WhateverYouWant
Sous Chef
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2019
- Messages
- 609
I make really good chili. I brown the beef in a large deep saute pan (usually in two batches to avoid crowding the pan), and mix the spices with the wet ingredients thoroughly. Then add a layer of beef followed by a layer of the wet ingredients, and then another layer of beef, etc. in a crock pot and cook high for 4 hours (or low for 6-8). Yum!
Earlier this week I made a batch, adding some tips I spied on the Net. That was to mix some water, salt, and baking soda, massaging it into the beef and sit for 20 minutes before browning. This was said to get more browning on the beef, and to better retain moisture. Another tip was to add the spices to the browned beef and continue heating/stirring to "wake the spices up". I did this all in 5qt dutch oven, then added the wet ingredients, brought back up to simmer for 30 minutes, and then finished uncovered in the oven for 2-3 hours instead of the crock pot.
It was lousy. Really greasy, and seriously missing acidity that is usually there in spades. And flat flavor compared to the crock pot method.
So... was it the pre-treating of the beef, cooking the spices with the beef, or the combination of the two? Just curious, as I will never use those "tips" again.
Earlier this week I made a batch, adding some tips I spied on the Net. That was to mix some water, salt, and baking soda, massaging it into the beef and sit for 20 minutes before browning. This was said to get more browning on the beef, and to better retain moisture. Another tip was to add the spices to the browned beef and continue heating/stirring to "wake the spices up". I did this all in 5qt dutch oven, then added the wet ingredients, brought back up to simmer for 30 minutes, and then finished uncovered in the oven for 2-3 hours instead of the crock pot.
It was lousy. Really greasy, and seriously missing acidity that is usually there in spades. And flat flavor compared to the crock pot method.
So... was it the pre-treating of the beef, cooking the spices with the beef, or the combination of the two? Just curious, as I will never use those "tips" again.