2010 Cooking Club Week 24: Chilli!

BaZmO*

Ponster wrote: »

I make the BBC one when I get home from work and feel like some chilli. I make Sparks recipe when I have friends around that I want to impress and have a couple of days to prepare

Is that the Jo Pratt one? I make it all the time. Great recipe. I always double the recipe and freeze tonnes of it in 2 serving portions. It's great for those evenings when you can't be bothered to cook but want something really tasty.

Sparks

The Black Oil wrote: »

April 1st..?

Yup

Sparks

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

I was going to ask Sparks a q about the recipe, but seeing as he's closed his account, there's not much point.

Sorry 'bout that Mr.B, but ask away!

About the chipotle in adobo thing, I found a Chipotle Tabasco in Tesco and it seems to have done the trick.

Ah. Right. No, it probably hasn't. I have the chipotle tabasco as well, and it's nothing like chipotles in adobo sauce. Seriously, they're as different as tomato ketchup and a tin of chopped tomatoes.

Ponster

Nope, it was the one that Mr Benevolent linked to. Though I'll try out the one that you suggested next

Mr Benevolent

Sparks wrote: »

Ah. Right. No, it probably hasn't. I have the chipotle tabasco as well, and it's nothing like chipotles in adobo sauce. Seriously, they're as different as tomato ketchup and a tin of chopped tomatoes.

Looking at it closer I might have overcooked it, none of the meat was identifiable! It'll get eaten anyway.

FTA69

Jesus lads I hope this is worth it! I'd to make over an hour's journey to West London to an obscure spice shop to get Chipotle in Adobo and New Mexican Red chillis. For four chillis (35g) it came to £5! They're huge yokes though so maybe I'll only use two and save the rest for another dish.

oscarBravo

Best chili I've ever eaten, and I've cooked it like three times now. Enjoy!

FTA69

Fair play is all I can say. It was well worth the hassle getting all the ingredients! I stewed that bad boy for over 6 hours. The steak completely came apart in shreds, absolutely beautiful. I've been stuffing burritos into my face all day yesterday and today. I used pinto and Mexican turtle beans and they were great in comparison to mushy kidney beans. Outstanding!

I'll post pics soon.

Sparks

Glad to hear you liked it FTA

FTA69

It was great! I'm posting over Chipotles in Adobo as well as New Mexican reds to my mam at home, she's excited about the whole affair now. (God we're sad bastards.) One thing I'll do next time is increase the heat though. I used 4 New mexico reds and six fresh chillis as well as 2tsp of cayenne pepper and it still was much too mild for me. The again, I'd eat a vindaloo for breakfast so I'm not a good gauge in that regard. I went to a chilli cookoff in Nevada (Hell's Angels convention, mad craic) and to be honest this version if up there with the best I had there. Well done mate.

oscarBravo

I brought several cans of chopitles in adobo back from the US with me on my last visit, they're cheap as chips over there. I agree about dialling up the heat, I made the last batch quite a bit fierier, and it was lovely.

nozzferrahhtoo

Well mine is now cooking in a normal pot as we speak. Not sure how long it will need but it is 19:38 now so I am debating eating it tomorrow and just getting pizza from my local Schützenverein restaurant for tonight instead.

Did all kinds of replacements to the main recipe of the thread so no idea how this will turn out but will let you know either later or tomorrow.

As for feeding it to the baby.... how was the nappy experience the next day?

Sparks

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

As for feeding it to the baby.... how was the nappy experience the next day?

Actually it was completely normal.


...which isn't to say it was pleasant, you understand

Mr. CooL ICE

Made this earlier in the week. I didn't have time to get to F&B for the dried chillis and adobo sauce, so ended up using regular chillis from Aldi with Franks, with some chilli and cayenne powder thrown in for good measure.

It was really nice, but I think the dried chillis would have made it much better. I have made chilli in the past and it was always meh, but the texture of this was by far the best feature. From now on, regardless of what ingredients I use, I will always use the same steps as outlined here.

Sparks

Glad you liked it - but while the dried chillis do add to the taste quite a bit, it really is the chipotles in adobo that makes the dish. If you can't get to F&B's, you can actually get them online (there are a few places in the UK that will ship them here). It really is worth trying the chilli with them!

Mr. CooL ICE

My freezer is now filled with some frozen slabs of chilli and I need to clear the thing for a defrost, so I'll try again in a few weeks.

I live in Dublin so getting to F&B isn't a problem. I bought a massive crock pot this week for my soups and came to this forum to see what else I could make. This was an obvious choice

Mrs Fox

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this crowd mymexicanshop.ie that I came across, they have Chipotle in Adobo in cans, and 2 types of masa harina too. I haven't got the chance to pop in F&B so I might order these from that site.

Sparks, is masa harina the same as cornmeal that you get in health shops?

I can't wait to try this chilli

Sparks

Mrs Fox wrote: »

Sparks, is masa harina the same as cornmeal that you get in health shops?

