, added chopped green peppers, a minced jalapeno, a couple dashes of Tabasco and probably more curry powder. She will add elbow macaroni though I don't prefer it that way even tho I grew up on it with macaroni in it.

 

[Gorn]

I’m going to Wendy’s to get some chili and maybe a baked potato.