ISO unique, realy unique Chili

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I can make it Thick, southwestern style, or with a host of veggies - Midwestern & Great Lakes style, with or without meat, with or without beans. But I'm getting ready for another chili cookoff. From last year's experience, they don't want great tasting chili (one judge who originally hailed from the South, stated that the only thing wrong with my chili was that Northerners were judging it), they want strange, but great tasting chili (last year's winner had cinamon in it, and many people were asking how in the world it even placed). I thought it tasted like a sloppy-joe mixture, myself. I would have never put it in the category of chile.

That being said, throw me some weird and wonderful chili concoctions. I'll check 'em out and see which one I'll be making. Of course, I'm one of those guys that can't use another person's recipe. So I'll be changing it. But I need some inspiration.

And it can't be too expensive. I may have to travel to Oregon in November and have to start saving some cash again.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Alix]

Goodweed, here's my prize winner. Feel free to modify at will. I was completely taken aback when I won as it was one of those "throw it together at the last minute" sort of deals. Good luck to you!


http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7855&highlight=Alix%27s+Prize+Winning+Chili

 

[Caine]

I can make it Thick, southwestern style, or with a host of veggies - Midwestern & Great Lakes style, with or without meat, with or without beans. But I'm getting ready for another chili cookoff. From last year's experience, they don't want great tasting chili (one judge who originally hailed from the South, stated that the only thing wrong with my chili was that Northerners were judging it), they want strange, but great tasting chili (last year's winner had cinamon in it, and many people were asking how in the world it even placed). I thought it tasted like a sloppy-joe mixture, myself. I would have never put it in the category of chile.

That being said, throw me some weird and wonderful chili concoctions. I'll check 'em out and see which one I'll be making. Of course, I'm one of those guys that can't use another person's recipe. So I'll be changing it. But I need some inspiration.

And it can't be too expensive. I may have to travel to Oregon in November and have to start saving some cash again.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

First of all, find some exotic meat to use, such as buffalo (bison), ostrich, or emu. Second, chili is ALWAYS better if you add some chocolate to it, and Ibarra Mexican is the best kind of chocolate to add. Figure maybe 2 pieces of one disk per quart of chili.

 

[Alix]

Get out. Chocolate? You mean actual chocolate and not cocoa? Dark? What a cool idea Caine, I would never have thought of that on my own.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Caine; I used unsweetened chocolate in my entry last year. But I used too much cilantro. And Alix, yours looks like a great chili as well, something I'd eat at home. But for this, I'm really talking different. Maybe I'll use red lentils in it along with meat and kidney beans. I won't add any tomatoes. The chili will be green in color, but red in taste. That might suprise them. Any other suggestions, or differing opinions are welcome.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[gwkr36a]

Alton Brown (foodnetwork) did this one last night.

3 pounds stew meat (beef, pork, and/or lamb)
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, preferably a medium ale
1 (16-ounce) container salsa
30 tortilla chips
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the chipotle peppers in adobo)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin


Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss with the peanut oil and salt. Set aside.


Heat a 6-quart heavy-bottomed pressure cooker over high heat until hot. Add the meat in 3 or 4 batches and brown on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per batch. Once each batch is browned, place the meat in a clean large bowl. Once all of the meat is browned, add the beer to the cooker to deglaze the pot.
Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to the pressure cooker along with the salsa, tortilla chips, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, and ground cumin and stir to combine. Lock the lid in place according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the steam begins to hiss out of the cooker, reduce the heat to low, just enough to maintain a very weak whistle. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully release the steam. Serve immediately.

 

[QSis]

Well, two things came to mind: when you said "red lentils" (which, by the way, turn brown with long cooking"), I was thinking LAMB.

And when you said, "no tomatoes", I was thinking White Bean Chicken Chili. Which I've made and love. Very creamy and only as warm as the jalapenos or other green chilis you put in.

The lamb chili idea sounds interesting. Do a Google search on "lamb chili" and you get a lot of hits. This Chocolate Lamb Chili is QUITE different!

http://soup.allrecipes.com/az/68757.asp

Good luck and keep us posted - let us know what you make and how you do!

Lee

 

[marmalady]

Hi, GW - This is a recipe developed by a chef at Don Pintabona's restaurant, Tribeca Grill; they prepared it for a 'buffalo' class they taught, and I assisted at. It apparently won a 1st at a contest it was entered in. You might find it interesting!


