Church Chili Cook Off: Please help me win

[jjdbike]

Hello fellow Pitmasters,

We attend a small, liberal church in costal northernmost San Diego County. They are holding a chili cook off as part of a 150th anniversary celebration carnival. They are advertising it in this way. 150 years ago on our wester frontier, chili was a staple. Let's commemorate our beginning 150 years ago with a chili cook off. I'm not proud to admit that I really want to win. If I don't win, I at least want to be authentic. I am humbly requesting suggestions and or recipes please.

Thank you in advance!

JD

[Mosca]

How complicated and from-scratch are you willing to go? Will you grind your own spices and dried peppers?

[CaptainMike]

This is a dang good recipe: https://www.southernkitchen.com/stor...li/8089306002/

[klflowers]

Needs some beans

[jjdbike]

How complicated and from-scratch are you willing to go? Will you grind your own spices and dried peppers?

Of course!

Also, our local cuisine is heavily influenced by northern Mexican flavors. I think a fusion of cowboy chili with a Mexican flare might be fitting. I'm thinking fatty chuck cooked over a live wood fire or smoked, black bean, roasted corn, dried chilies (guajillo, ancho), chipotle in adobo, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic and spices.

Am I on the right track or am I complicating it?
JD

[HawkerXP]

This what I was thinking.

[fzxdoc]

You've got to read the room for spice level when adding several pepper types to the mix. Also, for my family, if I use smoked pulled chuck roast, I don't add chipotle in adobo because it is smoky as well and its flavor and heat tends to take over almost any dish it's added to, unless added judiciously, IMO.

Are you serving to a pepper-loving crowd?

Kathryn

[RonB]

I can't help, but have you tried searching for old recipes?

[jjdbike]

I'll follow up with the fact that I am rarely satisfied with my chilis. I've been trying to figure out why. I believe it is because my target is an explosion of flavors, fatty beefy, fruity early spicy chilis with hints of classic spices like cumino.

I am also trying to satisfy my wife who has a mid western pallet that is sensitive to spice and believe chili is about the beans.

Plus my OCD has me doing significant tweaking at the end and I usually over do something.

This time I only have one focus, winning, if I miss that target, I want it to have an explosion of authentic and local flavor.

JD

[Ace]

Here's just one of the many possibilities. Good luck and pictures of the finished product please.

Pati Jinich - Tex-Mex Chili

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuv03WWfn4

[Mosca]

I watch Pati’s Mexican Kitchen, she knows her stuff!

[ecowper]

A few thoughts for you …

1. Smoke the chuck roast for a couple hours and get some good smoke on it. Then chunk it up and sear it.
2. smoke your onion for 20-30 minutes. Don’t go longer, you want the onion to be an onion, not goo ;-)
3. Chocolate and coffee can really help with the flavor profile.
4. Precook a chili and test to see what you do and don’t like

Also, take a look at Kenji’s recipe, which is pretty good, as your starting point. Don’t put beans in since this is a chili cook off and you need to be authentic to Texas Chili and/or Chile Colorado.

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-chili-recipe

Take a look at Cowboy Kent’s Chile Colorado recipe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws7vLUbxhXQ

[ecowper]

fzxdoc I’ve been told that you can just put carrots in rather than beans

[fzxdoc]

ecowper , no lie, when I was recovering from my broken neck and back, the neighbors generously formed a dinner delivery service for us, and yes, one neighbor brought chili with carrots AND beans. First time I had ever seen that. We ate it with deep appreciation, nonetheless.

K.

[ecowper]

fzxdoc sounds like our experiences when Stacy's shoulder was broken ... that said ... Chili is basically Texas Beef Bourguignon .... which I've said many many times .... cook the cheap cut of beef to taste really good .... peasant food. If it has carrots in it, or beans in it, or cheap wine, or what have you, love it! :-D

[Mosca]

Okay. This recipe will come out pretty good.

Test audiences preferred ground beef over cubed chuck. If you want authentic, go with the chuck; if you want to win, go with the ground beef, or grind the chuck yourself. Feel free to riff on smoking stuff. If you want to go with both smoke and ground beef: make burgers, smoke them, then crumble them up.

