Chili: Vehemently wrong about something stupid.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Chili: Vehemently wrong about something stupid.

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

I made my first batch using the chili puree method (dried chilis toasted, simmered in chicken stock, then pureed). It's fantastic. It gives the broth a really nice, silky texture that I haven't seen before.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2016 17:30

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# ¿ Apr 23, 2024 16:29

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

None of us should be judged for our chili. Let's make this a chili safe space.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2016 14:55

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Why is there beef and turkey together?

edit: please try any of the other Chili recipes in this thread, I think you'll be surprised at how great they are

mega dy fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Jan 23, 2017

# ¿ Jan 23, 2017 20:00

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Sun Wu Kampf posted:

Somehow I'm not surprised goons would get huffy even about chili, of all things.

So look, it's not really a purism thing. That recipe is just weird and bad and kind of deserves to be mocked a bit. It's not a big deal.

It's like if there was a pizza thread and someone was like "check out this pizza recipe: spread ketchup on bread, top with american cheese, put it in the microwave for 30 seconds."

mega dy fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Jan 24, 2017

# ¿ Jan 24, 2017 23:57

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Ranter posted:

I cook with it in Asian foods and use a lot of it because I think that flavor makes sense there. But I wouldn't use anywhere near that much in chili or ragu.

When lumped in with other flavors, fish sauce totally loses it's asian-ness and just makes anything more "meaty" tasting. I use it all the time in very non-asian dishes like chili, gravy, pan sauces, braises; it's fantastic.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2017 22:16

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Ranter posted:

Anyone got some kenji-esque testing that shows fish sauce is doing something different than MSG? If you're not using enough to bring out the fishy taste then I feel like you're just getting the glutamate boost, which MSG would also take care of.

I just did a really scientific test where I dumped in fish sauce and it tasted good.

I do remember this article where different chefs spoke to how they used it.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2017 00:29

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:

- I want to try smoking the chopped meat bits for a little bit before I put them in the pot, just to experiment. About how long should I do that for? Maybe about an hour or so? Less? More?

I look forward to seeing you troll your way around this, but here is an honest opinion for benefit-of-the-doubt purposes.

A chuck roast is typically more than a pound. A smallish roast is usually a bit over 2lb, just grab one of those and smoke the whole roast before you cut it up. If you try to smoke individual pieces, it will dry out. Since you are really just going for color/crust/flavor and not actually trying to cook the inside I would put some basic salt/pepper rub on it and smoke @275, check on it after an hour or so and pull it when it develops some crust/color. Basically be careful to not actually cook it, but chuck is pretty fatty so you should generally be OK.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2018 17:53

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:

Yeah I�m not gonna cook it, I just want to add some flavor.

Should I at least slice the meat a couple of times to increase the surface area that�s exposed to smoke?

# ¿ Oct 12, 2018 20:57

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

neogeo0823 posted:

D. That has to be patently false with just a few exceptions. When you make stock, good stock, you're simmering everything for like 8 hours or more. Typically, I'll use carrots, celery, onions, and spices like peppercorns and bay leaves. None of that results in "bad flavors" in the stock. The only vegetables I can think of that'll add "bad flavors" are cruciferous ones like broccoli and brussels sprouts, but you should not be using those anyway.

This dude trolled up the smoking meats thread like none other, so engage with caution.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2018 04:01

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:

It was really really good, but I felt like the chili pepper flavor was a little too strong, maybe because I used the full batch of chili paste. It was super earthy and I almost want to say �muddy� because I suck at flavor words and can�t think of a better one. I want to know what are some good ways to brighten the flavor up a bit.

Adding acid will fix this. Vinegar and lime juice are both good to brighten it up and cut the bitterness of the chilis.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2018 20:09

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:

Sounds good. About how much acid should I add to a recipe that has 3 lbs of meat and a pint of chili paste?

A good baseline for vinegar is Kenji's recipe which calls for 2 tbsp for a batch with 4lb chuck / 2qt stock. Maybe start with that and add to taste (I usually add more).

# ¿ Oct 18, 2018 22:12

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

fishing with the fam posted:

Anyone know of any good green chili recipes? Tried finding some online and they are all lazy rear end in a top hat recipes that involves dumping in jars of salsa verde and poo poo. I was hoping for a recipe that involves actually roasting the tomatillos, peppers, and onions, but couldn't find any that looked good.

Kenji to the rescue.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2018 22:01

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

The last time I did short rib chili I cut off as much fat as possible and the results were great.