BUFFALO CHILI

​

2lbs. cubed Buffalo or beef
1pt. Red Chili puree*
1 large white onion
4 cloves garlic minced
1cup canned whole tomatoes
2tsp. dry oregano
1tsp. rosemary
1tsp. tarragon
¼ cup espresso
1T creamy peanut butter
1T cocoa powder
1 corn tortilla
salt and pepper to taste



Place cubed meat in red chili puree and marinate overnight. Saute onions and garlic until soft. Remove meat from marinade, add to pan and saute til browned. Add remainder of puree to pan; crush tomatoes by hand directly into pan. Add herbs. Bring to a simmer, cover and place in a 325 oven; stir every ½ hour to prevent browning on bottom of pan. Remove from oven in approximately 2 hours, or when meat is very tender. Put chili back on stove, add peanut butter, cocoa powder, espresso and stir gently. Tear tortilla into small pieces and add to chili stirring gently; the tortilla will dissolve and thicken the chili. Season w/salt and pepper.

RED CHILE PUREE

​

3oz.mixed dried chiles
1 cup orange juice
1 bottle dark beer
1T pumpkin seeds
1tsp. cumin seeds
1T sliced almonds
½ tsp. Chinese 5spice powder
pinch allspice
pinch cinnamon
1T Sherry vinegar
3 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot minced
salt and pepper to taste



Steep chiles in orange juice and beer til softened, about 20 minutes. Toast seeds and spices til aromatic. Blend chiles in batches with other ingredients; you may need to add water in order for it to liquify. Taste for salt; BE CAREFUL; THIS STUFF IS EXTREMELY TOXIC!



Use for base for Buffalo chili, or other chilis, or enchilada sauce

As you can see, there are lots of complicated flavors going here; it is an absolutely wonderful chili, tho! Thought maybe it'd give you some ideas.

 

[Robo410]

Lamb works very well with chili and really goes well with chipotle pepers. Ground lamb is easy enough to get. But you could get cheaper shoulder chops and slice and simmer also.

Try a game chili: get a chicken chili recipe but swap out the chicks for rabbit and duck etc.

Many of the trail chilis used the dried beef, (jerkey). Also a way to go.

And then there is how you serve it. In a half tropical fruit: ie mango or papaya. In an acorn squash? These fruits really complement a spicy or sweet chili.

good luck and happy creating.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Thanks everyone. There's a lot to think about. I'm going to copy and paste and run these pat my other team members, see what comes up. I'll be making 2 chilis, and maybe some chocolate treats with cayenne pepper mixed in. I have availabel to me some wickedly hot sauce, the kind where you dip a toothpick in it and add that to your big pot of red and it makes you sweat and think before taking too big a bite, and two toothpick fulls and you'd better have something to cool your mouth. There are three categories for judging, the best hot chili, the best mild to medium chili, and the public favorite.

This should be fun.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Constance]

I seldom make anything the same way twice, but this turned out to be the best one I ever made, so I wrote it down while I could still remember what I put in it:

Connie's Best Chili

2 lb ground chuck, browned, drained & crumbled
2 lbs hot style pork "roll sausage" (Jimmy Dean or your choice)
4 30 oz cans Bush's chili hot beans w/juice (no subs)
4 16 oz cans tomato puree
2 29 oz cans tomato sauce
1 large onion,chopped
2 large greenpeppers, diced
1 tbl minced garlic
3 tbls brown sugar
2 tbl cumin
4 tbls chili powder
1 tbl salt
1 tsp pepper
Louisian Red Hot Sauce to taste
2 tbl olive oil
CHEESE DIP
1 lb. Velveeta Cheese
approx. 1 to 1-1/2 cups Pace Piquante Sauce (I use mild, but you could use medium, or even hot if you dare)

Prepare Cheese dip while chili is cooking. Cube the Velveeta, add 1 cup of the Piquante Sauce, and nuke in microwave, stirring, until melted. Add more sauce if needed. Good to nibble on while chili is cooking.

In large pot over medium heat, sweat onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil until soft. Cook meat in microwave or skillet and drain well in colander, mashing with fork to get out the grease. Add meat, beans and tomato products to pot and mix well. Raise heat to med/high, and continue to stir and cook as you add remaining ingredients. Simmer, adjusting seasoning, until 6-pack of beer or bottle of wine is gone. Serve up in bowls with a dollap of Cheese Dip on top and tortilla chips on the side.

*Note: Sometimes I add a can of butter beans and/or crowder peas, just because I like them.

 

[kitchenelf]

I love to put whole (seed removed) black olives in my chili - I have a recipe with pumpkin puree and black beans in it that's really good - I'm pretty sure it's here in the chili sub forum. You'd be surprised what a wonderful taste it creates - you're gonna come up with some kickin' chili - I can tell!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Threw a quick white chili together today and it may have changed my mind about the unique chili I'm going to make. Let me know what you think

Ingredients:
2 cups Great Northern Beans
1 tsp. ground Cummin
1 tsp. ground Coriander
1/2 lb. cubed pork
1 tbs. cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 fresh Roma Tomatoes. cubed, with seeds and liquid
2 stalks celery, sliced
7 dried chile peppers
4 dried Tobasco peppers
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Heat the oil and add the meat, and peppers. When the meat is lightly browned, add the tomatoes. Let cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients and fold together. Reduce heat to lowest simmer and let cook for about 2 hours. Stir every once in a while to prevent sticking. Taste and add more salt, cummin, and/or coriander to taste.