Nope, different stuff. Well. They're both ground flour made with corn; the difference is that cornmeal is where you dry the corn and grind it (and we're talking maize here, not sweetcorn btw); but masa harina is where you nixmatalise the corn first (ie. soak it in a weak lye solution, originally made with wood ash and water, but done these days with chemicals) and then grind the paste and dry it (the paste itself is called masa when wet). They taste different and they act different when you cook with them - for example, you can make tortillas with masa but you can't with cornmeal; and masa makes for pretty lousy polenta...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzDyf44-z3A

emec

Brilliant recipe Sparks! I have read the whole thread a few times, it must be one of the most thorough and most informative cooking club threads! Thanks for keeping an eye on the thread and answering so many questions.

I have some in my slow cooker and it smelled amazing, even at 7am this morning! First taste last night was very promising.

I hope you don't mind but I wrote it up the slow cooker recipe as a word document for my computer illiterate mam. I will post it here in case anyone else wants it?

It is just the basic step by step. I would definitely still read the first two posts, because there are great explanations of all the chilli and all ingredients and the pictures are really helpful.

Slow cooker Chilli

(Recipe by sparks, boards.ie -http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055938138)

Okay, first off, chilli is like religion in some parts. Lots of different views on it and some people get very irate when you even mention that there are alternatives to their take on it. Add beans to a texan's chilli and you apparently risk a punch-up. And don't ever mention the origins of the dish, because nobody knows exactly where it came from and it seems everyone claims it bar the mexicans, who think it's a weird kind of stew and that they have far better food at home.

But at its basic core, chilli is just a braised beef stew, flavoured with chillis, chilli powder, cumin and thyme. Everything else is an optional extra, but miss any of those core bits and you don't have chilli. Please note - tomatoes are not on that list. Chilli is a beef stew, not beef in tomato sauce.

Like any stew, it freezes reasonably well, and keeps in the fridge for a week. It does have beans, I like them. If you don't, just don't add them, it'll work just as well. Maybe a little less liquid if you don't add the beans, or a little more masa at the end.

Ingredients:
680g/1.5lb chopped beef (pref stewing, shin etc) cubed and trimmed
2-3 tsp chipotle chillis in adobo sauce (1 tsp per batch of meat)
450g/1lb rib steak mince
200g lightly trimmed and cubed unsmoked back bacon/streaky bacon
1 inch diced chorizo
2 chopped onions
1-2 star anise (if available, not essential)
2 chopped fresh chillis (jalapeno or preferred variety)
4/5 cloves chopped garlic
1 inch diced ginger
4 chopped rehydrated dried new mexico red chillis (rehydrate in water, discard water)
Spice mix: (use already ground spice if seeds not available – grinding seeds gives fresher taste)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Nam Pla/fish sauce
1 bottle beer (eg Heineken) (not stout or heavy lager)
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp jalapeno chilli flakes
1lb/450g black and/or pinto beans (pre-soaked or tinned)
2-3 tbsp masa harina (Mexican limed corn flour use or plain flour if not available)

Method:
1. Toss the beef in salt and olive oil, then brown in batches in frying pan/pot on very high heat, with one teaspoon of adobo sauce added to each batch as it finishes up. Remove to slow cooker (or mixing bowl if slow cooker is small)
2. Brown the bacon along with the diced chorizo (add the chorizo in only for the last minute or two of cooking, or it will burn). Remove to slow cooker.
3. Brown the mince until dry and crumbly. Remove to slow cooker.
4. Sweat the onions down with one whole star anise and some salt, put in slow cooker. (discard the star anise).
5. Fry the spice mix with the chopped fresh chillis, chopped rehydrated dried chillis, garlic and the ginger for a minute or three until very pungent, put in slow cooker.
6. Deglaze the pan/pot with beer, add the Nam Pla and Worcestershire and get that boiling. Add the black beans, dried thyme, paprika, jalapeno flakes and tomato puree and mix.
7. Add to all previous cooked ingredients in slow cooker(/mixing bowl) and mix to get it all combined.
8. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat is tender and breaks apart easily. It might not look like there is enough liquid, but there is plenty.
9. Add a tbsp of masa harina and then stir it in and leave it cook out, covered, for five minutes. If the gravy is still not thick enough, add more masa in teaspoon amounts, stirring and cooking for a few minutes each time, until the gravy is as thick as you want it. (Hint - don't get it too thick, you want it to be just a little more watery than you think you do, because it will keep thickening for the next hour or so as the masa and beans continue to hydrate).
9. Serve with rice and sour cream, or with tortillas, sour cream, salsa, jalapenos and cheese.

BaZmO*

Got the more "exotic" ingredients in F&B yesterday so I think I'm gonna make this over the weekend. I've no pressure cooker so I'm just gonna make it in my regular big pot that I make my normal chilli in. I've already bought other equipment for one of your recipes Sparks! Can't do it again, although I have thought about getting a pressure cooker...maybe in the future.

