The Ultimate Chilli Con Carne recipe needed!!!

Swampy

Hi All,

As the title suggests, i'm looking for the ultimate Chilli recipe.

None of this sharwoods business (unless it helps).

I have a big ass Le Creuset (sp?) pot ready to go.

Hoping to have it ready for dinner tonight.

Thanks,

S.

olaola

Tom Dunne had a guy on a few weeks ago from El Paso in Howth - here is the recipe:
http://newstalk.ie/newstalk/programmes/32/tom-dunne.html

here.from.day.1

If yours ends up anything like the one in El Paso, your in for a good meal!

Ponster

Can you easily get pinto beans in Ireland these days ?



p.s. For some weird reason I thought I was mod of this forum and spent the past 30 seconds looking for the mod tool bar to edit the title! I think I need to get some food

Sparks

Pinto beans can be gotten dried or canned in most large tescos. But black beans taste better to be honest.

velocirafter

made the tom dunne recipe, was really nice. Wasn't a big fan of adding the chocolate to it though.

shrapnel222

every time i see chili con carne now, it reminds me of this story. it's been posted a good few times, but still makes me laugh when i read it and is one of the gems of the internet. so for those who've never read it, enjoy!!

Frank: "Recently, I was honoured to be selected as a judge at a chilli
cook-off. The third judge called in sick at the last moment and I happened
to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the
Budweiser truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two
judges (Native Texans) that the chilli wouldn't be all that spicy and besides they told me I could have all the free beer during the tasting, so I accepted."

Here are the scorecards from the event:


Chilli #1 (Mike's Manic Mobster Monster Chilli)

Judge #1 ? A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
Judge #2 ? Nice, smooth tomato flavour. Very mild.
Judge #3 ? (Frank) Holy ****, what the hell is this stuff? You could
remove dried paint from your driveway. It took me two beers to put the
flames out. I hope that's the worst one, these Texans are crazy.


Chilli # 2 (Arthur's Afterburner Chilli)

Judge #1 ? Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.
Judge #2 ? Exciting BBQ flavour, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
Judge #3 ? (Frank) Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure
what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who
wanted to give me the Heimlich manoeuvre. They had to rush in more beer
when they saw the look on my face.


Chilli # 3 (Fred's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chilli)

Judge #1 ? Excellent firehouse chilli. Great kick. Needs more beans.
Judge #2 ? A bean less chilli, a bit salty, good use of peppers.
Judge #3 ? (Frank) Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose
feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everybody knows the routine by now.
Get me some more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting pissed from all the beer.


Chilli # 4 (Bubba's Black Magic)

Judge # 1 ? Black bean chilli with almost no spice. Disappointing.
Judge # 2 ? Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or
other mild foods, not much of a chilli.
Judge # 3 ? I felt something scrape across my tongue, but was unable to
taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the barmaid, was
standing behind me with fresh refills. That 300-lb lady is starting to
look HOT?just like this nuclear waste I'm eating! Is chilli an aphrodisiac?


Chilli # 5 (Linda's Legal Lip Remover)

Judge # 1 ? Meaty, strong chilli. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding
considerable kick. Very impressive.
Judge # 2 ? Chilli using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit
the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
Judge # 3 ? My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can
no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed
paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chilli
had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring
beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming.
Stuff those rednecks!


Chilli # 6 (Vera's Very Vegetarian Variety)

Judge # 1 ? Thin, yet bold vegetarian variety chilli. Good balance of spices and peppers.
Judge # 2 ? The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions and garlic.
Superb.
Judge # 3 ? I shat myself when I farted and I'm worried it will eat through
the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that Sally. She
must be kinkier than I thought. Can't feel my lips any more. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone.


Chilli # 7 (Susan's Screaming Sensation Chilli)

Judge # 1 ? A mediocre chilli with too much reliance on canned peppers.
Judge # 2 ? Ho Hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chilli peppers at the last moment. I should note that I am worried about
Judge # 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing
uncontrollably.
Judge #3 ? (Frank). You could place a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin,
and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost the sight in one eye and the world
sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chilli,
which slid out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava-like stuff which
matches my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what killed
me. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful. Sod it; I'm not
getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the
four inch hole in my stomach.


