Chili

[TeaPartier]

Spicy, tastes good, but the meat is kind of bland.

My Chili (first attempt)

3 tbsp EVOO

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Paprika

2 tbsp Cumin

2 tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce

1/2 tsp cayenne

2 fresh tomatoes, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

Method:

1. Pat the beef dry and mix the salt and pepper in with your hands.

2. Heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat; add olive oil and stir in veggies.

3. Add beef to the pot by pulling apart small chunks. Continue stirring frequently until brown.

4. Mix in spices, tomatoes, and garlic.

5. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 2.5 hours, stirring every half hour or so.

6. Simmer uncovered for half an hour, or to desired thickness.

[TeaPartier]

Spicy, tastes good, but the meat is kind of bland.

My Chili (first attempt)

3 tbsp EVOO

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Paprika

2 tbsp Cumin

2 tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce

1/2 tsp cayenne

2 fresh tomatoes, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

Method:

1. Pat the beef dry and mix the salt and pepper in with your hands.

2. Heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat; add olive oil and stir in veggies.

3. Add beef to the pot by pulling apart small chunks. Continue stirring frequently until brown.

4. Mix in spices, tomatoes, and garlic.

5. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 2.5 hours, stirring every half hour or so.

6. Simmer uncovered for half an hour, or to desired thickness.

someone suggested marinading the beef before hand, which is an excellent idea for the second attempt

[SapereAude]

someone suggested marinading the beef before hand, which is an excellent idea for the second attempt

Marinating won't help with ground beef in context of this recipe.

Sometimes it is the beef itself which lacks flavour.

If anything marinating ground beef will hinder browning thus decreasing the flavour you get out of the beef itself.

If you don't want to or can't afforc high quality dry aged, grass fed or whatever kind of premium flavourful beef my next suggestion would be to add a nice roasted or smoked soup bone to the pot. That'll up the meaty flavour and they're cheap. My butcher has smoked pork neck bones for 89cents a pound retail- just about anything that simmers in my house ends up with one thrown in.

Also I add a bit more garlic, plus stir in the spices just before adding any liquid. Letting the spices toast brings out a lot of flavour. Don't let them scorch though- just a little toasty. Also, I'd suggest saving the hot sauce til right at the end- the flavour will stand out more and the acidity of the vinegar from the hot sauce gets muted during the long cooking but will stay bright when added to finish.

[Imogen]

I make traditional European foods for my family, and I have a few tips for you in this endeavour.

1) Use home-rendered lard or goose fat or if not available to you, use butter to fry the onion, celery, bell pepper and jalapeno, but don't burn the butter. Do not fry in olive oil- ever. When the onions are translucent, do the following:

2)Add your powdered spices into the fried veggies and let them froth up while stirring constantly, but do not burn. They should become much more fragrant and a bit 'nutty' smelling. Take this off the heat immediately as the spices froth up in the oil or they will burn and taste bad.

Then add this wet mixture to your stock pot with the browned meat and one small can of tomato paste (or homemade equivalent), one or two cups of reduced beef bone broth, and chopped fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper.

The flavour will be greatly improved with these changes. Also, brown your meat in a heavy skillet (I use cast iron) and don't be afraid to let some of it develop a bit of 'char'-like darkness. It gives the chili a bit of smoky flavour that is delicious. I do this for browning stewing meats for stews well.

ETA: I use a lot of garlic- much more than in the recipe: half of a bulb that fits in my palm- and I never use hot sauce, so I didn't address that, but what SapereAude wrote makes sense. I also second the recommendations about the beef. I haven't had store-bought meat in years and forgot that it is largely flavourless. I use pastured bison where most people use beef. I do recall that the grocery store sold ground sirloin which was an improvement over standard ground beef.

Bones make all the difference in stews/soups/chili. I prepare and store bone broth and add it to foods rather than adding bones to the cooking, but I am cooking for a large family and my pots are too small presently to cook enough food if I have the amount of bones that I otherwise use for stock/broth in there as well. That and I simmer bones for 12-24 hrs to make stock.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Imogen