Secrets of good chili con carne

[weedo]

cinnamon and chocolate, dont use too much choco.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

The secret to good chili (with an I) is good chiles (with an E).
(Or at least that's what I've found).

 

[CasperImproved]

Mylegsbig - Have you thought of adding a reduced coffee liquid? or maybe some dark chocolate? I can't speack to stuff like paste with it as that is totally against the whole concept of chili, but I did not want you to discount the two flavorings that may make you a chilli king where you live since both flavors can enrich the chilli, but many can't tell they were added ;-)

 

[kitchenelf]

does anybody eat their chili on rice? i read that on wikipedia & it sounds tasty.

I grew up eating chili over mashed potatoes - it was quite tasty!

One time I had to stretch my chili to feed SEVERAL more people and dumped in a couple big jars of cilantro salsa and other salsa - it was really good!

 

[T-roy]

Tips:
Quality homade stock or good broth. Never plain old H2O.
A can of clams.
Grind dried peppers to make fresh chile powder.
Fresh lime juce just before serving.
Fresh cilantro just before serving.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

For me, I use diced tomato, beef, onion chunks, sliced celery is a must, along with cumin, cilantro, coriander, garlic, lots of chile's of various kinds (yellow tobasco peppers are a great addition when you can find them), massa harina to thicken.

Tip: the chocolate used in chili is unsweetened and serves to intensify and compliment the paprika and ground chiles.

My chili is a combination of the midwestern (Boston) style and the Southwestern style chili. Another very good addition, flavor-wise, is white hominy. I also add dark-red kidney beans to my chili, but that is an optional thing. When surving, I sometimes cut fresh, corn tortillas into small squares and add them to the individual bowls. That too is a yummy flavor that just goes with most chili. Oh, and for the record, con carne litteraly means with meat, just as con queso means with cheese.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[jennyema]

Since when is Boston in the midwest?

And what is Boston-style chili?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Since when is Boston in the midwest?

And what is Boston-style chili?

I call it midwestern chili, i.e. Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. The version I grew up with is more soupy, with ground beef, canned tomato, kidney beans, onion, chili powder, , Hungarian Paprika, maybe some sweet corn, and definitely has celery. It is served spicy to taste, depending on the cook, and often is eaten with Saltine style crackers, or oyster crackers crushed into it. It is sometimes served over rice. V8 brand Tomato Cocktail juice makes a good starter broth for this kind of chili as the celery flavor is already established.

I called it Boston Style chili after hearing someone on F/N call this version by that name. Whatever you call it, it is hearty, and warms you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes on a cold November day. Growing up where the snow banks were often taller than I was, it was a definite treat whenever my Mom or Dad made it, which wasn't often enough.

I can't say that I prefer it over a good southwestern style bowl of red, but I like it just as much.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North