Chilli # 8 (Tommy's Toe-nail Curling Chilli)

Judge # 1 ? The perfect ending, this is a nice blended chilli. Not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
Judge # 2 ?This final entry is a good, balanced chilli. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge # 3 passed out, fell over and pulled the chilli pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor Dude, wonder how he'd have reacted to a really hot chilli?

Sparks

That Tom Dunne recipe looks mediocre at best.
Not to get all texan on it, but proper chilli isn't like that at all.

Can I go all alton brown again?
Can I ?
This one's fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIR0OUjfCCc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hOxXaRns5w

brick tamland

My Chili Recipe, probably a but basic for most

In a pan fry 3/4 cloves of garlic, 1 large or 2 medium onions, A fresh Chilli ( seeds in all ) in a little olive oil. Add a tin of good quality chopped tomatos, Paprika and cumin and stir. After a few mins add a lb of good lean mince, lower the heat and simmer for and hour. After an hour add a tin of strained kidney beans. Cook for a futher 30 mins. I sometimes add chili powder/hot sauce if its not hot enough. I like chille very hot.

On occasion if also added Sweet Potatoe or peppers if i have them lying about.

Serve with Rice/Baked Spud/tacos/wraps

Swampy

I've decided to give the easy Tom Dunne a whirl.

It's simmering as I type. I'll get back with some feed back once it is consumed.

Thanks for all the posts, however keep them coming. I consider this only a beta chilli. There's always room for improvement.

Cheers,

S.

Minder

Alternatives to that Tom Dunne recipe for pinto beans with mince and tomato could include the addition of chipotle chillies and/or ancho chillies - leave out the chilli powder and soak the dried chillies in boiling water before chopping and adding to the sweating onions and garlic. Chipotles are smoked dried jalapeneos - two or three will give the same heat as a tsp of chilli powder.

I would reduce the tomato content - two tins and a tin of puree is overkill. Also a level tsp of ground cumin helps deliver on the flavour.

The New York Deli Dean & Deluca have a cookbook that has a recipe for adobo paste that is great added to chilli. I can post it later if anyone is interested...

The Sweeper

Yes please on the adobo paste.

I find one 400g tin tomatoes plus some beef stock plus a tablespoon of tomato puree is more than enough tomato-ness. I like to use a mild chili powder for flavour with cumin to round it up, and then use fresh chilis for heat. I also like to use chopped red and green capsicum (peppers) in my chili, even though I know the standard is meat n beans.

Sparks

One of the few things I buy in F&Bs is a small jar of jalapenos in adobo sauce. It really is that good. I though it would be a minor improvement, but it turns out, it completely changes the dish, it lifts the whole thing up from workaday to really, really excellent food.

It's also a good investment - a fiver for a jar, it lasts for several pots of chilli, and you can use cheaper stew meat for those pots and save more than you spent.

Sparks

BTW, if you're going more for taste than economy, stay with stew meat (pulse two or three times in the food processor to get small chunks), use a variety of chillis both dried and fresh (avoid scotch bonnets until you have an asbestos tongue, mouth, throat and backside), dial the tomatoes waaaaay down (I don't even bother with the tinned ones, I add maybe a tablespoon of puree and that's it), use beer for the liquid and find masa harina (I know, crushed tortillas work too, but to be honest, masa's nicer), and use a few different kinds of beans (screw you texas, chilli and beans works), and crush toasted cumin seeds instead of using cumin powder, and add a pinch of garam marsala.

And most importantly - DO NOT EAT ON DAY OF COOKING. Leave overnight in the pot, and reheat the next day. Chilli is always better the next day, like all stews.

Swampy

I made the Tom Dunne one and it was great. Quite tomatoey alright.

My next batch, i'll tone it right down. I'll grab a jar of that gear in F&B and go down the beer and sock route.

Thanks for all the tips.

Sparks

Swampy wrote: »

the beer and sock route

:eek:

Minder

Called a sauce, the result is more of a paste and it will solidify after a few days in the fridge. I add a couple of tablespoon sized chunks to chilli recipes in place of chilli powder.

1 dried chipotle chilli
2 dried ancho chillies
50 ml red wine vinegar
90ml orange juice
30ml lime juice
50g chopped onion
30g chopped garlic
100g honey
10g salt

Dry roast the chillies, cut open and remove the seeds. Place the chillies in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 30 minutes.
Put the soft chillies in a food processor with 30ml of the soaking liquid and pulse. Add everything else and pulse until smooth.

