I've already confessed to being a chili addict. And when the addiction strikes, as it does frequently, out comes the big pot and the drama begins!
I keep telling myself that I am going to start with dry black beans and do the work-up from all basic ingredients. Usually though, I use cans of Kuners of Colorado 'Black Beans with Jalopeños.' Cheating I guess, but it works for me. About ten cans of Kuners, a few pounds of lean, grass-fed ground beef (sautéed separately with garlic and cumin and then added to the pot), and lots of spices. Those long thingies floating on top are dried guajillo peppers. They have become essential to my chili pots. Also used is a lot of ground ancho chili, plus some ground hot chilis. The guajillos and anchos are not hot, but add a sweet, dark, smoky flavor to the chili that I really like and have come to insist upon. Add a little Mexican oregano, some more cumin, a few dashes of Penzey's Chili 9000 mix, some whole-kernel sweet corn, a dash of chocolate powder, and a chopped onion and let it simmer a few hours. This is a rich, dark chili for which "flavorful" is an understatement.
Only two gallons this time, but it will hold me for a while. The next batch will use cubed venison.
Posts
4 comments:
Man, that sounds good, I'm gonna have to make me some.
Jack
Anchos and guajillos are two of my favorites for making sauces I use in cooking; to heat things up I add a bit of chipotle, since it goes well with them. I also like the unsweetened chocolate, especially when making a mole.
For chili, I prefer starting with dry beans and making a huge pot, then freezing it in small batches for winter. Chili is one of those things that is always better the second time it is heated up.
Sometimes for heat in chilli, I like tossing in a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes.
That sounds good. I had chili earlier this week but tonight I cooked ribs. Good cold weather food.
It's finally starting to cool off around here, and a nice pot of stew or chili is starting to sound better and better. Your chili sounds absolutely wonderful -- like "fireworks in your mouth" (i.e., a flavor explosion), to borrow an image from Ratatouille! :)
Post a Comment