Chili cook off

[Syd]

Every weekend I usually visit the market and get a bunch of fresh ingredients for my chili. Here I will post what the chili of the week is; you can post your chilies as well. Now while you missed the lamb chili and the venison chili, I'm sure they'll come up again.

I'll start it off with stewed beef and ox kidney chili:
Meats
British beef and ox kidneys

Chillies
Spanish Finger and Red chillies

Vegetables
garlic, red kidney beans, onions

Herbs & Spices
cilantro, salt and pepper

Hidden Gems
tomatoes and white wine vinegar

What I do:
Sip a mug of whisky while...
Preparing all the fixins and browning the meat then add the kidney half way through...
Sip a mug of whisky...
Add the chillies, some of the herbs and all of the vegetables; reduce heat and simmer...
Sip a mug of whisky...
Add the tomatoes, reduce heat once again and simmer...
Sip a coule mugs of whisky...
Serve piping hot!!!
sleep...

[laughingwillow]

We like to make chili, too. I shoot for a deep, complex flavor rather than max heat.

beef
tomato
tomato juice
beef broth
black bean
kidney bean
corn
garlic
onion
epazote
cumin
salt
pepper
ancho chili
guajillo chili
cascabel chili
birds eye chili (puiquin)
colorado chili
moreno chili

Brown the beef, onions, cumin and then garlic and tomatoes. Add the rest as you see fit. The esazote is a great addition from mexico that alleviates the gassy effect of beans.

I remove the seeds from the cascabels and colorados and cut the anchos into strips before soaking in warm water for a spell. The chilis and soaking water then go into the chili.

We like to put corn chips in the bottom of a bowl topped with shredded cheese before serving.

lw

[Syd]

After thoughts on the ox kidney chili...
The kidney is not something to be taken lightly. The smell is rancid but the taste and texture was not awful. I'll be leaving the organs out of it from now on and just using different meats and trying different chilies and herbs.

[laughingwillow]

I couldn't get past the ox kidneys, to be honest, as I'm not an organ meat person.  :e_surprised:

lw

[Syd]

Thanks for stickin with me LW, I must say the worst chili I ever made. Maybe next weekend will have better results. I'll be buying a cast iron pot or a slow cooker this week, or both, and I just make me some old fashion chili. I need to find some pulled pork...

[Syd]

I'm currently making a lamb chili with bird's eye, jalapeno and cayenne chilies.

[laughingwillow]

Careful with the birds eye. They isn't big but they is powerful. Either mash em up from the git-go, cook em until they fall apart or remove before serving to innocent bystanders. (I usually give our chilies a good soak before they go into the pot and add the liquid as well.

good luck.

lw

[Lucious]

It might be a while before I can add to this proper, as its hotter than a habanero here, but Im in. Also I too enjoy a good frito pie.


One thing yall might consider is toasting, roasting, or charring the pepper before use. Often when charring youll need to scape off the charred skin, but sometimes it adds an interesting flavor as well.

[laughingwillow]

Right on, Luscious. We really like to roast fresh peppers before adding to the mix.

lw

[jokergrin]

I like growing/using chiltepin chilis in my chili.  They're pretty fun ones to grow - super small and super hot!

[viajesen1]

Students and staff put their culinary skills to the test for the UAF Chili Cook-Off, last Thursday in the Wood Center.  The Student Activities Office sponsored the event, which raised approximately $1000 that donated to the United Way.