I find the chipotle are too fiddley to try removing seeds, so I leave them in for the extra heat. The ancho peppers are large dark purple (almost black) and have a lot of seeds so worthwhile trying to get those out. I use the recipe as a guide rather than accurately measuring everything. I store it in a jar in the fridge and it last ages - all that smoke, sugar and vinegar are natural preservatives.

Sparks

all that smoke, sugar and vinegar are natural preservatives.

Not to mention the capsascin burning any adventerous bacteria

the beer revolu

My chili beef is a very different beast to the mince 'n beans variation of bolognaise but is damn good.

I use chunks of shin beef.

If you can get them, soak some mexican chillies (chipotle, ancho or just some regular dried chillies) with some sundried tomatoes in boiling water.

Chop up some onions and lots of garlic and cook in some oil in a casserole on a medium flame.
In a frying pan brown the seasoned chunks of beef well and add to the casserole.

Chop up and add the chillies and tomatoes.

Throw in some thyme, bayleaf and some whole peppercorns a good pinch of cumin seeds (dry fried first if you can be bothered).
Also some paprika - use smoked parpika if none of the chilies were smoked.


Pour in some beer - I usually use lager but a lighter ale would probably be better - stout is too dark. The meet doesn't have to be covered - just enough to stop it drying out and burning.

Lid on and into a 150drgC oven.

Check that it's not drying out and burning a couple of times.

After about 3 hours the beef should start to break down when stirred firmy with a wooden spoon. If it doesn't - cook for another hour. You should be able to mush the meat up with the spoon. It will shred into a sort of moist, stringy paste. Add more beer if necessary and taste for chillie and seasoning.

You could add cooked pinto or black turtle beans to it if you like - I prefer to serve the beans seperately, either plain or refried.

Serve with tortillas, fresh mango salsa, sour cream etc etc..or just on it's own with bread..anyway..

YUMMMMMMYYYYYY

Sparks

+1 for the proper chilli recipe above

lemeister

Here's a chilli I made last week for the first time and it worked out well:
http://www.eaglesfans.com/visuals/features/chili.htm

nc6000

This one is the business - Chilli topped with Cornbread. The recipe makes enough for a small army!

http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=200

Swampy

Sparks wrote: »

:eek:

Damn, my secret ingredient is out!!

ven0m

I like a BBQ-y smokey type flavor to my Chilli, & like using beer & some JD or some Jim Beam in mine. and I won't use mince - I like big thick chunky pieces of beef in mine.

Sparks

Felt the urge again today

Two onions chopped and added to the pot with vegetable oil and salt to sweat on a low heat. Half that volume of chopped celery added immediately and two chopped, deseeded and de-membraned jalapenos. Ten minutes later, added about two tablespoons of chopped garlic (it was almost nine small cloves).

In a pan over high heat, toasted a freshly-ground mix of black pepper, cumin seeds and coriander seeds (I love my mortar and pestle). Threw that into the pot with the onion, celery and jalapeno, stirred to combine and added a can of tinned tomato and left simmering.

Took about a half-pound of round steak, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1/4 inch cubes, and fried it in the hot pan I toasted the spices in, with a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil and (once they were initially seared) a splash or two of woustershire sauce. Seared, splashed, tossed and cooked for about a minute in the pan, just until there was colour and sear all over the meat but it was still raw in the middle. Then added to the pot (I had to do this in two batches to keep up the heat in the pan because I don't have a cast iron skillet yet ).

In a small bowl, took three new mexico dried chillies, deseeded them and cut them into strips with scissors and rehydrated them in about a cup of water; that was soaking from before the onions went on, and now it went right into the pot, along with a teaspoon of chilli powder, a half-teaspoon of nam pla, a teaspoon of sweet paprika, a teaspoon of maldon salt, and a great big heaped tablespoon of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce.

Brought to a pre-boil bubble on the pan's hob, then moved back to the original pot hob to simmer for 90 minutes before tasting, then added two teaspoons of masa harina to thicken the gravy, simmered for another 30 minutes, tasted, loved it, killed the hob but thought the heat was a little high so added a tablespoon of honey to the chilli and left it for a few minutes and now it's great. It's going to be a great lunch tomorrow

(BTW, the jalapenos, the new mexico chillis, the chipotles in adobo sauce and the masa harina were all found in one place - Fallon&Byrnes. Wouldn't buy most stuff there (their mangos were horribly over-ripe today) but for some stuff like this, they're great)

Sparks

And can I just say that this was nice the day it was made, but now, two days rest in the fridge later, it's simply marvellous, if I do say so myself Nyom.

