Chili #17
This is a quick writeup of my chili recipe from this weekend. I experiment a lot and unfortunately, sometimes I forget my recipes as I move on to new experiments. I've been doing the chicken black bean & corn chili so much I kind of forgot my basic recipe, but now I think I have a replacement. Note that the recipe under the cut is written out in my own pinch of this style as it's mostly for my reference.
I called this Chilli #17 at random, it's probably a much higher number variation than 17 but hey, it works. The idea behind this chili was to partially recreate a "beef bbq" recipe I had in college (i.e., sloppy joe type mix) and then build a smoky-flavored chili on top of that.
Main Ingredients:
1.5# coarse-ground beef (lean sirloin)
1 large onion (about 1 1/3 cups chopped)
4 small stalks of celery (about 2/3 cups chopped)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 can chili beans hot w/sauce
1 can chili beans mild w/sauce
2 cans Del Monte Stewed tomatoes Mexican seasoned flavor
Seasonings & Extras:
olive oil
brown sugar
white vinegar
roasted garlic rice wine vinegar
Inglehoffer honey-mustard
Heinz ketchup
garam masala
cinnamon
powdered red chili
Clancy's Fancy - Mild
Cajun Rush hot sauce
salt
season salt
black pepper
Preparation:
Chop onion & celery. Place in a hugeass pot w/ a little olive oil and sautee until onion goes transparent but before it starts to caramelize. Add minced garlic after the cooking is underway so it doesn't burn. While normally I like to brown & season the meat and drain it separately and then add it in, since I got the ground sirloin I just added it directly to the pot with the vegetables once they were ready. Browned beef & broke it up into chunks until it looked at least mostly cooked.
Add brown sugar (some very dark Thai stuff I had). Amt? Not sure. I sprinkled it over the surface of the pot, not heavily. Then I added 2 splashes of white vinegar and also 1 of the garlic rice wine vinegar. I would guess it was 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar and about the same of vinegar. That's the base of the bbq tanginess, and I think the vinegar helps the beans as well. Stir to mix/blend. To that add the 2 cans of chili beans. Then add the 2 cans of tomatoes. (Note stewed tomatoes come in big chunks, I usually pour them into a big bowl and chop them up a bit first, else it's chop chop chop in the chili pot to break them up). Add 1 T honey mustard and 1 T ketchup. Stir, cover, and simmer on low for 30-40 minutes.
Now season correct. Add in splashes of the hot sauces (I would have just used Clancy's Fancy medium if I had bought the right kind) and lightly sprinkle cinnamon over the surface of the pot, stir, and then sprinkle garam masala over the surface, stir, then lightly season with salt and pepper, stir.
Taste. Probably no heat at that point but give it a minute. I wanted more cinnamonny flavor so I added another good shake on the surface of Garam Masala. For the red pepper powder I added 1/2 teas. I would guess 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ea salt, season salt, and black pepper. I think that it was maybe too much chili powder but I'm not sure. I started to use some actual "chili powder" mix and remembered I didn't like the flavor or that spice was flat. But the seasoning goal was chili that tasted sweet & tangy, and then left your mouth warmed, but not burning.
I'd say this was 2 1/2 / 5 on a hot scale.
EDITED TO ADD: and I totally forgot to use my chipotle chili powder. Which, y'know, would be the source of the 'smoky heat' I was aiming for. Well, I added about 1/4 tsp now. =D
Of course, it tends to get hotter when it sits...
I called this Chilli #17 at random, it's probably a much higher number variation than 17 but hey, it works. The idea behind this chili was to partially recreate a "beef bbq" recipe I had in college (i.e., sloppy joe type mix) and then build a smoky-flavored chili on top of that.
Main Ingredients:
1.5# coarse-ground beef (lean sirloin)
1 large onion (about 1 1/3 cups chopped)
4 small stalks of celery (about 2/3 cups chopped)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 can chili beans hot w/sauce
1 can chili beans mild w/sauce
2 cans Del Monte Stewed tomatoes Mexican seasoned flavor
Seasonings & Extras:
olive oil
brown sugar
white vinegar
roasted garlic rice wine vinegar
Inglehoffer honey-mustard
Heinz ketchup
garam masala
cinnamon
powdered red chili
Clancy's Fancy - Mild
Cajun Rush hot sauce
salt
season salt
black pepper
Preparation:
Chop onion & celery. Place in a hugeass pot w/ a little olive oil and sautee until onion goes transparent but before it starts to caramelize. Add minced garlic after the cooking is underway so it doesn't burn. While normally I like to brown & season the meat and drain it separately and then add it in, since I got the ground sirloin I just added it directly to the pot with the vegetables once they were ready. Browned beef & broke it up into chunks until it looked at least mostly cooked.
Add brown sugar (some very dark Thai stuff I had). Amt? Not sure. I sprinkled it over the surface of the pot, not heavily. Then I added 2 splashes of white vinegar and also 1 of the garlic rice wine vinegar. I would guess it was 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar and about the same of vinegar. That's the base of the bbq tanginess, and I think the vinegar helps the beans as well. Stir to mix/blend. To that add the 2 cans of chili beans. Then add the 2 cans of tomatoes. (Note stewed tomatoes come in big chunks, I usually pour them into a big bowl and chop them up a bit first, else it's chop chop chop in the chili pot to break them up). Add 1 T honey mustard and 1 T ketchup. Stir, cover, and simmer on low for 30-40 minutes.
Now season correct. Add in splashes of the hot sauces (I would have just used Clancy's Fancy medium if I had bought the right kind) and lightly sprinkle cinnamon over the surface of the pot, stir, and then sprinkle garam masala over the surface, stir, then lightly season with salt and pepper, stir.
Taste. Probably no heat at that point but give it a minute. I wanted more cinnamonny flavor so I added another good shake on the surface of Garam Masala. For the red pepper powder I added 1/2 teas. I would guess 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ea salt, season salt, and black pepper. I think that it was maybe too much chili powder but I'm not sure. I started to use some actual "chili powder" mix and remembered I didn't like the flavor or that spice was flat. But the seasoning goal was chili that tasted sweet & tangy, and then left your mouth warmed, but not burning.
I'd say this was 2 1/2 / 5 on a hot scale.
EDITED TO ADD: and I totally forgot to use my chipotle chili powder. Which, y'know, would be the source of the 'smoky heat' I was aiming for. Well, I added about 1/4 tsp now. =D
Of course, it tends to get hotter when it sits...