Sunday, January 9, 2011

Game Day Chili

Google "Chili Recipe" and you will find - About 1,120,000 results (0.13 seconds)

Click on the related search link
 "Real Texas Chili Recipe" to find
-About 178,000 results (0.19 seconds) 
The blogoshpere needs another chili recipe
about as much as Matthew McConaughey
needs more hair.


However; hesitating to offer an opinion on 
an over worked topic isn't necessarily
one of my strong points.











Warning:  What you are about to read contains the opinions of a stubborn Texan, and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions and views of both the creators of The Foodie Spot.



Chili, (meat cooked with peppers), does not have beans.  Beans, in meat cooked with peppers,
is something other than chili.  Its soup, a stew, or a chowder.  I like beans as much as the next guy.  I love beans.
Beans are not welcome in my chili.  Some food historians also say that chili does not have tomato either.  
Chili Appreciation Society International
If you look at the winning recipes from the CASI International Chili Competition held every November in
Terlingua most of the recipes include tomato sauce.  So even the self appointed care takers of chili purism, and 
Texas food historians are not in complete alignment on tomato infused chili.

There are many ways to arrive at a good chili.  I know of two primary means for which to season the meat with chilies.
Dry granular powder is used by virtually all the competition winners.  The other method is adding a puree of softened
dry chili pods.  For a chili, I like the powders.  For an authentic chili con carne I like a puree.

Zero is the number of times I've made the exact same chili twice.  There have been good reasons for that.


One year for New Years Eve I was over zealous with my new jar of habanero powder.  The only people that liked it
were the visitors from Louisiana.  It was a little embarrassing.  Not because most rational people couldn't eat
the chili. It was the 8 and 10 year old (The Louisiana Clan) eating it as if it were ice cream that had me evaluating my
manhood.  I was worried that someone would call children's protective services, but then realized the kids had eaten
all the evidence.

The chili I made yesterday came together very well.  I wanted to share the recipe for this go around.
I named it Game Day Chili because of the football games and in honor of another one of my neglected ideas.
About 5 or 6 years ago, I registered the domain name www.gamedaychili.com thinking I would sell chili kits.
The idea tied the cooking process to a football game.  There were the pre-game, kickoff, and half time steps.
Yada yada yada...lets move on.


Chili is really easy to make.  The best suggestion I can think of is to use fresh dry granular spices if possible.  
If your chili powder is a brick needing to be broken up, the rich flavor of your chili will suffer.  For many things,
buying bulk is wise. Spices are not one of them.  Especially spices that rarely see the light of day.  Buy small jars
or packs of spices.  My tip - Don't save money at the expense of flavor.

Game Day Chili    Print Recipe

The Line Up
 3 lbs chili grind beef
1 can diced tomato
32 oz beef broth
16 - 32 oz chicken broth
1 yellow onion - chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup masa
2 tbs Gebhardt chili powder
1 tbs Mexene chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tbs cumin
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp hickory smoke salt
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp kosher salt

Fixin it
In a pot brown chili grind, and let simmer until much of the water has evaporated.  Add chopped onion.
When onions are clear add all the dry spices and thoroughly incorporate.  Turn heat to medium low.
Add enough masa to blend with the beef drippings and lightly brown.  Add beef stock a little at a time
to blend.  Lightly salt tomatoes and mash with a fork before adding to chili.  Raise heat to medium high.
Add some chicken stock.  Enough to make a soupy mixture.  Bring to boil then simmer on medium low
for at least an hour while stirring occasionally.  Let liquids reduce.  If its getting real thick add chicken
broth.  I like to float a couple of Jalapeño during the simmer for shock value.  It makes the chili look intimidating, 
but it really honestly doesn't add a ton of heat.
About 10 - 15 minutes before you are ready to eat add a 1 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp cumin.  This will as 
Emeril LaGasse says "re-season" the dish.  Notice that all the chili champs have a seasoning step near the end.


You can serve this a number of different ways and with a wide variety of a sides and toppings.   I like mine
simply with saltine crackers.  Michelle likes her chili all dressed up with sharp cheddar cheese, fritos,
sour cream, green onion and sliced jalapeño.


Cheers! Scott

8 comments:

  1. Very interesting post, Scott. I learned a lot. Nicely done.

    But I could not eat your chili due to the hot peppers. I have too many taste buds. I can't do hot.

    But I could eat chili w/o beans. Or just chili w/o peppers.

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  2. I just made a huge pot of chili last night. Yours looks marvelous! It's been WAY too long since I've had frittos!

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  3. This chili looks amazing. And I am forgiving of opinionated Texans... my husband has a lot of family in Texas, and they are some of my favorites of the family members that I acquired by marriage! :) I've never had chili with Fritos... but I like the chips on their own, and I love chili, so either way it sounds awesome to me. I also laughed at the Matthew McConaughey comment.

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  4. Looks really good. Making me hungry just reading it.

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  5. yall get to me with these yummies, first was the oysters, (bought a bag) now looks like its chili making time...looks great, keep em coming..

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  6. Thanks for the encouraging comments. It helps a ton.

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  7. Oh Scott Chili is a true texas fav..
    great tip, spices are worth the investment, when it comes to a great bowl of chili, don't skimp..I love that you float jalapenos in the pot, yum love fritos and chili..

    sweetlife

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  8. Wow Scott! I love beans in chili, but, with photos that make yours look this good, I wouldn't dare argue too much about it. This looks absolutely delicious, and I must say that these deep red chilis with meat have a nourishing and delicious look to them. I'm going to bookmark this and make it for my parents-they would love this. I might even cheat on my vegetarian diet and try it too;)

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