HIckery

If you follow this recipe preciously I guarantee you will not eat a better chilli
The trick with any good tomato based sauce is having good passata (ripe tomato sauce, can be bought in any supermarket. Another vital ingredient is 'liquid smoke', in Ireland this is hard to find and I had to order it from a catering company, but smoked paprika will do. I also suggest cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried chilli's or dried chilli flakes (you can use powder instead of seeds but the seeds have a much better flavour).
Ingredients:

2 x lrg jars of passata 2x kidney beans 3/4 to 1 ounce minced beef (preferably ribeye, the more fatty the more favour remember this is traditional a sort of peasants dish)
1x large onion 1-2 red peppers 1x tablespoon of red wine vinegar

Spice mix 1/2 to 1 x teaspoon plain chilli powder (depending on how you like your heat) 1x Paprika (smoked paprika if you have no liquid smoke) 1x heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds 1x heaped teaspoon of coriander seeds 1/2 to 1 of dried chillies/flakes (depending on how you like your heat) (prep. On a dry pan add and brown coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dried chillies- then put into spice bowl and crush the mixture till powder)
2x crushed cloves of garlic 1x small bag of fresh flat leaf parsley (wash and chop) 2 small pieces of dark 70% bitter chocolate (this will bind the spices together, even out the heat, and the sugar will bring out the taste in the tomatoes) 2 bay leaves
1x small bottle of beer 1x small cup of stock (lamb preferably but beef will do)

1.) A: chop onions till minced and cut peppers into strips add to a hot pan with 1&1/2 tablespoons of olive oil lower heat to medium & cut until sauté, then bring heat back up adding red wine vinegar, reduced until alcohol is gone. red wine vinegar softens and sweetens the pepper and onions.


2.) B: on a separate pot add mince cook till nearly brown and add spice mix
3.) add kidney beans and small cup of stock (lamb or beef), add bay leaves
4.) Add A and B together then slowly add passattaand then throw in crushed garlicadd a touch of liquid smoke depending on strength

5.)Reduce sauce down to 1 to 1 and half hours, add chocolate, and then add beer, further reducing for 45mins.

6.) Turnoff heat and add parsley.

Cook basmati rice with a tablespoon of whole coriander seeds and teaspoon of cumin seeds. season rice and add freshly chopped chives.

*giggles*

velocirafter wrote: »

made the tom dunne recipe, was really nice. Wasn't a big fan of adding the chocolate to it though.

This would be more of a mole (pronounced molé) recipe, with the addition of chocolate and other spices.

HIckery

Dear Steven Fry, I mean Giggles (btw I love Steven Fry) I obtained this recipe when I was in La Marque Texas; that why I titled it Tex Mex. To be honest I had to google the word 'mole'- love it though, thanks for the tip

Also forgot to mention to the recipe, add some fresh chillies at the end when your adding the parsley, gives a great extra kick.

*giggles*

HIckery wrote: »

Dear Steven Fry, I mean Giggles (btw I love Steven Fry) I obtained this recipe when I was in La Marque Texas; that why I titled it Tex Mex. To be honest I had to google the word 'mole'- love it though, thanks for the tip

Also forgot to mention to the recipe, add some fresh chillies at the end when your adding the parsley, gives a great extra kick.

^HA! Thankies:)

duploelabs

I haven't been able to make chilli since it was instigator to bring my partner into labour with our daughter.
But my €0.02 is to add bourbon (Jack Daniels works) and dark, good quality, high cocoa content chocolate. Lindt 80% works.

I do miss it

Swampy

Bump

because i'm making chilli again tonight.

Sparks

Try this so...

Mountjoy Mugger

Cheers for that Sparks, I don't know how I missed thast thread.

Now to print it.

Swampy

Sparks wrote: »

Try this so...

I made an adaptation of yours as I didn't have all the ingrediants. Managed to find dried chiplote and dried arancho chillis in tesco. Sweet.

Looking forward to it today after a day of it resting.

Sparks

Swampy wrote: »

Managed to find dried chiplote and dried arancho chillis in tesco. Sweet.

Sweet, but woefully overpriced if you got them from the 'Ingredients' range
It's funny - you get better value for money if you buy them from Fallon&Byrnes. Which says a lot about the rip-off pricing in Tesco...