My chili always finishes bottom of the barrel. :(

[worm304]

So my large group of friends always has an after holidays chili cook off. My chili is never good and can't seem to get it right. Last year I even used brisket point.
There are millions of chili recipes but I was curious to see if anyone had a recipe they swear by. I do have left over brisket and ribs I was thinking of throwing in this year. Thanks for any help!!

 

[texomakid]

So what recipe are you using? I've never been in a chili cook off but I've eaten a lot of chili and I like what I cook (Although the pure blood Texan's try to say only a "bowl of Red is the real Texas chili") I have to disagree. Bowl of Red is only 1 of those million chili recipes out there. So what have you been cooking?

 

[Hawging It]

I don't have a Green Egg but a few years ago a friend bought one and it had a little cook book with it. There was a recipe for Smokey Chili on a Green Egg, It was the best chili I ever ate, You don't have to own a GE to cook it. You may find the recipe on the internet. Good luck on this years chili.
HAWG

 

[worm304]

So what recipe are you using? I've never been in a chili cook off but I've eaten a lot of chili and I like what I cook (Although the pure blood Texan's try to say only a "bowl of Red is the real Texas chili") I have to disagree. Bowl of Red is only 1 of those million chili recipes out there. So what have you been cooking?

It's been a mixed bag. I usually involve red wine. I did try one I found off the big green egg forum last year that had won contests but found it waaaay to bold. Some of the ingredients were hard to find so had to substitute for others. I recall adding the chili powder as the recipe called for and thinking it was waaaayyyyy too much chili powder. I think normal people look for standard chili at cook offs and going too different never works. I also don't like beans so I don't add them. I refuse to cater to the crowd and want something that has a smokey flavor. IDK. I probably over think it.

 

[DanMcG]

. I refuse to cater to the crowd

That might be your problem right there.....You're objective is to please the "crowd"

 

[chilerelleno]

Try this recipe,

Chile's Chipotle Chile

Participating in a Chile Cook Off today. I'm using a variation of my 'Chile's Chipotle Chile' which I've done very well in past cook-offs. Over the decades it has placed and/or won various categories. It is constructed as a very meaty chile. But it easily adapts itself to suit many tastes, so...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

The amount of pureed Chipotle and sugar/chocolate is easily modified, add tomato puree for volume.

Competition is all about pleasing the judges and maybe the crowd.

 

[bthurston]

I beleive its one o those "what are people use to". We use to always have one at my old work and it was blind judged by everyone who entered. I found out real quick there are alot of folks with crap palettes. We had one fella who won twice using canned chili and dumping it into a crockpot. I quit playing with them after that.

 

[Sowsage]

What kind of recipes are coming out on top.? Or what "style" chilli do these folks seem to enjoy? I would start there and then add your own twist to it.

 

[worm304]

That might be your problem right there.....You're objective is to please the "crowd"

I know, I know. I tell myself this every year. I am too much of a smoke fanatic to do some lame ass ground meat and beans chili. I guess I just want to taste my own chili and be blown away more than I care about what the "unrefined pallets" think of it. Ha!

 

[worm304]

Try this recipe,

Chile's Chipotle Chile

Participating in a Chile Cook Off today. I'm using a variation of my 'Chile's Chipotle Chile' which I've done very well in past cook-offs. Over the decades it has placed and/or won various categories. It is constructed as a very meaty chile. But it easily adapts itself to suit many tastes, so...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

The amount of pureed Chipotle and sugar/chocolate is easily modified, add tomato puree for volume.

Competition is all about pleasing the judges and maybe the crowd.

Thanks!! I like what I see. I will probably sub in the sous vide reheat brisket chunk.

What kind of recipes are coming out on top.? Or what "style" chilli do these folks seem to enjoy? I would start there and then add your own twist to it.

Last year my buddy won and told me he accidentally burned some of his veggies because his cast iron skillet was too hot. Maybe that char was the key. I don't think traditional wins every year and chili is one of those things that really subjective and someone can win it with little effort. But I can't back down and have to put max effort in. It's food for pete's sake! That't how I do it!

 

[DanMcG]

maybe you could consider umami, Like dried shiitake mushrooms, parmigiano reggiano cheese or a fish sauce?

 

[JCAP]

It's been a mixed bag. I usually involve red wine. I did try one I found off the big green egg forum last year that had won contests but found it waaaay to bold. Some of the ingredients were hard to find so had to substitute for others. I recall adding the chili powder as the recipe called for and thinking it was waaaayyyyy too much chili powder. I think normal people look for standard chili at cook offs and going too different never works. I also don't like beans so I don't add them. I refuse to cater to the crowd and want something that has a smokey flavor. IDK. I probably over think it.

I think you can cater to a crowd, which is what you want to do here, right (?), and still have a smokey chili. I'm the opposite with the chili powder- I always think traditional recipes don't use enough spice/s.

When you say your chili is never good, do you mean that no one else thinks it's good or you don't think it's good?

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I love a good chili that is made with just ground beef. For me I am not satisfied until I believe that it would be great on hot dogs. I like it to be thick and really have a rich flavor to the sauce. I haven’t made any from scratch in years. I always used ground stewing meat. I ran it through the kitchen aide using the larger plate. Seemed to be just the right size. You could try grinding your brisket that size. One other thing that really helped was corn masa in the sauce. It has a richer flavor than just adding something like cornstarch. You just add it a bit at a time until the whole thing tightens up. Spices are totally subjective. I like mine just a bit spicy. Too much heat and the little nuances are buried. Good luck this year.

