smschulz requested my chili recipe and I thought I'd start a new thread for a couple reasons:

Many people have never had/seen a recipe for Texas Red which many believe to be the purest form of chili. I certainly had not had Texas Red prior to moving to Texas in the late 90s.

The recipe complies with Chili Appreciation Society International (aka the organization that runs the chili cookoffs all over including the CASI ​Terlingua ​International ​Chili Championship) rules with the main one being that it contains zero fillers such as beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar ingredients

I'm posting in a more user friendly format which is easier to follow. My previous posts you had to have the original recipe and my modifications side by side and this version is everything you need in 1 spot.

My recipe is a modification of the recipe that won the 1990 World Championship in Terlingua. The reason I modify it is I'm not on the clock like a chili cook off so I have time for fresh ingredients, and I prefer a medium spicy chili to a high octane chili.

Step 1:

Cook 4 strips of bacon (the thick cut kind from the butcher not that wimpy kind you need to measure with a micrometer). Eat the bacon, but leave the grease.

Brown 2 lbs chili grind ground beef and 1 lb cubed stew meat (the 2 meat textures comes out better than all ground recipe)

1 can - (10-1/2 oz) beef broth

1 can - (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 tsp - Beef Flavored Base or Instant Bouillon

1 tsp - Chicken Flavored Base or Instant Bouillon

2 tbsp - Chili Powder

2 tsp - Hot Pepper Sauce

1 large diced onion

4 cloves of minced garlic

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer one (1) hour.

Step 2:

1/2 tsp - Black Pepper

1/2 tsp - White Pepper

1 tbsp - Ground Cumin

2 Tbsp - chili powder

1 tsp - paprika

1/4 tsp - red pepper

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 diced Serrano pepper and 1 diced jalapeno (combo gives both early and late heat to each bite)

Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 3:

1.5 Tbsp - chili powder

1/4 tsp - red pepper

1 tsp - Ground Cumin

Simmer 30 minutes and serve. Makes 8 servings.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

That sounds like a good recipe - I may adopt parts of it. Here's mine:

Sautee a very large chopped onion
Add five minced cloves of garlic
Add and brown 2 pounds of red meat - beef, pork, or venison, cubed or coarsely ground

Add and lightly sautee chopped fresh peppers to taste:
2 poblanos (Not hot, don't skimp)
2 jalapenos
2 serranos
4 tablespoons chili powder (more to taste)
1 to 2 teaspoons cumin
dried crushed red chili to taste
whatever other peppers you want

Add a bottle of beer
One small can crushed tomatoes
1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
Salt to taste
A teaspoon or two of oregano (Mexican if available)
2 or 3 bay leaves

Simmer for two or three hours, longer won't hurt
Add liquid (beef broth) if needed

Thicken before serving with masa flour in a little water (regular flour or cornstarch will be work)

quote:

That sounds like a good recipe - I may adopt parts of it. Here's mine:

It should as much of the fresh ingredients portion of mine came your past posts.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
That sounds like a good recipe - I may adopt parts of it. Here's mine:

I've used your recipe several times, with a couple of mods for myself. Several times I have done it in a Dutch oven at Scout camp outs, and at a bushcraft training class I attended. It always gets rave reviews.

Thank You.

The only thing I had to do was to cut a little bit back on the "heat" items as the wife can't take it.

I go to Chili's and get some of their Chili.
I can't make use of a whole batch of home made chili.
I do love it though.

quote:

Originally posted by raggedhole:
I can't make use of a whole batch of home made chili.

It freezes well.

Many times, I've divided a batch into 4 containers - bowl for now, tupperware for tomorrow, and 2 freezer ziplocs.

When I make chili I don't follow a recipe but I definitely do things differently.

I get a bunch of bell peppers, red, yellow, orange, green, and a few poblanos, and roast them and remove the skin. Then I remove stems and seeds and puree them. This is my base. I saute stew beef with onions and garlic, add the puree and seasonings...

chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and cocoa powder. Also just a tad of brown sugar.

