Chocolate in Chili

[colby92]

Does anyone else do this? I know of a person who won a chili cook-off and she put a little bit of chocolate in it to make it sweeter.

 

[chave982]

Absolutely...I just won a chili cook-off this past weekend. See this post. I add a Hershey's bar at the very end. I don't add it for the sweetness, though; I add it for another layer of flavor...but as long as you don't tell anybody, they will never know there's any chocolate at all.

 

[Katie H]

I have a chili recipe that I add some Hershey's kisses at the end. Really delicious.

 

[Jeff G.]

Yep, I have seen chocolate, Peanut butter, both. I have tried one that used a little carmel in hers--but that really didn't work for me......

 

[David Cottrell]

Yes Indeed

Does anyone else do this? I know of a person who won a chili cook-off and she put a little bit of chocolate in it to make it sweeter.

Chocolate and Chili - like in peppers go way back to the Aztecs - they made a chocolate drink using coco beans and chili peppers. For what we call Chili there are tons of recipes using chocolate. Go for it!

 

[VeraBlue]

Absolultely...........it's lends a depth you'll be amazed at. While you at it..try adding a bit of cayenne to your next batch of home made hot chocolate.

 

[sattie]

I have always heard of it and my sister claims she put a Hershey bar in her chili.... but I can't say that I have ever tried it or if I have, I never knew it.

I am curious to know what kind of flavor it adds to the chili... perhaps I need to whip up my recipe and try a chocolate bar in it?

 

[strawberry]

I usually throw in an ounce of semi-sweet baking chocolate in my chili. It adds a depth of flavor that I really like. You can't taste it as chocolate, but it gives it a certain bit of richness that works for me. It's more of a flavor enhancer than a flavor unto itself.

 

[AllenOK]

I usually just add some cocoa powder along with all the other powdered seasonings. Again, nice and complexly flavored. I'd tried to use Mexican chocolate, baking chocolate, etc., and find that it adds to much sweetness, thus the cocoa powder.

 

[jennyema]

Does anyone else do this? I know of a person who won a chili cook-off and she put a little bit of chocolate in it to make it sweeter.

Yes I always add it, but I never use sweetened chocolate just unsweetened. The point of adding chocolate isn't to make it sweeter, it's to add depth of flavor, like a mole sauce.

 

[GB]

Yes I always add it, but I never use sweetened chocolate just unsweetened.

This is what I do as well.

Also, the Aztec "hot chocolate" that they drank was not sweetened either.

 

[jabbur]

I use Hersey's syrup in mine. Sometimes I'll add grape jelly instead for a bit different sweetness. The first time I heard about chocolate in chili kinda made me shudder but then when I tasted it, it was great and have been adding it ever since.

 

[bknox]

Cincinnati style chili uses baking chocolate. I have never used chocolate myself but I do like a good Cincinnati style 5 way.

 

[flukx]

I think its nice to add a touch of chocolate, but you also have to be very careful. If you add too much chocolate, the chili becomes overpowered and, in my opinion ruined. I did a nice experiment once with different pots of chili, each with a different amount of chocolate, and I found that it is very easy to overdue it. Be conservative and add a little at a time.

 

[Rom]

i've never made chilli before so this is slightly off topic lol but i once had a chocolate/chilli wine..my bf thought it was the best thing since sliced bread didn't really taste like chocolate. it was ok in my opinion.

 

[bigjimbray]

My mother in law would always add chocolate to her sauce whem makeing chicken mole
she said it makes the sauce smoother. I know for a fact it sure did`nt hurt the tasteI hate the thought of eating chicken, I got burned out on it when I was a kid. but I do
like her chicken mole.

 

[Callisto in NC]

What ratio do you do? I have two containers left of my chili and I'd be interested to see what would happen if I added some chocolate. Can't hurt the containers or my supply since I'm doing a batch in a couple of weeks.

 

[GB]

For a big batch of chili I will put in one or two squares of unsweetened chocolate.

 

[college_cook]

I like to add chocolate with limited sugar content, which usually means i have to go for some of the more expensive brands. You never taste it, but I think it adds a certain smoothness and depth of flavor.

 

[Caine]

I use 2 wedges of Ibarra Mexican chocolate in a 5 quart SS casserole pan full of chili.