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Simmering for a while. The backstrap will not break down easy

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  • Not bad for my first time. 2nd place out of 69 entries at the Texana Chili Spill. 

  • jimmyjazz
    jimmyjazz

    Probably my best ever:  an attempt to get close to the original San Antonio Chili Queens recipe.  I used less onion and more chile peppers & cumin, but the result was stellar.  I'd say the heat wa

  • elfenix
    elfenix

    3.5 lbs chili grind, 3 or 4 lbs cubed smoked brisket, a bunch of peppers made into paste, powders bloomed in beef fat, bunch of onions + ones floating around the fridge, some serranos and jalapenos fl

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Chili worked out. Floated 3 serranos and added some cayenne. Heat was there.

Gonna experiment with pepper blends next.

2 hours ago, huge said:

Chili worked out. Floated 3 serranos and added some cayenne. Heat was there.

Gonna experiment with pepper blends next.

Ray Charles Laugh GIF

This thread is approaching the level of the Israel/Palestine discussion in Cloak Room.

And is no less important IMHO.
On 9/29/2024 at 5:29 PM, hobbes2702 said:

Ray Charles Laugh GIF

After further tasting the pepper skin was not totally dissolved/pulverized.  I need to do better.

1 hour ago, huge said:

After further tasting the pepper skin was not totally dissolved/pulverized.  I need to do better.

Did you use a fine mesh strainer when transferring the slurry out of the blender?  That's what I used to do when using our standard beehive Osterizer.

Now we have a Vitamix and after 90 seconds of blending, there's nothing left but liquid.

5 hours ago, utee94 said:

Did you use a fine mesh strainer when transferring the slurry out of the blender?  That's what I used to do when using our standard beehive Osterizer.

Now we have a Vitamix and after 90 seconds of blending, there's nothing left but liquid.

Nope.  Needed to strain I guess.  Also I think I should have done 2 batches.  It overflowed when I hit max.

21 hours ago, huge said:

Nope.  Needed to strain I guess.  Also I think I should have done 2 batches.  It overflowed when I hit max.

What do you expect.  It’s like an evinrude on your counter.  Chefs on tv do that all the time too.

I'm laughing at the idea of blending enough liquid for a 10 lb batch of chili in one Vitamix run.  How much got on the ceiling?

On 10/2/2024 at 4:56 PM, jimmyjazz said:

I'm laughing at the idea of blending enough liquid for a 10 lb batch of chili in one Vitamix run.  How much got on the ceiling?

I ruined a dish towel that my SIL brought my wife back from France.  Not my finest hour.

Lady trying to gatekeep Texas chili on Instagram. Name everything she does wrong.

 

She was so close, too. 

Personally I like "5 cloves garlic, minced". Bitch you didn't mince shit you got that out of a jar. 

7 hours ago, ztejas said:

Lady trying to gatekeep Texas chili on Instagram. Name everything she does wrong.

She was so close, too. 

Personally I like "5 cloves garlic, minced". Bitch you didn't mince shit you got that out of a jar. 

Eh, the cocoa powder is a little weird, but the rest of the "mistakes" are marginal.

I'd probably eat the hell out of that.  From the recipe - didn't watch the video - I'd omit cocoa powder, tomato paste, and substitute water for beef broth.  No way I'd go with jarred garlic.  I did a large batch last year for a neighborhood event and the recipe called for beef broth.  Beef broth affects the flavor too much.  

On 10/5/2024 at 5:54 AM, ztejas said:

Lady trying to gatekeep Texas chili on Instagram. Name everything she does wrong.  No fucking cumin?  That’s her biggest mistake.  Would cut the cocoa in half.  Skip the fresh peppers.  

 

She was so close, too. 

Personally I like "5 cloves garlic, minced". Bitch you didn't mince shit you got that out of a jar. 

Biggest issue:  zero fucking cumin.  Otherwise it’s probably a good eating family meal.  I’d skip the bison and just go all chuck, drop the bell peppers and fresh chiles, cut cocoa in half, cut the broth in half and if needed add water.

On 10/5/2024 at 4:07 PM, Jerry Callo said:

I'd probably eat the hell out of that.  From the recipe - didn't watch the video - I'd omit cocoa powder, tomato paste, and substitute water for beef broth.  No way I'd go with jarred garlic.  I did a large batch last year for a neighborhood event and the recipe called for beef broth.  Beef broth affects the flavor too much.  

Chicken broth > beef broth

20 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Chicken broth > beef broth

Yup.  And/or beer.  And/or steeping water.

Edited by utee94

Chicken stock is super easy and cheap to make homemade as well, so it's really easy to have high quality stuff on hand.  Beef broth, I don't really eat enough beef to have the trimmings or bones to make homemade, so I am stuck with store bought.  I never really thought about using chicken when the recipe calls for beef.