G

 

[zwiller]

Texas gets all the notoriety but there’s some seriously good chili here in Ohio. Here we have Wendy's, Skyline, and Tony Packos. I doubt they would place in a cook off but are killer. Wendy’s is a good home style chili. We do Skyline over spaghetti, tons of shredded cheese, and onion. Packos can be done solo, but is usually on top of a smoked sausage with cheese and onion on a bun. Packos is somewhat famous from the TV show “MASH”.

Here chili cookoffs are mostly a scoville competition. If I was going to be competitive, I would start with a Texas cookbook. Mine has several chili recipes and a lot of helpful info.

Maybe go another direction entirely, https://www.copymethat.com/r/yuNu6ny/aaron-franklin-bbq-pinto-beans/

 

[Sowsage]

there’s some seriously good chili here in Ohio.

Agreed! And honestly a wendys copy cat recipe would make a great base recipe to start with.

 

[thirdeye]

Will this be a "peoples choice" kind of competition, or will there be some kind of rating system like a 1-5 ? Location plays a role as well as different parts of the US have regional differences. At larger contests (meaning a lot of sampling) cooks basically try not to offend the tasters by making something way too spicy, or have a funny texture, be too watery, or use some non-typical ingredient like chopped celery, or kernels of corn. Also, if it's allowed have some condiments on the side for example Frito corn chips, grated cheese, flour tortillas cut into wedges, etc.

Here is good starting point recipe that you can fine-tune to your liking:
This is a modified version of Margaret Nadeau's Sahara Chili which gave her wins in 2005 and 2009 at the CASI Terilingua International Chili Championship. Modified in that her RECIPE calls for specific brands of chile powders which are hard to source unless you order online. One of the chili competitors tricks is to use more than one spice "dumps" during the cooking. This keeps the flavors sharp until the very end. Step 3 is the 1st dump, and Step 4 is the second dump, they are separated by 1 hour.

Sahara Chili
STEP 1:
2 lbs. Course ground beef (chili grind)
1 TBS Cooking oil
1 TBS Granulated onion powder

Add ingredients together and lightly brown meat

STEP 2:
Add:
1 can (8oz) Tomato Sauce
1can Beef Broth
Cook for 30 minutes

STEP 3:
Add:
1 TBS Light Chili Powder
2 TBS Dark Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 TBS Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Chicken Granules or 1 cube
1 tsp Beef Granules or 1 cube

Cook for 1 hour

Step 4:
Add:
1 TBS Light Chili Powder
1 TBS Dark Chili Powder
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 TBS Cumin
2 dashes of Hot Sauce
Cayenne pepper to taste (should not be more than 1/8 tsp.)
1 pack Sazon' Goya

Leave covered and simmer for 30 minutes. During this time if liquid is needed you may use more beef broth also salt and heat can be adjusted to your liking.

 

[worm304]

I think you can cater to a crowd, which is what you want to do here, right (?), and still have a smokey chili. I'm the opposite with the chili powder- I always think traditional recipes don't use enough spice/s.

When you say your chili is never good, do you mean that no one else thinks it's good or you don't think it's good?

2 years ago I liked mine. Finished bottom 3. Last year I didn't like mine and it finished last. I tried so damn hard too. Thanks for all the advice here, gents!

 

[worm304]

Will this be a "peoples choice" kind of competition, or will there be some kind of rating system like a 1-5 ? Location plays a role as well as different parts of the US have regional differences. At larger contests (meaning a lot of sampling) cooks basically try not to offend the tasters by making something way too spicy, or have a funny texture, be too watery, or use some non-typical ingredient like chopped celery, or kernels of corn. Also, if it's allowed have some condiments on the side for example Frito corn chips, grated cheese, flour tortillas cut into wedges, etc.

Here is good starting point recipe that you can fine-tune to your liking:
This is a modified version of Margaret Nadeau's Sahara Chili which gave her wins in 2005 and 2009 at the CASI Terilingua International Chili Championship. Modified in that her RECIPE calls for specific brands of chile powders which are hard to source unless you order online. One of the chili competitors tricks is to use more than one spice "dumps" during the cooking. This keeps the flavors sharp until the very end. Step 3 is the 1st dump, and Step 4 is the second dump, they are separated by 1 hour.

Sahara Chili
STEP 1:
2 lbs. Course ground beef (chili grind)
1 TBS Cooking oil
1 TBS Granulated onion powder

Add ingredients together and lightly brown meat

STEP 2:
Add:
1 can (8oz) Tomato Sauce
1can Beef Broth
Cook for 30 minutes

STEP 3:
Add:
1 TBS Light Chili Powder
2 TBS Dark Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 TBS Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Chicken Granules or 1 cube
1 tsp Beef Granules or 1 cube

Cook for 1 hour

Step 4:
Add:
1 TBS Light Chili Powder
1 TBS Dark Chili Powder
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 TBS Cumin
2 dashes of Hot Sauce
Cayenne pepper to taste (should not be more than 1/8 tsp.)
1 pack Sazon' Goya

Leave covered and simmer for 30 minutes. During this time if liquid is needed you may use more beef broth also salt and heat can be adjusted to your liking.

Thanks! This looks great. I am willing to order some of Mild Bill's chili powders for sure!

 

[thirdeye]

Thanks! This looks great. I am willing to order some of Mild Bill's chili powders for sure!

Check out Pendery's spices, they have a great selection of chile powders, some are blends and some are specific to one pepper.

 

[udaman]

here my chili recipe, just don't forget to take out the bay leaves,and cook it until u get it to the thickness u like, u can add more wine or vinegar to taste.