Beef rib chili experiment

[jjdbike]

Hello friends,
A colleague is leaving our program at my school and changing careers. When I said we should have a party, she asked me to make her chili as a going away gift. She requested my smoked brisket chili. I decided I wasn’t up for that kind of commitment. My grandkids were spending the week with us & my smoked ribs are their favorite. My local grocery had beef back ribs on sale so I grabbed 4. Ate one for dinner and chopped up the rest for chili.

I’m curious how this will turn out. They were tender, flavorful and juicy. But after cooked, chopping them felt like grisly steak. The yield of chopped rib meat is 3.25 lbs.

I will also be seasoning and browning 3 lbs of ground beef.

I made some strong beef stock. I used 10 lbs of marrow bones. Made a cheesecloth bag for herbs & spices. I included a bunch of parsley, a bunch of thyme, a handful of black pepper corns, a handful of garlic cloves peeled and crushed, and 4 bay leaves. I added two large quartered unpeeled russet potatoes, three tomatoes quartered, three onions peeled and quartered, 5 whole carrots, 5 ribs of celery and covered it with College Inn unsalted beef stock. I had pre roasted the bones for 2 hours, and the onions and carrots for till just browned. Simmered for 8 hours. I removed the spice bag, chunks of carrots, potatoes, celery, tomato skins, and bones. I cut any remaining meat off and added back to the stock and scraped out the marrow. I yielded three quarts of stock after removing fat. When cooled it was thick and jelled, almost paste like.

I smoked three onions, a head of garlic, 2 jalapeños, 2 poblanos, 2 green chilies (Anaheim I believe), and two red bell peppers.

This morning I’m going to toast, rehydrate and blend the dried chili pods. Using a combination of Ancho, Guajillo, and New Mexican Hatch chilis. Because I’m not using a recipe, I’m not sure how many to use. For the same reason, I’ll have to go by taste to figure how much spices to add.

Because it’s requested, I’ll be adding beans.

Any suggestions on seasoning and number of chili pods to use?

Thanks in advance,
JD

[jjdbike]

So it turns out I only had 5 Anchos, & 5 Guajillos. I added 4 New Nexico Hatch, which look an awful lot like the Guajillos… to the point that I believe they are the same.
JD

[Mosca]

My experience with dried chiles is that the big ones are all really close, and differences are nuances. The little ones are more different from each other. I use anchos, guajillos, and pasillas interchangeably.

[Ace]

jjdbike

Beef ribs will be great in this and your recipe looks solid. As far as how much seasonings to use would be a matter of taste, however, I seem to revert to this recipe as a guide. Sometimes with different meats, or beans or not, veggies, etc, etc.
Maybe this will help on what you may want to use, discard or tweak. From looking at some of your cooks that were posted, there is no doubt that you'll make a great pot of Chili and your guests will love it.

How to Make Texas Red Chili | Beef Chili Recipe

[Huskee]

I think that'll work mighty fine. It's not a bad idea to supplement the meat with ground beef, it won't take anything discernible away from the smoky goodness of the beef ribs in there either, but will definitely add extra bulk on the cheap, great idea there. You could also do it with chuck roast too, if smoking a brisket next time is also too big of a commitment. In either case no one will know it isn't brisket.

[Alan Brice]

This sounds great! The one thing Mr. Bones taught, try a bottle of Guinness Dark Stout and or decent bourbon. The alcohol is cooked off and just adds an undescribable depth of flavor that cannot be achieved any other way.
A little or a lot. Let yer taste buds be the judge.
Also when I make my burgers, Meatloaf or chili I find a bit of ground pork or at least some bacon grease can go a long way with mouth feel and flavor. Unless some are adverse to pork. (Hello those without Gallbladders).