Chili

Ingredients:
12 ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
7 pasilla chiles, stems and seeds removed
2½ tablespoons cumin powder or seeds toasted then ground
1 tablespoon coriander powder or whole seeds toasted then ground
1½ tablespoons dried Mexican oregano, pulverized
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

EITHER: 6 pounds chuck roast
OR: 6 pounds ground beef

⅓ cup fresh leaf lard (preferable) or shortening
2 large onions, chopped
1-2 peppers, bell or poblano
15 garlic cloves, minced
⅔ cup tomato paste
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
3 quarts chicken stock (set aside ⅔ cup for the masa harina)
½ cup masa harina whisked into ⅔ cup hot chicken stock
kosher salt
1 lb dry beans, cooked (SERVED ON THE SIDE)

Directions:

Heat a heavy-bottomed 12- to 14-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a layer of the chiles. Cook, turning often, until a strong chile aroma—one that is not bitter or charred—emanates from the pan. Do not allow the chiles to burn. Spread the chiles on a wire rack to cool and become moderately crisp. Repeat until all the chiles have been toasted.

EITHER: Grind the chiles to a fine powder in an electric spice or coffee grinder. Shake the chile powder through a fine strainer to remove any large pieces.
OR: Cover the toasted chiles with hot water and let them soak until soft, then puree them in a blender or food processor to a slurry. Discard the water, it will be bitter! (Note: this is easier, for me.)

Combine the ground chiles with the cumin, coriander, oregano, cocoa, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper. Set the mixture aside.

IF USING CHUCK ROAST: Trim the chuck roast, removing all fat, gristle, and tendons. Chop the meat by hand into ½-inch dice; set aside.

Melt the lard in a heavy-bottomed 8-quart (or larger) Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the fat is hot, add the meat and sear, stirring often.

Add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are wilted and transparent, about 7 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir to blend well. Cook, stirring, until the tomato paste is thick and dark in color, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and chile-spice mixture. Stir to blend well, then add the chicken stock.

Bring the mixture to a full boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1½ hours.

Stir in the masa mixture and salt to taste.

Cook, uncovered, an additional 30 to 45 minutes on low-medium heat, or until the chili is thickened and the meat is fork-tender. Stir often to prevent sticking. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve hot and add your favorite toppings (diced onion, hot sauce, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, corn chips, et cetera).

[fzxdoc]

A very smart recipe and good tips. Good job, Mosca . More tomato than I prefer using, but to each his/her own.

K.

[Mosca]

fzxdoc It’s the least I could put in, one small can! Plus that paste, for the umami I guess.

My own recipe has no tomato at all. This one is my riffed-on version of something called “The Only Texas Chili You’ll Ever Need”, from Texas Monthly. I think of it like horses for courses. If I’m making for a large group, like a cook off, I want to appeal to the most people. And a local charity cookoff is going to be regular folks, not chili heads. So I went with a minivan instead of a Ferrari.

[shify]

I do a Texas chile using chuck roast and a bunch of different dried chiles. Sometimes I smoke the chuck roast first for a few hours and then cube and finish it in the chile. My understanding is that my style and preference (e.g., no tomatoes or beans) pretty closely resembles chile colorado which is Northern Mexican.

My preference is to use dried chiles that are toasted, rehydrated in chicken stock and blended over powders. I find that using dried chile powders give a gritty texture that I don't like. For the dried chiles, even though I blend them well, I still like to strain that through a sieve just to make sure any skins and seeds are removed.

For the dried chiles, I frequently use anchos, guajillos and chile de arbol - I think the combination gives a good set of flavors and spice. I also supplement with some chipotle in adobo and some fresh chiles (serrano and/or habanero).

The only dried spices I use are toasted/ground cumin, mexican oregano and smoked paprika (and occasionally some cayenne if I need to kick up the spice).

I think I've previously posted my recipe but can provide full details again if desired.

[Mosca]

I agree on puréed over ground.

I’ve found that the water used to rehydrate toasted chiles is bitter, and I toss it. I’ll try one with chicken stock and see what I think, though.

[jjdbike]

Here's just one of the many possibilities. Good luck and pictures of the finished product please.

Pati Jinich - Tex-Mex Chili

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuv03WWfn4

Looks great. I appreciate her enthusiasm.
JD

[TripleB]

During a BBQ competition I was participating in as a Judge, I happened to be seated next to another judge who took 3rd in a World's Chili Cookoff Championship. He gave me his recipe that he won with. I asked him, "shouldn't you guard your recipe?" To which he responded, "No, we change our recipes all the time. What won this time may not win the next time".

