Thinking of a new chili recipe

[Tom]

I'm a big chili fan. I grew up around an uncle who'd compete year after year at big events and he instilled a further appreciation for carefully crafted chili as well. I used to make batches in college where I'd toast the chiles separately and get quite nutted up about the recipe and method. The next batch I'm thinking of making up will be something entirely meat (no beans) based and I'll incorporate some unused Q'd brisket and likely even some bacon. I've read a few keto style chilis that do well in mainstream competitions too, and it sounds like it's due to the addition of bacon.

Tomorrow I'll swing by the store on the way home for the basics I don't have on hand, onion and fresh garlic, but I think I'm set for everything else. It should be a fun experiment, and I've got plenty of meat to use up. I have 3 new york steaks that I mistakenly tossed in the chest freezer and forgot about for 5-6 weeks, that have unfortunately been degraded with some freezer burn. Since the texture would hide better in a big bowl of chili once chopped up, versus a regularly prepared steak, I'll be tossing them in as well.

Anyone have any additions they like? There's a million ways to make chili and it's so subjective, but this should be a fun experimental batch that I don't mind trying new things on.

Base ingredients will be finely cubed steak, lots of cubed up Q'd brisket, bacon and a medley of chiles. I've always been a fan of the fresh stuff from Penzeys and I've got a wide variety of dried peppers and of course their wonderful cumin. I don't always play by the competitive approach of "dumps". Once I have my meat rendered, drained, whatever, I basically add everything and simmer once I've got my onions properly sweated or caramelized.

Pics to come tomorrow night!

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[SuperDave]

I highly recommend taking your assembled pot of chili and putting it back in the smoker for an hour.  I won our last office chili cook-off with the smoked chili.

[Tom]

Dave , great idea. But it'll have to wait for my next batch. I ll be getting home from work after 8pm and want to get something whipped up quick. I'll definitely give that a go on a future batch.

[BedouinBob]

Can't wait to see what you come up with Tom. Share the recipe and pics when you are done. Looking forward to it! 

[Limey]

Tom, I usually put some dark chocolate in mine. It gives a sweetness and a smooth mouth feel. I would suggest that you take just a cupful out of your main batch, add chocolate and see if you like it. If not then very little lost.

[DivotMaker]

You know, I'll give the world the recipe for anything I cook, except for chili!  Personally, I (and my family) absolutely love my chili, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.  BUT... For some reason, people's idea of "good chili" is as subjective as taste in spices, smoke, beer, etc...  I have been to, and been in, a few chili contests, and have never failed to be surprised by the results!  Many times, my picks were 180-out from the judges! 

Unlike BBQ, chili seems to be in a class by itself!  People will fight over it, it seems!  So, I'll watch this topic from afar, but understand why I won't add mine to the mix.

[Tom]

And we're off! After a 13 hour work day (my norm) I choose the expedient path in getting this assembled and in the pot. I didn't weight the brisket, but I'm guessing just shy of 3 pounds, about the same for the rib eyes. I didn't use much bacon, just about the equivalent of 2 thick slices ( I was mainly just looking to even up the end for when I slice and seal it all).

The pot after browning the meat, building up a very dark ( but not black) fond. I generally keep my onions on the lighter side, just barely sweated before I move on to the spice addition. Obviously, unless you're willing to sit and watch a pot on the lowest setting while caramelizing the onions, much higher temperatures can lead to bitterness.

So, one diced large white onion, and a big knob of grass fed butter into the fond, scraped and loosened.

1.75 T Paprika
2 T Gebheardts Chili Powder
2T Ground Cumin
1.5 T White Onion Powder
1.5 T Roasted Garlic Powder (I strongly recommend this from Penzey's, try it in about anything, you'll thank me later)
1 t Dried Minced Garlic
1 t Cayenne Pepper
0.5 t Accent
 
1- 6oz can Tomato Sauce

All the rendered meat/bacon back into the pot, and the finely cubed brisket added. Water added to the level of the meat ( I didn't measure), 1 belt of bourbon and a heavy lid!

