Dry chili varieties for Chili Colorado Con Carne y papas?

[jjdbike]

Hello pit-masters,

I am looking to make a batch of Chili Colorado with beef and potatoes. I have a variety of dry chilis, including Guajillo, Pasilla-Ancho, and mild big ole bag of "authentic New Mexico" Hatch Chills. I'm shooting for a rich and complex authentic Mexican flavor profile, while keeping the heat down to a minimum. My wife and neighbors can not tolerate much heat. If some would like more heat than can add some hot salsa. I will use this to serve in a bowl like stew, in tacos and rolled taquitos.

For those who are familiar with these varieties of dry chilis, please chime in with which chili and or variety of chilis would create my desired flavor profile. Other flavors will come from the seared - simmered beef, S & P, onion, garlic, cumin, chicken stock, and Mexican oregano.

Thanks in advance!
JD

[yakima]

Yesterday, Saturday, a local grocer was roasting Hatch chilis. Mild, medium, and hot. The young man on the roaster described mild as being basically sweet. Little or no heat.

My limited experience with Hatch is that they are highly variable.

[SheilaAnn]

Agreed! Hatch chiles are like Russian roulette…. 🤪

[jjdbike]

Thanks folks.
I’ve noticed that too. I live in Northern San Diego county and we have a large Latino population and are blessed with lots of good Mexican food and ingredients. Where I bought the chilis they had bags of New Mexican Hatch chilis labeled hot, and others labeled mild.

[SheilaAnn]

jjdbike I believe the pasilla-ancho are going to be the least spicy.

[barelfly]

New Mexico style red chile will have some heat, but will provide the rich flavor you are after. That is the only dried chile I use for my carne adovada and posole. But I also believe a combination of the chile you have will provide an outstanding result/flavor. The ancho will add some of that smoked flavor profile. Otherwise, I feel the guajillo and hatch red chile will be similar in flavor, maybe guajillo offers a slightly sweeter taste, but the hatch red chile will have more heat.

The richer you want the red chile, the more chile you can use. I really like a rich, thick red chile for the carne adovada I make, and I’ll use a full 16 oz bag and add a little water. And if you feel the heat is a bit more than you want once you start cooking, add in some honey or sugar and that can cut it a bit.

enjoy the dish! Makes me want some Carne Adovada!

[mnavarre]

For Carne con Chile I usually start my Adobo with 2-4 Ancho for a deep background note, then 10-12 Guajillo, because Guajillos are awesome, and then whatever other Chiles I'm using. in your case I'd start off with 3-4 of the Hatch and check the spice level and flavor. The Guajillo will give a smoky fruitiness without much heat, and the New Mexico will give you more of a bright fruitiness with a indeterminate amount of heat.

[jjdbike]

For Carne con Chile I usually start my Adobo with 2-4 Ancho for a deep background note, then 10-12 Guajillo, because Guajillos are awesome, and then whatever other Chiles I'm using. in your case I'd start off with 3-4 of the Hatch and check the spice level and flavor. The Guajillo will give a smoky fruitiness without much heat, and the New Mexico will give you more of a bright fruitiness with an indeterminate amount of heat.

Thanks for your reply.
Before I make a big ole’ batch of chili, I want to sample each of my dry chilis for flavor and heat. How do you recommend I sample the flavors of each chili?
Thanks again!
JD

[mnavarre]

I'm going to assume that you know how to work with dried chiles, so. I'd just make the simplest Chile paste possible out of each variety, just water and Chile. then you can taste each one "pure" and play with mixing ratios. And when you're done you can use it in your Adobo for the Carne con Chile, or just get some tomatillos and make a salsa.

[jjdbike]

Great idea!
Thanks again.
JD

[Michael_in_TX]

I make this at least twice a year. My go-to blend is 4-5 each of Guajilo, Pasilla, and New Mexico Chiles.

[Willy]

When you say pasilla, could that mean ancho? Here in AZ, anchos are often mislabeled as pasillas.

Thanks in advance!

[jjdbike]

I make this at least twice a year. My go-to blend is 4-5 each of Guajilo, Pasilla, and New Mexico Chiles.

Thanks!!
Please let us know if how much heat if any your blend of chilis has.
JD

[Michael_in_TX]

It's there, but it is far more flavor and earthiness than heat. My wife, who does not like spicy, really likes it.

[jjdbike]

Cool thanks!

[Potkettleblack]

Kenji wrote a quick guide to chiles when putting together his chili recipe.

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-chili-recipe#toc-choosing-your-chiles

note that most chiles have a variety of heat potential. Removing seeds and ribs will reduce the heat. I’ve also found in my cooking that using some tequila in the cook will reduce or neutralize the heat of chiles.

[PGH_RAM]

FWIW, this is my favorite chili recipe. Please excuse the detailed instructions and definitions--I wrote this out for a friend living in Scotland who had never had chili before. She's also more of a baker than a cook, and has coeliac disease. So, a lot more information in this recipe than any of our Pitmasters here would need.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wwu7ZGRr25XW6h-TOHNXfXDnZpuLCsJ5OPCrrXNHrNU/edit?usp=sharing

[klflowers]

Where's the beans? And don't apologize- I need as many instructions as possible

[PGH_RAM]

klflowers I'm in the No Bean camp when it comes to chili. I'm a live-and-let-live cook, however, so I won't start any fights about it if someone else wants to add them. ;-)

[klflowers]

I got the recipe and I'm gonna do it as written with no beans. At least at first...

