Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What's your Chili "Base"?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    New base involves
    mixture of chilis. Dried. Reconstituted in chicken stock. with chipotle in adobo.
    Chuck cubes
    Onions, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, oregano
    mount with vinegar and fish sauce or soy sauce.

    Comment


      #17
      Mine always involves left-over BBQ (yes, I intentionally cook extra so I can make chili or stew the next day).

      Here is the batch of beef chili and beans I fixed yesterday from a brisket that was dry-brined and rubbed with Montreal Steak Seasoning:

      cubed brisket (about 1/4" - 3/8" in size)
      2 cans of beans, pinto and black
      chili powder
      paprika
      cumin
      celery seed
      ground basil
      dill weed
      1 can Rotel
      1 small can tomato sauce
      Worcestershire sauce
      garlic
      salt
      molasses (just a touch to offset the acid from the tomato sauce)

      My pork chili is similar, but I will use cinnamon instead of dill weed, a touch of balsamic vinegar instead of Worcestershire, and other small tweaks depending on what I have on hand.

      I used to always add Old Bay but my wife can no longer handle the heat, so if I use it now, it is only sparingly, hence the celery seed by itself above.

      Comment


        #18
        I don't have a base, I make it completely different almost every time, and nothing is sacred. So far, my favorite variables:

        Use half ground beef and half ground pork. You'd be surprised at how much it boosts the flavor. If you want to use meat chunks instead of ground meat, same applies - I like blade steaks and pork roast.

        Use more cumin than you think you should, but don't go crazy.

        I have found that I really like the flavor of chili "powder" made by obliterating several varieties of dried chiles with some chicken broth, but in a pinch, I will mix my own powder from dried spices. I also like to add some "fresh" chiles - my favorite are roasted Hatch chiles if they're available. I usually buy a couple pounds of them in August/September and roast/freeze them. They keep well.

        I almost always cook down the tomato sauce with either red wine or beer. There's something about alcohol that makes cooked tomatoes taste WAY better.

        Comment


        • Potkettleblack
          Potkettleblack commented
          Editing a comment
          Tomatoes contain volatile flavor compounds that are alcohol soluble. This is why vodka sauce is so good. Given the sad state of tomatoes, I think processing with booze is a good idea.

        #19
        Here we are a month later and the subject of Chili comes up in another thread.
        So...
        I search and find this thread.
        -
        Sorry but this thread seems to be the best place to post this information.

        Comment


          #20
          Okay...
          To recap, 1st, I purchase the best red Chile powder known to man and woman (in my opinion) from a kind and knowledgeable lady in New Mexico.
          It is very basic, namely NuMex (New Mexico) 6-4 Heritage.
          It is ripened to a beautiful red color, roasted and ground into powder by a rancher in the Hatch Valley.
          THIS is the base on which I build the red chili dish.

