Ok I just ruined a Chili

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Ham Hock

Cook
Joined
Mar 26, 2006
Messages
76
Location
Mississippi
I love my cast iron but long time simmer in the oven with tomatoes and peppers in the mix, it did not work so good.

I could taste the pot, that is the first time that this ever happend to me.

Goin with stainless on round two.

I thought I had it seasoned well after the last run but it sure put the bitters to my chili and I could taste the iron......

Darnit..............
 
It happens to all of us.

I have ruined chili before, it was a three bean chili. We didn't stir it for a while and some of the beans stuck to the bottom and started to burn. I had to throw it away and start over. But any way I use a 22 quart(20.4 liter) stainless steel stock pot. It works great provided you watch after the chili and stir it every once in a while :winkiss: .
 
I love my cast iron, as you know. But if I'm making something with acidic or alkalie ingredients, even I use SS. The non-neutral ph of many foods will find any tiny chink in the seasoned coating of cast iron, and in the short term, usually won't affect flavor. But if your cooking for a few, or several hours, you will create metallic ions that will mess with the other flavors in the pot.

I cheat with my cast iron. I rub it all over with shortening, and then throw it on the covered kettle barbecue with all vents wide open and a real hot fire. I let it bake until it stops smoking. Then, I carefully wipe the inside with more shortening, cook it 'till it quits smoking, then rub it a third time, close the vents, and let everything cool down.

When the pan is cool, I rub some cooking oil into the inside surface and it's ready for use. I get very good results with this method, and the coating wears very well. As I said, I don't have problems with iron flavorings in my food.:)

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
My iron works great on the stovetop but I got the idea to whip up some goodies and just put it in the oven for 6 hours and got a rood awakening that wouldnt have happened with something else besides iron..

It's great for a whole LOT of stuff but makin tomatoes and peppers in the oven just aint one of them.

Too much acid, thats all.

I was going for really slow but I can do that in most anything.
 
I have had the same experience with one pot, but never with the other. Both were seasoned similarly with lard and high heat outdoors. But neither pot was over 100 years old and seasoned by granny ... that's the real secret!
 
I accidently poured too much cayenne pepper in my chili. Is there anything i can now add to lessen the effect or do I throw it out and start over?
 
How "too hot" is it? Is it to hot to add the same ingredients and make a bigger batch? I don't use cayenne in mine so I don't know how much is too much. I only use cayenne in something that requires a pinch. You may be able to add some very mild and unseasoned ingredients and make a chili soup. I've had to toss things, but I've never learned to like it.
 
elmoeugene said:
I accidently poured too much cayenne pepper in my chili. Is there anything i can now add to lessen the effect or do I throw it out and start over?


All you can do is make another batch (or half batch) without any cayenne and combine them. Chili freezes well.
 
Something else you could try would be to add a quantity of cooked rice or pasta to your too-hot chili. You could even add a quantity of shredded cheese along with the starch & turn the whole thing into a casserole. Yes, it will still be hot, but the cheese & the pasta or rice should cut things down a bit. Something else that will cut the heat will be to serve it topped with a goodly dollop of sour cream - dairy is a great heat breaker.
 
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