My chili always finishes bottom of the barrel. :(

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I learned to make chili using chili powder. There was a big difference between grocery store powders because there are a lot of different chilies that get dried and ground into powder.

I eventually turned to dried, whole chilies, either making my own powder, or reconstituting the chilies and turning them into a chili paste I added to the pot.

I don't compete, I just eat what I like.

Meat - 3 lbs either smoked cubed brisket point, or smoked/cubed tri tip, or 85/15 ground chuck.
1 lb ground sausage.
6 to 8 reconstituted pasilla/Ancho chilies, blended. Use some of the soak water to thin.
Chopped onions, one or two.
Minced garlic, fresh, not the crap from a jar. Whole head.
Carrots, 3 to 5, grated or chopped fine (instead of sugar).
2 1/2 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs cacao powder
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups beef stock
2 15 oz cans black beans, puree'd
30 oz can smoked, diced tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup dark brown sugar if not using carrots.

Saute onions, carrots, and garlic in about a couple Tbs of oil.
Add the meat until red is gone, if necessary.
Add the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer for 3-4 hours, covered.
 

Found it! This is the one I used last year. Doesn't a half cup plus 2 TBS of chili powder seem like waayyyyy to much for this recipe? IDK maybe I halved it and forgot to halve that. I can't remember what I did wrong but it was not good.
 
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’ve made and eaten lots of chili in my life as have many or my friends. I’ve been to numerous chili festivals and competitions. The worst chili in the world, in my opinion, are smoked chili. The smoker group never know when enough is enough.
 
I read that Award Winning Chili recipe. Not my cup of...uh...chili. BUT, like others have said above, there are as many chili recipes as there are chili cooks. Even though I posted a recipe above, I only make the same chili twice when my wife raves about it. I looked in my old cookbook software on another computer, I've got probably 10-15 chili recipes in there I've taken the time to write down. My wife likes the one above, soooooo, it gets made when she's in the mood for chili.

I just took a tri tip out of the freezer this morning. I'll probably smoke-grill it tomorrow and make a batch of chili. Easy to do when select grade tri tip runs $2.98/lb out here in NorCal.
 
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I brown coarse ground beef with diced red onion, season with smoked paprika, cumin, and chipolte . Throw in a cube of bittersweet baking chocolate, a teaspoon of dark brown sugar, a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilis and a can of pureed tomatoes.. Simmer to the consistency you want, and thicken with a few well crushed taco chips or Fritos. I serve with Saltines and slices of cotija cheese.
 
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I learned to make chili using chili powder. There was a big difference between grocery store powders because there are a lot of different chilies that get dried and ground into powder.

I eventually turned to dried, whole chilies, either making my own powder, or reconstituting the chilies and turning them into a chili paste I added to the pot.

I don't compete, I just eat what I like.

Meat - 3 lbs either smoked cubed brisket point, or smoked/cubed tri tip, or 85/15 ground chuck.
1 lb ground sausage.
6 to 8 reconstituted pasilla/Ancho chilies, blended. Use some of the soak water to thin.
Chopped onions, one or two.
Minced garlic, fresh, not the crap from a jar. Whole head.
Carrots, 3 to 5, grated or chopped fine (instead of sugar).
2 1/2 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs cacao powder
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups beef stock
2 15 oz cans black beans, puree'd
30 oz can smoked, diced tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup dark brown sugar if not using carrots.

Saute onions, carrots, and garlic in about a couple Tbs of oil.
Add the meat until red is gone, if necessary.
Add the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer for 3-4 hours, covered.

This looks great as well. Thanks!! I am not a big bean guy. Can I ask how the black bean puree does for ya?

Edit: Also can you explain the reconstituted ancho chili deal? Not sure what that means. Thanks!!
 
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Black bean puree does several things. One, black beans create less "music" due to less of the song-causing enzyme compared to other beans. It also acts as a thickener. I'm not a bean-in-chili guy, but do like a thicker chili. Corn starch is a no-go for me. Finally, the puree'd black beans add another flavor profile element that softens any sharp, overpowering flavors so everything dances together nicely.