          Comment


            #21
            This newer "Heritage" seed/pod is from the original 1957 NM 6-4 seed, but was developed by a dedicated man wanting to refine and better the consistency of the heat and enrich the flavor of the original.
            The original seeds were frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored in a Colorado vault (If memory serves me correctly) and the new Heritage pod was grown/cultivated from a careful selection of that original.
            You can read of this dedicated scientists' works and the brilliance he obviously used to make this the best of the best.
            -
            I purchase this very special red powder and deep freeze it upon receipt.
            My departed Mother inherited this recipe from my step-father's mother back in 1960 or thereabouts.
            She started by using the original somewhat mild NM 6-4 red powder.
            Since her passing, I have worked for years to improve upon this recipe, only to develop an equally tasty dish, but the basic dish from the mid 1900's remains as a solid treat at family reunions, and major holidays, with family and friends lining up for seconds and thirds every time it is made.
            -
            One would think that the ingredients are some special thing, but they are actually very basic.
            1) NM 6-4 heritage finely ground red Chile powder
            2) Lean Ground Beef (I substitute and grind my smoked beef brisket)
            3) Lean Ground Pork (I also add pan fried hardwood smoked bacon, broken into small pieces)
            4) Common white flour (dry toasted to a light brown color, which is THE way to go flavor wise)
            5) Common table salt (I substitute Lawry's Seasoned salt)
            6) Ground black pepper (I substitute a mix of fresh ground black peppercorn and fresh ground medley peppercorn)
            7) McCormick garlic powder
            THIS is the original base ingredients, however, I do add a roasted beef base called, Better than Bouillon as well as a VERY blended whole white onion.
            -
            Use a 2/3 beef to 1/3 pork mix.
            ALWAYS BROWN THE GROUND MEATS, and then add them to the stock pot.
            -
            Mom said "Always brown your meats Billy. It brings out the flavor in them."
            She didn't know it was called the "Maillard reaction" named after the French scientist that discovered and developed it, BUT Mom knew it was the thing to do
            -
            The toasted flour is added to make a consistency like a thick brown gravy.
            ALL other ingredients are added to "taste"
            -
            Simmering all ingredients together for several hours is a MUST to build flavor and bring out the richness of the NM Chile powder.
            -
            Serve over:
            Pan Fried Potatoes
            Mashed Potatoes
            Enchiladas
            Hot Dogs
            Burgers
            Rice
            Etc.
            -
            I make 6 gallons at a time.
            -
            S. O.
            Last edited by BBQ_Bill; August 6, 2017, 09:47 PM.

            Comment


            • EdF
              EdF commented
              Editing a comment
              Oh man, that sounds good!

            • BBQ_Bill
              BBQ_Bill commented
              Editing a comment
              EdF it was when I finally realized that this family recipe for Chili is nothing more than a tasty brown gravy with red Chile powder, I added 1/2 pint of half and half to boost the flavor a notch.
              It worked, and so I tried one whole pint, and the eaters said it was "Too Much" so I backed off.

            #22
            BTW... I edited the above because I forgot to mention that I added Onion to Mom's recipe.
            Mothers chili never had that ingredient except raw sweet onion in her open face enchiladas.
            -
            The best compliment I HAVE EVER received when serving this chili is from an 8 year old nephew that dearly loved my Mother's chili.
            This boy was eating a bowl of my version and said, "Uncle Bill, this chili tastes really good.
            It is like Grammy's but it tastes different. I like it!"
            One of my grand daughters kept asking for another bowl.
            After 3 bowls she threw her hands in the air and said "I like your chili grandpa!"
            -
            Okay...
            Mild is the base my friends.
            I make one batch and it is the mild.
            I then add a drop at a time of 1 million scoville concentrated pepper extract to a second pan full until it is deemed "Medium".
            I then add a drop at a time of 1 million scoville concentrated pepper extract to the third pan until it is deemed as "Hot".
            -
            THIS way, all are satisfied in regards to "bite" and I only make ONE batch!
            (Photo of toasted flour and Capsaicin extract attached)
            -
            Toasted Flour Color:
            Color Number 2 was voted as the best by the "tasters" of the toasted flour.
            The Natural Sunlight photo included peanut butter as a color reference.

            Click image for larger version  Name:	COLOR COMPARISON.jpg Views:	1 Size:	1.91 MB ID:	358584
            Click image for larger version  Name:	HOT!.jpg Views:	1 Size:	233.2 KB ID:	358585
            I have this 1,000,000 Scoville unit concentrate as well as a bottle of 5,000,000 Scoville unit concentrate.
            -
            Add CAREFULLY to increase "Bite" to the medium and hot batch.
            Keep the original mild batch free of this stuff for the kids and some of the ladies.
            Last edited by BBQ_Bill; August 6, 2017, 11:16 PM. Reason: Added more info + photos to explain.

            Comment

            Announcement

            Collapse
            No announcement yet.
            Working...
            X
            false
            0
            Guest
            Guest
            500
            ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
            false
            false
            {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
            Yes
            ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
            /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here