Sparks wrote: »

On to the rest of the ingredients:



The beer should be any ordinary beer. Not stout or weisbier, and not lager if you can help it. The former are too heavy and get horrible with cooking, the latter are too light. And you only need two bottles. One goes in the pot, one goes in the cook. (Yes, you can use water if you want to skip the small amount of alcohol that will remain after cooking, but it'll be less tasty).

Now I don't want to be a total pedant here, buuuuuut........ that beer in your picture is a Lager.

Sparks

BaZmO* wrote: »

Got the more "exotic" ingredients in F&B yesterday so I think I'm gonna make this over the weekend. I've no pressure cooker so I'm just gonna make it in my regular big pot that I make my normal chilli in. I've already bought other equipment for one of your recipes Sparks! Can't do it again, although I have thought about getting a pressure cooker...maybe in the future.

Yeah, the pressure cookers (decent ones anyway) are expensive enough. Slow cookers, they're just €20-30, but a pressure cooker, that's another league. Mind you, they're not a one trick pony - any stew, any stock, anything that involves wet cooking in a pot, and they can not only do it, but do it faster.

But so long as you cook it a bit longer and watch the liquid level, a normal pot is perfectly fine. The heaviest one you've got, though.

Now I don't want to be a total pedant here, buuuuuut........ that beer in your picture is a Lager.

Yeah, I was trying to get something heavier than bud but lighter than weisbier or stout, that was the closest I could find at the time. I've since tried it with budvar (meh), tsing tao (nice but a bit... thin), and hoegarden (yeah, the weisbeir blanc's aren't any better). I keep meaning to try corona, but it seems too gimmicky

BaZmO*

Sparks wrote: »

Yeah, I was trying to get something heavier than bud but lighter than weisbier or stout, that was the closest I could find at the time. I've since tried it with budvar (meh), tsing tao (nice but a bit... thin), and hoegarden (yeah, the weisbeir blanc's aren't any better). I keep meaning to try corona, but it seems too gimmicky

A slightly hoppy English Blonde Ale would be the way to go imo. Something like St. Austell's Proper Job, or my go to Ale for Stews, London Pride by Fullers.

FTA69

All those keg lagers taste the same. Whether you use San Miguel, Corona etc you'll get the same result. There's no difference between them. I used Marstons Pale Ale and it was savage. Always go with a proper beer, it'll make all the difference.

BaZmO*

FTA69 wrote: »

All those keg lagers taste the same.

What's a 'keg lager' as opposed to any other lager? All beers are available in kegs.

FTA69

Not all beer is available in pressurised kegs, most ales come in casks and have to be pumped out by hand. There are decent lagers available from Germany and the Czech republic etc and these are of a far greater quality than the likes of Stella, San Miguel and all that other stuff which is usually full of chemicals. All those beers are pretty much the same.

BaZmO*

FTA69 wrote: »

Not all beer is available in pressurised kegs, most ales come in casks and have to be pumped out by hand.

I'd actually say the opposite. Most beers are available in kegs, as are most ales. There's certainly a resurgence of cask ales at the moment but it's definitely in the minority.

Generally speaking though, Beer (in modern terms) is the collective term for all drinks made from Water, Barley (or any grain), Hops & Yeast. Beer is then generally split into 2 groups, Ales & Lagers, with production methods and type of Yeast being the main defining factors. Historically speaking, the defining line between Beer & Ales was that Ales used to use flavourings other than hops.

FTA69 wrote: »

There are decent lagers available from Germany and the Czech republic etc and these are of a far greater quality than the likes of Stella, San Miguel and all that other stuff which is usually full of chemicals. All those beers are pretty much the same.

This is true.

BaZmO*

I forgot to add that I actually made this last week. I didn't have a pressure cooker so I reckon it made quite a big difference to the overall dish. I used a large pot but after about 2 hours cooking (on a very low heat) the bottom of the Chilli started to stick and burn, I had to transfer it to another pot. It didn't burn or stick after that. It also dried out an awful lot. I used 500ml of beer but I had to keep topping it up with water. After about 3 hours the steak pieces had turned to mush. It looked the way a stew looks the next day, with all the beef being stringy.

Apart from that it was quite nice, probably not as nice as the Chilli Con Carne dish that's a regular at home. I'd love to take the best elements of both dishes and make a "Super Chilli" particularly the mixture of chillis in Spark's Chilli. They gave a real depth of flavour without being ridiculously hot, which can sometimes happen with the single chilli CCC that I make.

I'd definitely like to make it again in a pressure cooker though.

FTA69

It also dried out an awful lot. I used 500ml of beer but I had to keep topping it up with water.

Yeah, I used a bottle of ale and had to use a further can and a half of lager that I had in the fridge.

After about 3 hours the steak pieces had turned to mush. It looked the way a stew looks the next day, with all the beef being stringy.

Ha that's what I loved about mine!

BaZmO*

FTA69 wrote: »

Ha that's what I loved about mine!

Wasn't really a complaint, more so an observation. Although I was looking forward to all the different textures. Probably not achievable without a pressure cooker.

horgan_p

One big f**k off pot (doubled up on quantities) bubbling away nicely right now. Sparks did you think 3 years later we'd all still be making this ?