5 hours ago, utee94 said:

Yup.  And/or beer.  And/or steeping water.

 

shiner bock adds a good flavor, imo 

chili or beans 

 

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Use whatever was in the fridge and pantry chili:

1.5# Brisket Trimmings

1.5# Ground Chuck

1 White Onion

1 Small Bell pepper from the garden

4-5 small tomatoes from the garden

Chile paste from rehydrated guajillos, anchos, and puyas

4 cloves garlic

3 Tablespoons cumin

1 Tablespoon mexican oregano

Whatever was left in a carton of beef broth (~1 cup)

1 Tablespoon offFish sauce

Salt to taste

Fish sauce?  I'm by no means opposed, but I don't believe I've ever heard of putting that in chili before.  A little unami kick?

Yeah, I’m using fish sauce in most sauces and braises these days. It gives a more flavorful umami boost than msg alone.

Edit: also use a lot of anchovies for the same reasons.

16 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Fish sauce really Thais it all together.

God dammit!! I though food puns were banished to the recruiting thread.

Informal poll (without tabulating):  how much cumin do y'all put in your basic Texas Red per pound of meat?  I think I may be overdoing it, but I like cumin.  Others, not so much.

Informal poll (without tabulating):  how much cumin do y'all put in your basic Texas Red per pound of meat?  I think I may be overdoing it, but I like cumin.  Others, not so much.

1 Tablespoon +/- per pound, but I eyeball it. I think I go pretty heavy too.
41 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Informal poll (without tabulating):  how much cumin do y'all put in your basic Texas Red per pound of meat?  I think I may be overdoing it, but I like cumin.  Others, not so much.

image.png.7e873f64e94790c218c8102fdde0e08e.png

7 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:


1 Tablespoon +/- per pound, but I eyeball it. I think I go pretty heavy too.

I use about half of that, and don't feel like I'm not putting enough. 

13 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:


1 Tablespoon +/- per pound, but I eyeball it. I think I go pretty heavy too.

That's what I do, and it feels a little heavy as well.

I’m thinking about chili for the game tomorrow. I want to do a venison/beef chili. I’ve never used rehydrated chiles, and honestly, they are a bitch to find up here. 

1 hour ago, NorthLoop said:

I use about half of that, and don't feel like I'm not putting enough. 

Yup same here.  

14 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I’m thinking about chili for the game tomorrow. I want to do a venison/beef chili. I’ve never used rehydrated chiles, and honestly, they are a bitch to find up here. 

I like using rehydrated chiles but there's no reason you can't just use chile powders-- it's good enough for the competition cooks.  Beef/venison is always a great combo.

Edited by utee94

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

I like using rehydrated chiles but there's no reason you can't just use chile powders

I'd recommend a quick bloom in some oil before mixing in veggies, etc.  It helps amp up the flavor and reduces grittiness.

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Informal poll (without tabulating):  how much cumin do y'all put in your basic Texas Red per pound of meat?  I think I may be overdoing it, but I like cumin.  Others, not so much.

Usually a heaping tbsp per pound.  I like a heavy cumin edged.  

4 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Usually a heaping tbsp per pound.  I like a heavy cumin edged.  

Damn, that's even more than I use.  I'm making a batch for the game tomorrow, I think I'll gonna try 2 tsp per pound.

Too much cumin and you end up with this:

image.jpeg.9b75d10b185e2295e2b95edf9cd57d9c.jpeg

A staple at family meals growing up. I love beans but hate these; one-note Sally. Try seasoning with something else, "Old El Paso."

So my chili to today will be sans venison. 

I am doing 5 lbs (I make larger batches and eat on them for 2-3 days then freeze the rest).  I am using 3 lbs of very, very lean grassfed beef, and then 2 lbs of normal grassfed ground beef (I think grassfed tastes better).  

I mixed a shit load of spices (other than the cumin) in with the meat last night, as well as some green chilies (for flavor), and let it sit, covered, in the fridge.  

Today, I will cook down one, large chopped onion until translucent, add garlic, then add the meat.  Once the meat is browned, I use chicken stock and crushed tomatoes, then usually one or two small cans of tomato paste (all about taste at this point).  I am also adding seasoning to taste.  I use cumin, chile, cayenne, hot paprika, pepper, and a touch of salt (I am not much of a salt person), and again, am tasting to get the blend right.  I do not measure anything.  I am planning on doing jalapeno floaters more for flavor than heat (I like the taste of jalapenos).  

We shall see.  I made a similar batch last year (though it was the venison/beef mix), and it turned out really well.  