Reconstituted chilies? I buy packet's of dried chilies and use boiling water to reconstitute (rehydrate) them. When I buy fresh green chilies, I roast them on the Weber, remove the skins, and make a green chili, which is a different recipe.
20191218_104348.jpg
 

Found it! This is the one I used last year. Doesn't a half cup plus 2 TBS of chili powder seem like waayyyyy to much for this recipe? IDK maybe I halved it and forgot to halve that. I can't remember what I did wrong but it was not good.
Not at all...........chili powder isn't hot, it's the cayenne and sriracha that adds the heat.
Any chili that has beans is a surefire way to knock you self out of the running, chili doesn't have beans or corn or tomatoes in it. Stick to the basics when you're entering a "chili" contest and you will do much better.
Leave the smoked anything out of the pot use fresh coarse ground beef and fresh ground spices.
 
Whoa....the smoker crowd gets carried away? Blasphemy!, but I agree. I do chili in the crock pot and give it a whiff on the smoker, but to take it start to finish on the smoker is too much. And btw, the further you get from Texas, the more beans you're allowed. Beans judge just fine up north.
 
Try this recipe,

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.
Man that sounds delcious. I’m going to try this yet this winter. To fit it in our eating style I’ll sub the brown sugar for Swerve brown. I may just go beanless but if not will sub in black soy bean. This flavor profile sounds amazing.
 
I’ve made and eaten lots of chili in my life as have many or my friends. I’ve been to numerous chili festivals and competitions. The worst chili in the world, in my opinion, are smoked chili. The smoker group never know when enough is enough.
That all depends on who’s smoking, wood choice , length of smoke etc. I’ve had some amazing chili from and some bad. Same is true of any other cooking style. IMO.
 
We always make chill on Super Bowl Sunday. My wife and I are running about 50% due to each of us being a tad under the weather. I'm in the process of making my recipe posted above, but left out the tomatoes because I just wasn't focused. Once it got up to temp, I took a taste and DANG it was good. Gonna leave the tomatoes in the can. Now comes the 3-4 hour simmer.

Oh, and there were no brisket points at the store. The tri tips looked kind of sad, but the stew meat looked like sliced brisket point with some chuck roast tossed in. I used that, ground chuck, and a pound of Italian sausage filler cause that's what I had on hand. I also used the chili soak water with Better Than Bouillon Beef Base instead of beef broth. This recipe has gone through three previous updates. Today makes a 4th!

20200202_121304.jpg
 
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I rarely make chili. Wife has her mindset on what makes a good chili and she doesn't agree with me.
I'll eat her chili, but she won't eat my chili. Yep, I lost that "competition".

I learned to make chili using chili powder. There was a big difference between grocery store powders because there are a lot of different chilies that get dried and ground into powder.
...
I just pick a store chili powder and work from there depending on the blend.
I always add Paprika, Ancho, and Chapotle to make taco meat. Wife loves it.

...
And btw, the further you get from Texas, the more beans you're allowed. Beans judge just fine up north.
Funny. I have a chili recipe from a Texas born that has beans. According to her, many families stretched the dollar by adding beans to their chili.
 
I've tried making chili and it ALWAYS sucked... One day, I cleaned out the pantry and added all of these cans together and it came out AWESOME for me... Note, don't add tomato paste.. it's horrible... I think the French Onion soup was a great addition...


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I use an Emeril chili recipe which uses stew meat, I do mod to my taste and liking but tame the heat just a little. Ill add some pureed chipotles while browning the meat and dried ancho chilis to it chili seasoning. Before cooking, I let the meat and seasoning come together in the fridge for a couple days.

Ive tried smoking the stew meat and onions before making the chili and seemed the onions become too sweet for the final product.

The chili cookoff we have here at work, I have placed from 1st to 3rd. The stew meat throws folks off, so this year I used ground beef. I did smoke the chili for about 2 hrs after it has simmered for a few hours with mesquite and bourbon barrel char, gave it a nice smokey, cooked over an open fire taste. I also mix red and black beans in the chili.
 
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