This chili came out fairly blonde, but had a bold flavor. The pepper heat in the mouth came upon me slowly, though I could tell it was there. About half way through the bowlfull, I started to feel it. By the time the bowl was empty, I needed something to drink and my eyes were starting to water a bit. But there was no immediate burning. It was actually very pleasant and warm. This could be a favorite on a cold autumn or winter day. The tomato added only its sweetness. There was no characteristic acidity as there is in my red version.

I'm still thinking of adding the lentils as a thickening agent, though this was pretty thick on its own. I also like the green color imparted by the cooked orange lentils. I will probably add white hominy as well to the competition batch.

The other chili, I have decided, will be the Classic Midwester Chili (CMC) with veggies, ground beef, onion, tomato, celery, lots of chili powder, and some dried chiles. I'm also going to take ideas that I've learned from all of you and incorporate them into the CMC. I'll be adding unsweetened chocolate, allspice, and either fresh corn tortillas, or masa harina to thicken and add flavor.

This will be fun.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[jpmcgrew]

GOODWEED,

I think cinnamon in chili is bizzare but in Cinncinnati they have chili with cinnamon and what ever i believe the greeks in Cinncinnati invented this recipe but coming from the southwest it was not what I crave. I,ve had it there but did not like it.It's not real chili they {but then again thats my opinion.theyserve it as they call 5 ways I dont remember all the ways but a few included pouring it on pasta,onions and so forth they actually have chains of retaurants with this chili.I must say cinnamon is good in certain dishes is great like roasted red pepper sauce for cheese stuffed shell pasta and alot of your moroccan dishes I made a beef,barley spinach soup and added a little bit of cinnamon and it was devine.

 

[kitchenelf]

Your recipe sounds great Goodweed!!! That's the way I like to feel the heat - partway through and then glad it's gone!

 

[AllenOK]

I've tried adding Mexican Chocolate (Abuelita Brand, made by Nestle) to a few batches of chili, but by the time I noticed anything, it was way to sweet for me. I've even tried using cocoa powder, but didn't really notice any flavor change.

I've been meaning to try adding some beer to my chili, but I'm not sure how PeppA would take to that (she just about read me the riot act a few days ago when I added some wine to spaghetti sauce).

Has anyone ever tried adding coffee to chili? I've heard that some folks are adding coffee to different sauces, for added flavor.

 

[marmalady]

Chocolate, coffee and cinnamon are added to chili often in very traditional Mexican recipes - not called 'chili', but often called moles, tinga (stew), or sopa.


They all add very subtle undertones of flavor; the coffee and chocolate 'deepen' the other flavors and support them; an example would be when you put a little coffee into a brownie recipe. You should use unsweetened chocolate or cocoa; Mexican chocolate is a mixture meant to be used for drinking. When I use coffee, I make a little 'syrup' out of about 1 tablespoon of espresso powder and enough water to make a thin paste, then add it in; it goes in toward the end of the cooking, as does chocolate.

Re cinnamon, again it's added in very small amounts, and just adds a 'scent' of flavor - almost subtle to make you ask, 'what is that?'

Re beer in chili, that's also in traditional recipes; somewhere I have a 'tinga de la puerca borracha' recipe; 'stew of drunken pork'! Use a dark beer, Mexican like Dos Equis, or a nice brown ale. It's added as part of the liquid in the beginning of the recipe, and again by the time it's cooked down, just adds another layer.

 

[AllenOK]

I've been meaning to make some Mole sauce. That's also what I've been trying to create in my chili, is a Mole-flavored chili, but due to my inexperience with Mole, haven't been able to do much.

I've got several Mole recipes, and I just need to up and make one sometime. Getting my family to eat, will be the challenge!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I agree that the chocolate has to be completely unsweetened, and that it adds a hint of flavor, but more importantly, strengthens the other flavors. I could see how coffee would do that. But as I am a faithful and practising member of the LDS faith, I would be hypocritical using it.

This is a very worthwhile thread. I've been able to get some great ideas. And for everyone else who isn't in a chili contest, take these ideas to heart anyway. You might just make the best chili you've ever tasted by trying a few of these ideas.

Thanks everyone.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[marmalady]

Allen, if you can get your hands on Zarela Martinez' book on Oxacan cooking, you'll get a real 'feel' for cooking moles - she does a whole chapter on it!

Also, Rick Bayless' books are great for learning to understand the sometimes complex art of making mole!

Happy Cooking!