Chili

[Lesli]

Ok, I have to remind you I am a Texan and real "Chili" doesn't automatically have beans in it. Now I eat chili and beans all the time, ;D But then it is called Chili and Beans LOL And absolutely NO kidney beans or "them little pork and bean type of beans" You want Pintos. ;D

Here is how I make chili (notice this dish is not sweet at all but it doesn't have to be hot either)

Chili (needs to be made in a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven.)
Ground meat, when all I have is ground pork that is what I use or beef for most folks.
brown it with salt, black pepper, onions(one medium onion diced or sliced), drain fat add chili powder to taste, cumin for 2-3lbs of beef I would add approx 1.5 TBLS of cumin probably same with chili powder
add water and a can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes

Let cook for approx 20 min (simmer) You might taste and adjust seasoning to please you and your family.

For the beans they have to be Pinto beans to be authentic ;D I cook mine in a pressure cooker. Saves lots of time and tastes sooo good. If you cook two pounds of beans add water tot he fill line on the pressure cooker and put the lid on. turn on high till it starts making noise. You might need to adjust the stove settings, then let it pressure for approx 30-35 min. take down from pressure slowly then move pressure cooker to sink and run water over it till the pressure releases completely. Add water if you need to and put back on stove with salt and some kind of fat lard or butter bring to a med. boil and let boil for approx 30 min, taste and test beans for tenderness. If you want to cook up some bacon that is always good, cook it crisp and add fat and all to beans. That would be regular plain beans to enjoy with chili. Fry up some corn tortillas. Ladle chili and beans to your plate, mix together and mash the beans a little add cheese then scoop up and make a soft taco with the corn tortillas, that there young lady is what I was raised on. Still some of my favorite food to this day!! mmmmh makes me so hungry. 'Cept now I am allergic to cornl! One of these days I will make it any way and just take benedryl!

If you don't pressure beans you need all day. You can add them to a pot or crock pot and add water and let cook till tender add salt and fat or bacon, but allow several hours.

I know this is totally different than anybody else here, make 'em how you like, it is just a thing down here in Texas how we fuss at how yankees (meant most endearingly of course!) make it LOL

[farmngal5]

Yum.....I make it just like Lannie (cept sometimes I cheat with canned chili beans) and I add salsa. I make my own with my garden tomatoes and jalapenos. Just a half cup will add a fabulous kick (and enough heat to make your nose run:-) )

[Christine]

Just wondering - why no kidney beans and why pintos? What's the reasoning?

I've added black beans to my chili, and found the results tasty. I've also had chili that uses chunks of beef instead of ground under the assumption that ground beef melts into a paste that doesn't offer the same mouthfeel.

Here's a recipe that I happen to like.

Boston Marathon Chili Bon Appétit | April 1992

by Ellen P Slaby: Brookline, Massachusetts
Yield: Serves 10
ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 pounds boneless pork butt or boneless country-style spareribs, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved
1/3 cup chili powder
1 to 2 large jalapeño chilies, chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 cup dry red wine
Grated cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped red onions
Sour cream
preparation

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 onions, bell peppers and garlic and sauté until tender, about 14 minutes. Transfer mixture to plate, using slotted spoon. Add beef and pork to Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat until no longer pink, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Return onion mixture to Dutch oven. Add tomatoes with liquid, chili powder, jalapeños and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Cover Dutch oven and simmer until beef and pork are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.

Add black beans and red wine to chili. Simmer uncovered until beef and pork are tender and chili thickens, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowls. Serve, passing cheese, cilantro, red onions and sour cream separately.

[mtnmama]

Laurie- The recipes already posted must be "true, authentic chili" recipes. I've never had the pleasure of having any like that, but then again, look at the part of the country they're from!! Of course it would be "the real stuff"!
BUT!! We make chili, too, and everyone has their own spice amts., but ours is a much simpler and cheaper way of making it- and it STILL tastes great! I cook dry pinto and/or kidney beans, or use canned, or home-canned-
Brown 1&1/2 or 2# ground chuck or venison, add a lg. chopped onion and a chopped bell pepper, a minced garlic clove or two, and cook till onion is tender. Add 1 qt. of tomatoes (broken up) and the juice, about that much of the cooked beans, a can of tomato sauce (lg. can or 1 pt. of home-canned), 2 tsp. cumin, and as much or little chili powder as your family likes, and salt to taste. We also chop up a couple of Jalopenos in ours, but it just is how hot you want yours. The chili powder adds heat, too. This makes a pretty big pot of chili. Simmer on low about 30 min. or up to all day if you like. Stir occ. to keep from sticking and serve with cornbread or tortillas. Really good and filling!!!

[amylou]

The pinto beans are a "Texas" thing. 'Beans' in Texas almost always means pinto beans. I've been gone from Texas for 10 years and this has just dawned on me in the last year or two as I see my friends making dishes with DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEANS. Who knew there were so many??!! ;D

[kathnunley]

To me the fun part of chili is you can personalize it! I'm from Texas originally, so I do know what "real" chili is supposed to look like.
However, mine has just a wee bit of meat and then every kind of bean I can find plus corn. Black, pinto, kidney, garbonza, yellow corn, some zucchini or whatever else is in the freezer and left from last year's garden. I like it HOT so I always add lots of extra cayenne pepper. I use a big can of tomato sauce and usually a packet of WalMart brand HOT chili seasoning. I know, I know, who would use WalMart brand, but of all the ones I've tried, I like that the best. I make chili a lot and serve with home-made flour tortillas. Yum.

[Deleted]

Here is an authentic Texas Chili recipe that is at least 75 years old. This is how they made it before the days of chili powder, beans in chili, etc. I have made this several times and I like it.

Bill Richards Chili:

4 lbs, 10 oz. coarse ground lean beef
12 oz. suet.
4 big pods New Mexico Pepper
8 Chili Petines
1 Tablespoon ground Paprika
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Mexican Oregano
1 1/2 pints water.
4 cloves garlic.

Boil pepper pods in the water until tender. Split peppers and let the seed out in the water.
Strain seed from red water and pour red water, Oregano, Paprika, Chili Petines, Boiled New Mexico peppers, and garlic cloves into the blender.
Blend Well.

Brown ground meat well.
Add red mixture from blender, salt, and black pepper.
Stir and cook.
Makes 3 quarts Chili

[Lesli]

That sounds very good, and all in all probably very similar, but I can not imagine chili tasting like chili w/o the cumin, at least a little bit.