[klflowers]

Can one of you point me to a recipe please? Or better yet, send me your addresses.

[DTro]

This is the one!

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/recipes-technique-food-cooking/soup-chili-and-stew-recipes/1149212-new-mexican-carne-adovada

[klflowers]

DTro I followed that post at the time but never got around to making it. Thanks for reminding me

[Jfrosty27]

OK. I’m following up on my post from early this morning. To review, the beef plate ribs were dry brined overnight with Meatheads Red Meat Rub and Dry Brine. They went on the Recteq at 7:15 AM at 250*.

They cooked at little quicker than usual and were done in about 7 hours. The rack was a little thinner than usual so not a surprise. I wrapped in butcher paper and rested in the kitchen oven set on “keep warm” for another two hours. Then turned the oven off to let it slowly cool. Served at 4:45. Perfect. Like butta.

My favorite bbq item of them all. These were Prime grade from Wild Fork Foods. Always terrific from those folks. Yum, yum, yum.

[captainlee]

When I first saw the slab I thought it was pork belly thinking that was the best looking lean belly that I have even seen. Oh well.

[fzxdoc]

Here is some Dried Chile info that I have compiled, FWIW:

Kathryn’s Dried Chile Info

Anaheim: Seco del Norte when green. Mild with a sharp flavor. 600-2500 Scoville Units (SHUs)

Cascabel: Nutty and smoky. Traditional in Birria sauce. 1500-2500 SHUs

Ancho: Poblano when green. Sweet and smoky. Mole or adobo sauces 1000-2000 SHUs

Pasilla: Chilaca when green, Also called Chile Negro. Spicy raisin flavor. 1000 to 2000 SHUs

Mulato: a different variety of Poblano that is also dried longer than those in Ancho. Smoky with a hint of chocolate. 2500-3000 SHUs

Dried New Mexican Chile: Most common is Hatch. Heat index all over the place, so check the label for Mild, Med, or Hot. 700-8000 SHUs (Red ones are used for decoration)

Guajillo: Complex smoky flavor. Great in Chile Colorado. 2500-5000 SHUs

Puya: Fruity but very hot. 5000-8000 SUs

Chipotle: a smoked jalapeno. Chile Morita is smoked less and has soft purple skin. Chile Meco is smoked longer and has dark grey skin. 5,000-10,000 SUs.

Japones: also known as Hontaka, Santaka, or Oriental Style chile peppers. Used in Schezuan and Hunan cuisine as well as Latin and Caribbean dishes. Often added whole and removed from stir fries, stews, etc. When used this way, they are milder than their 15,000-30,000 SU rating would indicate. Brings more spice than flavor to a dish.

Arbol: Between a jalapeno and cayenne. Used sparingly in sauces or chopped for chile flakes. 30,000 to 50,000 SUs

Pequin: 40,000 to 60,000 SUs

Tien Tsin: Bring more heat than flavor to a dish. Used in Schezuan or Hunan dishes. Often used in Kung Pao chicken. 50,000 to 75,000 SUs


Thai Bird's Eye: 50,000 to 100,000 SUs


For reference to fresh peppers:
Habaneros: 100,000 to 350,000 SHUs
Serranos: 6,000-23,000 SHUs
Jalapenos: 2500 to 8,000 SHUs
Paprika, pepperoncini: 100-900 SHUs
Bell peppers: 0 SHUs.


Kathryn

[PGH_RAM]

Fantastic! Very helpful. Thanks for sharing!

[yakima]

K,
Great list. Do you know anything about nora peppers? (The n has a wavy gizzie above it.) Spanish, scarce outside of Spain, dried, red, round, used in paella. Ancho is a reasonable substitute with slightly more heat.

[yakima]

In my last paella fracas I used ancho, rehydrated in oil. Did not scrape flesh from skin, zapped the tomato, pepper, etc in blender. Perfect.

[SheilaAnn]

I just made 200# of pork adovada today at work…… my boss has her own rub. I processed the shoulders on Friday and we rubbed it all down with the adovada mix. Slow roasted it off this morning and I portioned about 85-90 quarts.

[fzxdoc]

Wow what a day. Not everyone can say they had a 200lb adovada sort of day.

K.

[yakima]

What in the world will you do with it? A retail product? Canned, frozen?

[SheilaAnn]

yakima we freeze it and use as needed for a few dishes on the menu. It freezes so well! We should be good until the first of the year, unless we get some big catering jobs.

[jjdbike]

Kenji wrote a quick guide to chiles when putting together his chili recipe.

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-chili-recipe#toc-choosing-your-chiles

note that most chiles have a variety of heat potential. Removing seeds and ribs will reduce the heat. I’ve also found in my cooking that using some tequila in the cook will reduce or neutralize the heat of chiles.

Thanks!
Thats really interesting about the tequila!

[fzxdoc]

I love Kenji's recipes. Not all of them turn out as he predicts, at least for me (His no-fail beanburger was my last not-so-stellar result) but his information and cooking techniques, and yes, ALMOST all of his recipes are winners.

Thanks for the link.

K.