And now I wait.......


I tasted the gravy and it's going in a nice direction. I'll see how the onion flavor plays out because I might tweak it some more. My tentative plan is to cook it for an hour, and have a "chef's bowl", then transfer the rest into the crock pot and top it up with a bit more fluid. This new slow cooker has a thermocouple and is highly programmable, so I can aim to have it just slightly simmer all night while I sleep, then get it cold in the morning before work.

[Tom]

And I apologize about the scattered order. I'm a bit too tired to move them around after already going back and rotating them all.

This is more like my standard chili recipe I've used before, minus the BBQ addition. I polarize between trying the weird competition chili recipes where it's all ground meat and lots of MSG additions and pre-made chili powders, versus the slow, 2 or 3 day approach of cleaning and drying my own chilies, and crafting each separate ingredient to the nth degree.

One specific focus on this batch that I wanted to avoid was too much "noise" in terms of flavor. I wanted to keep the flavor of the chili's and the meat up front, so I opted not to use any beer or chicken broth, just water.

Kitchen's smelling damn good. I can hardly wait.

[drains]

Looking good Tom! As a child I remember my grandfather making his chili. I never asked him for the recipe before he died. His chili was all meat and seasonings. No tomato sauce as is so common today. I remember it was pretty stout so being a kid I would add ketchup to mine. I still remember the whole pieces of garlic floating in the grease that rose to the top of the pot. A big bowl of his chili and a stack of saltine crackers was a good stick to your ribs meal. Good times!

[DivotMaker]

Tom, it looks like you're taking chili to a whole new level!

[Tom]

I should have followed my initial desire to run the ribeyes thru the meat grinder, but instead I stood there and diced it all. I think (for this simple no bean chili) I'd have liked the texture a bit more If I had. That would have left just the finely diced brisket to bring the mouthfeel. I'll play around with it on my next batch for sure. But I'm surprised how good Gebhardts still is.

[RG]

Looks awesome!! My son works at a fine dining joint in "pay to be a member place" that caters to the wealthy. They on occasion make Filet Mignon Chili, no beans, just meat, onion, chilis and seasonings and it is out of this world delicious. I myself make 2 different chilis. One is a traditional ground beef chili that is good as a bowl, or on fries or a Chili dog (has beans but oh well). I also make a chili sauce just for dogs. My favorite chili though is one that I worked on until I got it just right. I am not one to measure when I make chili but once I got it right I went back and made it again and tried to duplicate it and took what I had poured into my hand and measured it and wrote it down. I now have it all documented and I actually just made some yesterday!

It's not a standard chili by any means and will turn off the chili purists but I don't care, I cook what I like to eat Sometimes when I make a big old brisket, I'll save some of it, cube it up and vac seal for when I want chili. I take 2 pounds of it and use thick cut bacon and build up from there. It has beans, a fair amount, as well as........corn! This chili is excellent served with tortilla chips and sour cream. I do use a little ancho chili powder in it and it has a unique taste that goes very well with a Mexican Lager. I am about to divvy it up into some freezer bags here in a bit and then I think I'll have me a big bowl for lunch!!

[BedouinBob]

Jason, and you are not going to share the recipe? 

[RG]

Jason, and you are not going to share the recipe? 

Bob, as much as I hate to say "no".......no I am not, lol. If Tony can plead the 5th and get away with it then so shall I

I can tell you that it has 32 ingredients in it, lol. Brisket, bacon, beer, peppers, onions, tomatoes, spices. It's "noisey" as Tom would say but it's tasty noise, lol.

There are some things I keep to myself. My BBQ sauce I use on my Ribs, Chicken and Moinks is one, my Brunswick Stew is another and Brisket Chili is the other. I'll share my pizza dough recipe, my Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce recipe, my rubs but I have to draw the line somewhere and keep something that I know that NO one else has to myself.

[BedouinBob]

Jason, I fully understand. We can't let all of our secrets out...