Some Questions - please help

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I really love Chili, and I'd love to know a really simple Chili Con Carne recipe, that doesn't involve Kidney Beans, as I cannot stand them. Thanks.

Does anyone know where I can get beef sausages?

This is kind of related to my first question.

More often than not I cook for one, and therefore when buying food, like fresh veg, a lot of it tends to go to waste. I'd usually be in my own place say on a Monday, then maybe not again until the Thursday. Things to do on the Tuesday and Wednesday etc, I must have thrown out at least three full peppers this past fortnight, as after cooking I put them back in the fridge, then come back to find them gone horrible. Is there anything I can do about this?

Thanks people.

RE*AC*TOR

Chili is easy enough to cook (and quick), and kidney beans are totally optional.

There are tonnes of variations and you can add or subtract things from it. I have put sausages into before, you can use diced meat instead of minced. Its very flexible, just think of it as a stew.

Here's what I do:

Chop a large onion or two small onions, fairly finely but no need to be anal.

Crush a garlic clove or two.

Get a big pot, lash in enough oil to coat the bottom, on a medium heat lash in the onions don't brown them, if they start to brown turn the heat down. After a minute or two lash in the garlic - stir it about.

I use one of the large packets of mince from Superquinn - i think its about 450kg. Anyway, lash it in and brown off the meat. You may need to turn up the heat a little here because the pot will lose a lot of heat with that much meat.

Once the meat is mostly browned, horse in some tomato. Either use a couple of tins of tomatoes or a big jar of some sort of passata. Its always good to have more tinned tomatoes around as you may decide it needs to be wetter.

Next you need chili powder, ground coriander and ground cumin. Equal portions of all 3. Start of with a teaspoon of each and taste. I don't measure any more, generally just lash it in, the dish is quite robust.

Worchestire sauce next - a good lash.

Other non-typical herbs like thyme or oregano can work nicely at this point. Don't be afraid of having a heavy hand.

Sometime I add about a tablespoon of marmite. Just because I bought Marmite once, and didn't like it, so needed to find a use for it.

I find a couple of teaspoons of sugar tends to balance the acidity nicely.

Add salt and pepper to taste (will require a good lash of salt).

Obviously I you want to add other meat to the proceedings do so when you add the mince. If you want to add mushrooms, I'd do so when you add the tomatoes.

Cook it off for 20-30 mins.

Serve with boiled white rice, and a dollop of sour cream and some grated cheese goes nicely with it.


Beef sausages? Donnybrook fair I think have some. Hicks in Dun Laoghaire do them. If you're not near Dun Laoghaire try the Temple Bar market on a saturday. FX Buckleys on Moore St might be a good place to look also.

As for peppers are they cooked or uncooked peppers that are going bad?

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Well that sounds delish!

I'll have to go and try to get all them ingedients, I take it there's no bother freezing it?

What is passata? - is it Dolmio or Ragu or one of them?

I'd probably prefer to use tinned tomato anyway.

Nice one for the tips on the Beef sausages, I'll look into that one.

Yeah - fresh uncooked peppers going off...

Anyway, I might do up a bit of that Chili over the weekend, thanks a lot man.

RE*AC*TOR

Passata is sieved or sometimes crushed tomatoes. Just tomatoes no crap added.

All I can think for the peppers is wrap them in cling film, or maybe clean out your fridge with disinfectant (might be a bug lurking)

You can freeze the chilli, but I wouldn't bother for the sake of two days. but it in a bowl (or two if needed), cover them in cling film and they should be fine in the fridge for anything up to 4 days i'd say, maybe longer.

Also forgot a shot of tabasco can add some bite if you're into that, and carrots can work well too, add some sweetness.

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Hmm, I've just been putting the half used peppers into the fridge in the plastic bag I bought them in, I'll try the clingfilm approach next time.

Yeah, I'd definitely add the tabasco alright. And carrots, yeah, I like that idea too.

I'm going to do up a LOT of this so I have a few on hand when I need it. So I'll have to freeze some.

Thanks a lot again, you have been very helpful.

Tree

stuff the chilli into wraps, cover w/ more chilli and cheese and bake - enchiladas ish!

bonkey

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

I use one of the large packets of mince from Superquinn - i think its about 450kg.

I'm pretty sure its not, y'know

Sorry - couldn't resist.

Other non-typical herbs like thyme or oregano can work nicely at this point. Don't be afraid of having a heavy hand.

Oregano is, IMHO, an absolute must to put in a chilli.

Paprika can also be good to round out the flvour.

Other tip - if you can get your hands on smoked salt or smoked paprika.....use them instead of regular variety once in a while. Really works.

The Sweeper

I must try oregano in chili. I reckon it'd push it over the edge to tasting like a pasta sauce with kidney beans in it, but I'll try it.

Also, capsicum peppers have a half life rather than a shelf life if stored properly - dry and out of their bag if whole, dry and wrapped in cling film if in half (though they do degenerate more quickly if halved).

*NB: everything is nicer the fresher it is, but I have to admit I lose my sense of urgency over whole capsicum, squashes and pumpkins and carrots.

bonkey

As for uncooked peppers....

I just lash mine into the veg-drawer at the bottom of the fridge. No bag, no clingfilm, nothing. I could be wrong, but I think they keep longer if they can breathe....it could be the bag itself thats your problem.

Note - you do need to make sure and keep your veg-drawer clean for this approach to work, and also wash everything that comes out of it prior to use as a matter of course.

Jesus Wept

oregano suits bolognese/italian, not chilli, imo

bonkey

The-Rigger wrote:

oregano suits bolognese/italian, not chilli, imo

Hey...as with all food...each to their own.

From what I've read, New Mexican's would typically use it in their chili (notably when using green rather than red peppers), while the Texans wouldn't(if I'm remembering correctly).

My wife insisted I add it at some point, because she said its a "must", and I had to admit it really rounded out the flavours well. Since then, its a must for me.

I've also tried stuff like a tiny bit of chocolate in my chili (min 80% cocoa), but its not to my taste.

As for the beans...pinto would be the "classic" bean to use, but kidney seems to be the canonical for many people. I use a mix of kidney, soisson, and maybe even (sacriligeously) a tin of Heinz baked beans or the like.

At the end of the day...make it your own dish. Find that twist that makes it your chili and ignore anyone who tells you its not traditional

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OK, I've done this up and it's cooking away on the cooker now.

800g of Minced Beef.
Two tins of chopped tomatoes.
2 Onions
2 Cloves of Garlic.
2 Carrots.
8 or 9 Mushrooms.
2 Teaspoons Cumin.
2 Teaspoons Coriander.
4 Teaspoons Chili Powder.
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder.
2 Teaspoons Tomato Purée
Worcester Sauce.
Tabasco Sauce.
Salt and Pepper.

It looks like I'll get three feeds from it, it's fairly wet, which I like:eek:

Just waiting on my rice to cook now, and I'll have myself a nice dinner, just in time to head to the local for the football.:)

Thanks guys, I took all of the suggestions and tried to make something nice for myself.

I hope it worked!