I let this simmer until the meat is shreddable. I've had rave reviews. The lack of tomato seems to really cut the acid.

Question time.

Who's hosting the first Houston SF chili cookout? Todd or JHE? Both sound good.

I should not have opened this thread right before dinner.

I made a big batch last month.

I used 2 pounds ground chuck, 2 pounds freshly ground pork, and 1 tube of Jimmy Dean regular sausage. This is a very good taste! Try it.

I’ll skip the rest of the details, but I’ll say I’ve gotten a bit tired of ground beef and find that freshly ground pork makes a very tasty hamburger.

Try it, get some freshly ground pork from the butcher. Nothing prepackaged.

Some Texas chili cooks are violently opposed to tomatoes. I add a small amount, but don't think they are necessary. It shouldn't be too tomato-ey, though. It is chili, not chili-flavored tomato sauce.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Some Texas chili cooks are violently opposed to tomatoes. I add a small amount, but don't think they are necessary. It shouldn't be too tomato-ey, though. It is chili, not chili-flavored tomato sauce.

I feel like I read something from you in the past that made me try the pepper puree rather than tomatoes. It's seriously so popular that I get asked to make it all the time. But it's a bit of a pain getting the skin off all the peppers.

My girlfriend demands beans (I think the southern saying would be, "bless her heart"). So I just cook beans separate and put some in her bowl.

Neither recipe uses soaked dried chiles processed into a paste? I thought that was chili de rigueur.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
My girlfriend demands beans (I think the southern saying would be, "bless her heart"). So I just cook beans separate and put some in her bowl.

Side of beans is what we do in Texas too. A mini-crockpot called the little dipper came with my big crockpot so I just do the side beans in there with beef broth and chili powder.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
Neither recipe uses soaked dried chiles processed into a paste? I thought that was chili de rigueur.

You read correct. You can also throw the dried chilies into a food processor and have somewhat fresher ground chilies rather than chili powder, cayenne powder, etc. IME, dried chilies aren't much of a taste difference from the ground, bottled stuff to make me want to switch. However, the fresh chilies are worth dicing up and throwing in.

Another thing you'll notice about my recipe and the World Champion I linked is that it doesn't contain brand names. I intentionally chose the 1990 version because of this and the lack of MSG. Most of the newer world championship recipes have so many sponsors (i.e. listed brands) it looks like the NASCAR of recipes.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
Neither recipe uses soaked dried chiles processed into a paste? I thought that was chili de rigueur.

You read correct. You can also throw the dried chilies into a food processor and have somewhat fresher ground chilies rather than chili powder, cayenne powder, etc. IME, dried chilies aren't much of a taste difference from the ground, bottled stuff to make me want to switch. However, the fresh chilies are worth dicing up and throwing in.

Another thing you'll notice about my recipe and the World Champion I linked is that it doesn't contain brand names. I intentionally chose the 1990 version because of this and the lack of MSG. Most of the newer world championship recipes have so many sponsors (i.e. listed brands) it looks like the NASCAR of recipes.

I made your recipe a couple? of years ago using dried chile paste. It was good. Chile powder has several ingredients in unknown proportions. One can buy ground chilies at the Mex store. IMO, which ain't worth shit, the ancho chile paste gives it a wonderful flavor and a beautiful dark red color. Chile powder is quicker though, kinda like making gumbo using this stuff:

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
Neither recipe uses soaked dried chiles processed into a paste? I thought that was chili de rigueur.

I think that has the same effect as the dried chili powder and dried chili flakes I use. My way, they are already ground. The fresh chilis add a different flavor.

A few times I've made chili and other chili powder-heavy dishes by toasting dried peppers in the oven and then grinding them up to make my own chili powder. By itself, it definitely tastes better than prepackaged chili powder, but I'm not sure how significant the difference is in the finished dish. I've never sat down and made chili both ways to compare.

I have made the same recipe with both "chile powder" and dried chiles. One can buy ground chile that is "pure" and that should be better than commercial "chile powder" that is a mixture. Here are a couple of pics.