I saw this on the Twitter machine this morning…Apologizes if this is already wide-spread but this sad Okie LOL:

IMG_5848.thumb.jpeg.442f561dd75293909ad76b5bb52d85c0.jpeg

Belated congrats on thorough ass-whoopin’ administered to my hapless Sooners last week.

Edited by MalibuSheriff

On 10/7/2024 at 3:26 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Chicken broth > beef broth

venison bone stock, imo. 

24 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

venison bone stock, imo. 

Tell me where to get it and I'm in.  (Not rolling my own.)

My wife's company is having a chili contest at work and I need a recipe.  I would like to use dehydrated chilis, ground beef, tomatoes in some form and, of course, no beans! Start to finish in under 3 hours would be nice. I would make the night before, refrigerate and send to work with her in a crock pot for a noon tasting. I have access to Central Market and Fiesta. Help?

On 4/3/2024 at 3:48 PM, South Austin said:

The bottle isn't the only thing he's spinning.

Eh, from what I've observed, Spinners aren't exactly in his rotation. 

3 hours ago, Dr Fear said:

My wife's company is having a chili contest at work and I need a recipe.  I would like to use dehydrated chilis, ground beef, tomatoes in some form and, of course, no beans! Start to finish in under 3 hours would be nice. I would make the night before, refrigerate and send to work with her in a crock pot for a noon tasting. I have access to Central Market and Fiesta. Help?

HEB's Mi Tienda line of bagged dried chiles is strong, but I don't think Central Market carries them.  CM does have a few dried chile varieties, as does Fiesta.  I typically go for guajillo and ancho, a little heavier by weight on the former, then some chipotles or chiles de arbol for heat.  A few chipotles en adobo out of a can are a great sub for the dried version.  You should find some recipes in the last few pages of this thread.

4 hours ago, Dr Fear said:

My wife's company is having a chili contest at work and I need a recipe.  I would like to use dehydrated chilis, ground beef, tomatoes in some form and, of course, no beans! Start to finish in under 3 hours would be nice. I would make the night before, refrigerate and send to work with her in a crock pot for a noon tasting. I have access to Central Market and Fiesta. Help?

My advice-- if you want the chili to place well, in a work contest, you should do some kind of 5-bean "vegan chili" dish, or a green chile chicken "chili" dish.  Real, actual Texas red doesn't ever seem to go over at company cook-offs.

However, if you still want to do a batch of Texas red, that's okay too.  There's a lot of advice on this thread regarding how to rehydrate your chiles and utilize them for the base.  If you want it to cook that fast then probably use just straight coarse-grind ground beef, 2 lbs would be a good amount since there's probably going to be a lot of other food there and people will just be sampling.  For the chile blend, like jimmyjazz I like to use guajillo and ancho, and I also like to use some dried New Mexican chiles as well.  Heavier on the guajillo and New Mexican, lighter on the ancho.  For heat I'll use a handful of chile de arbol.  Lots of bases for recipes on this thread if you look around.

I usually do not use tomatoes but occasionally I've roasted/charred a couple of quartered vine ripened tomatoes on a skillet and then blended that into the rehydrated chile slurry, and it gave some interesting flavor.

5 hours ago, Dr Fear said:

My wife's company is having a chili contest at work and I need a recipe.  I would like to use dehydrated chilis, ground beef, tomatoes in some form and, of course, no beans! Start to finish in under 3 hours would be nice. I would make the night before, refrigerate and send to work with her in a crock pot for a noon tasting. I have access to Central Market and Fiesta. Help?

Demand Fowler-Tolbert judging criteria to the point of embarrassing your wife.

11 hours ago, Dr Fear said:

My wife's company is having a chili contest at work and I need a recipe.  I would like to use dehydrated chilis, ground beef, tomatoes in some form and, of course, no beans! Start to finish in under 3 hours would be nice. I would make the night before, refrigerate and send to work with her in a crock pot for a noon tasting. I have access to Central Market and Fiesta. Help?

buy all your shit at fiesta. if you're shopping at a gringo HEB (central market? lol!) they may have dried chiles but their turnover sucks and the chiles will probably be too dry. dried chiles should be pliable. also, fiesta will be cheaper.

Edited by elfenix

  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/23/2024 at 7:56 PM, elfenix said:

buy all your shit at fiesta. if you're shopping at a gringo HEB (central market? lol!) they may have dried chiles but their turnover sucks and the chiles will probably be too dry. dried chiles should be pliable. also, fiesta will be cheaper.

These are almost always quite fresh and pliable:

image.png.3aa98964bbcf7f1abc15ba9401cedccd.pngimage.png.ad7d50bb14635960f55927a39e4f76e2.png

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