I've done short rib chili many times and it comes out great. Only problem is the price.

Used to be a buffalo meat vendor at the farmer's market near my old place that had these giant buffalo short ribs, they were perfect for chili.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2018 18:35

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

I would NEVER suggest putting something like eggplant in chili, everyone knows that's pure blasphemy.

That being said, hypothetically, if a girlfriend were to insist on a more veggie-heavy chili, then it's possible that roasting and cubing eggplant with the skin removed could result in some tasty morsels that inherit the meaty flavor of the chili they are cooked in.

But just to be clear, I would never ever suggest that in this thread and anyone who does should just get the hell right out of here.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2019 18:14

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Ranter posted:

you can put leftover paste in the freezer

I always do a whole bag of peppers to make a shitload of paste, freeze it, and then I have enough for like 3 batches of chili. It's great.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2019 18:28

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

This may already be common knowledge but I think after years of making chili I just recently learned how much better it is with properly browned ground beef. It's just insanely better flavor, like the difference between a great burger and the lovely one that your mom made.

My Beef Tips�:

Use coarse-ground beef if you can, it sticks together a lot better. Don't buy lean ground beef.
Use a nice pan (cast iron works great). After the beef finishes browning, you can move it to your chili pot and deglaze for flavor+++.
Get the pan screamin hot and don't crowd it. You should have to run your hood fan once you put the beef in. Brown in batches if you need to. No more than 75% of the pan should be full.
BEFORE you put the beef in the pan, smush it down to a few burger-sized patties of roughly 2in thickness, but without compressing it too much. Make sure it is at least a little loose so some heat can penetrate.
Season the beef generously with coarse ground kosher salt. Don't mix it in, just keep it on the edges.
Put that beef in. Don't touch it for at least a few minutes. For some reason if you touch it all the of the water will instantly leak out and you'll be steaming instead of searing. When you feel like you might have some brownination, use a spatula to gently lift one of the patties and inspect for The Brown. If you do not see The Brown then keep not touching it.
When you got some brown, flip each patty like a burger and let the other side cook for a bit.

Keep in mind you're cooking this beef for a while longer, so your meat should not really be done all the way through the middle. You just want the edges crispy as gently caress. This will improve the beefiness of your chili by tenfold.

If you did this right you should have naturally clumpy ground beef with nice, crispy, brown edges. If you did it wrong you should have a pile of watery grey mush.

When the beef is done, I usually remove it from the pan and then do my onions/peppers/etc in the beef fat, then throw everything together in the chili pot I'm using. It's kind of finicky but whatever.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 19:59

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# ¿ Apr 23, 2024 16:29

mega dy: Dec 6, 2003

Hostile V posted:

I'm looking for some advice on how to tweak my chili to really make it pop. I like it a lot, don't get me wrong, and I'm not looking to go too deep into the weeds in work and materials because this is a lazy Sunday chili I make for my folks and save some for leftovers during the week. I just...it feels like I can elevate it just a little bit more, push it to a higher level rather than just rest on this being a legitimately good dish.

Cook a roughly diced pretty large sweet onion and like 5-6 cloves of crushed garlic over oil in a large pot until soft, transparent and fragrant, and add a pound of turkey, cook until cooked. Add:
1 can of black beans
1 can of refried pinto beans
15 oz of diced tomatos
1 cup of corn
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup of veggie broth
1 can of hatch peppers
1 package of lime chipotle chicken sausage cut into half moons
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
.5 t onion powder
.5 t garlic powder
1 T brown sugar
1 t salt
1 T cocoa powder
1 t instant espresso powder

Mix well and simmer on low for a minimum of a half hour. It creates a solid flavorful chili that doesn't need much in the way of toppings but I dunno I feel like it could use something more. I did cinnamon for a bit but it overwhelmed the dish very obviously and reducing its amount didn't do much in the way of bringing much flavor to the mix so I cut out cinnamon; I'm also considering a little honey, a splash of soy sauce, maybe adding mango. Definitely gonna try adding hominy instead of corn though, and also going to try to add canned chipotle in adobo, but any other recommendations based on what I'm working with?

A lot of folks have suggested ingredients, but one technique I�ve found is that blooming the spices or paste in fat really helps bring out flavors. When you have a decent amount of fat in the dish with decently high heat, throw your spices or paste in and let it fry until fragrant, usually between 30 seconds to a minute.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2022 19:20

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