I made it once and it was very good. But a lot of work and so I just modified my recipe to include things I liked about his.

Here is his Chili Recipe

29 oz. Can Diced Tomatoes
1 ½ lb Tri-Tip, Diced
29 oz. Can Kidney Beans (Rinsed)
½ lb mild Sausage
29 oz. Can Black Beans (Rinsed)
½ lb. Chorizo
16 oz. Can Pinto Beans (Rinsed)
8 oz. Beef Broth
8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce
8 oz. Chicken Broth
2-4 Jalpenos, Diced Fine
½ tsp. Beef Bouillon
2 Serranos, Diced Fine
½ tsp. Chicken Bouillon
2 Yellow Jalepenos, Diced Fine
5 tsp. Gebhardt Chili Powder
1 Anaheim Pepper, Diced
6 tsp. CA Mild Chili Powder
1 Pablano Pepper, Diced
4 tsp. NM Mild Chili Powder
1 Brown Onion, Diced
5 tsp. Cumin
6-8 lg Cloves Garlic, Diced Fine
2 tsp. Onion Powder
1/16 Cup Cilantro Stems, Diced Fine
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
½ tsp. Accent
3 tsp. Salt (Sea Salt or Equiv.)

1^st Dump: Tomatoes, Black Beans, Tomato Sauce, Beef/Chicken Broth, Beef/Chicken Bouillon, Onion, Garlic, 2 tsp. Gebhardt, 2 tsp. CA Chili Powder, 1 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Onion Powder, ½ tsp. Garlic Powder, and 2 tsp. Cumin. Low simmer for 30 mins - covered.
2^nd Dump: Sauté Tri-Tip until meat just turns grey, strain. Sauté Sausage (do not brown). Cook Chorizo. Add all three to pot at the 30 min mark and simmer - covered.
3^rd Dump: At 1 ½ hour mark, add ½ of all remaining Vegetables, Red Beans, 2 tsp. Gebhardt, 2 tsp. CA Chili Powder, 2 tsp. NM Chili Powder, ½ tsp. Accent, 1 tsp. Onion Powder, ½ tsp. Garlic Powder, and 2 tsp. Cumin. Low Simmer - covered.
4^th Dump: at 2 ½ hour mark, add Pinto Beans, remaining Vegetables, Cilantro Stems, 1 tsp. Gebhardt, 2 tsp CA Chili Powder, 2 tsp. NM Chili Powder, 1 tsp. Salt, and 1 tsp. Cumin. Simmer for 30 minutes or more - covered.

[fzxdoc]

Not much meat to this one, only 1 lb to balance all of those beans. Interesting.

I'm loving reading the recipes on this topic. Thanks for posting this award-winning one.

Kathryn
Edited to say: I missed the TT. Duh. Never mind.

[TripleB]

fzxdoc there is 2.5 lbs meat. 1.5 TT, .5 lb sausage, .5 lb chorizo.

[fzxdoc]

Oh duh, TripleB I scanned it looking for ground beef. Twice. Passed right over the TT. I must have been asleep at the time.

K.

[jayjordan]

Authentic? What's that? There's hundreds of "authentic" chili recipes out there, many based upon regional tastes/traditions. Some swear chili can't have beans, others swear it must have beans. There's lists of world champion chili recipes. I've made a few, all of them good. I won a chili cookoff at work once, couldn't tell you what the recipe was cause I'm constantly using a different recipe or tweaking one.
I used this one last year, was dang good. https://urbancowgirllife.com/texas-brisket-chili/

[Donw]

Authentic? Good question. Reminded me of this article I read about the ‘Chili Queens of San Antonio.’ I wish I had eaten a few of their bowls back then to know what authentic really meant.

https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/san-antonio-chili-queens-texas-history/

[Mosca]

I make a really authentic “San Antonio Chili Queens” chili, but it is so stripped down it wouldn’t have a chance of winning a cookoff. It’s cubed chuck, reconstituted chilis, garlic, cumin, salt, and water, thickened at the end with masa.

[texastweeter]

Depending on the denomination, spike whatever you make with white lightning

[fzxdoc]

Or beer...

[Jerod Broussard]

Dunno, if they going by "first is last and last is first," ya might want to spike it up as recommended by texastweeter ALOT