Need a competition chilli recipe

[BC Buck]

Work has a chili cook off every year. The guys where busting my chops for not competing. I make a good chili but use Mccormick seasoning packet doctored up. The event is a ways off but need to start coming up with ideas. I usually use venison steaks and ground meat but for this cook off recipe thinking smoked beef chuck roast. Tomorrow Im going to smoke one for practice. Thinking ether using a bold brisket rub or should I put chilli seasoning for rub and cook till reach 195 IT. Any suggestion or ideas would be appreciated.

 

[jcam222]

Here’s one from chilerelleno https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/chiles-chipotle-chile.280807/

 

[thirdeye]

The first consideration is how are the entries judged? Peoples choice, where all the tasters get one poker chip, or bottle cap to vote with.... or is it a team of judges?

Next, what are the rules? Are beans allowed, are you limited to all beef? Is the contest only red chili or can you enter a green chili? Can you serve condiments like Frito's, shredded cheese, or Mexi-Crema, or salsa?

Third.... where do you live? Chili is sort of regional, so if you are in Maine, or Minnesota, or Texas, or California.... there are flavor profiles that might work in your favor or against you.

With all due respect, venison or smoked beef might be a turn-off for some folks. You kind of have to cook with the judges in mind and put your personal tastes aside. For example, if most of the judging crowd is used to eating Wendy's chili and your recipe is vastly different, your chances of winning are low.

 

[jcam222]

Ton in this thread https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...s-finishes-bottom-of-the-barrel.293315/page-2

 

[BuckeyeSteve]

I use this recipe and it's awesome. The only things I change is instead of the green chilies I add a can of RoTel Diced Tomatoes with Habaneros. I also add a few tablespoons of honey. But for an office party they may not like that much heat, so stick with the green chili's.
https://cupcakesandkalechips.com/bills-chili/

 

[BC Buck]

The first consideration is how are the entries judged? Peoples choice, where all the tasters get one poker chip, or bottle cap to vote with.... or is it a team of judges?

Next, what are the rules? Are beans allowed, are you limited to all beef? Is the contest only red chili or can you enter a green chili? Can you serve condiments like Frito's, shredded cheese, or Mexi-Crema, or salsa?

Third.... where do you live? Chili is sort of regional, so if you are in Maine, or Minnesota, or Texas, or California.... there are flavor profiles that might work in your favor or against you.

With all due respect, venison or smoked beef might be a turn-off for some folks. You kind of have to cook with the judges in mind and put your personal tastes aside. For example, if most of the judging crowd is used to eating Wendy's chili and your recipe is vastly different, your chances of winning are low.

They pick a team of 10 judges.
You are allowed any meat but will stay away from venison.Beans are allowed and red or green is accepted but what 95% of what people eat in St Louis is red. They dont allow condiments.

 

[thirdeye]

They pick a team of 10 judges.
You are allowed any meat but will stay away from venison.Beans are allowed and red or green is accepted but what 95% of what people eat in St Louis is red. They dont allow condiments.

I'm assuming you can cook your chili off-site and will bring it to work in a Crock Pot, so plan on cooking a day ahead so the flavors can meld. This will also give you a chance to adjust seasonings if needed. Just don't overcook it, chili does not have to simmer all day. Also when your chili is chilled some fats will rise to the surface, remove some of them so your chili won't be greasy when judged.

Okay, since there will be judges, one school of thought is that it is very hard to impress all 10 of them if you try and get too creative or exotic with a particular recipe. Rather, set your sights on not offending any of the judges. Too spicy or too salty is not good, you want a balance of flavors and you want to taste any heat at the end. Competition chili needs to look good, smell good and taste good. I would stick with red chili and use a coarse ground chuck which is about 15% to 20% fat. Two options would be to buy chuck steaks and grind them yourself, or dice into 1/8" cubes... or add 20% ground pork. You will have to decide on beans or no beans. Most professional chili competitions don't allow beans, but more informal contests do. Popular choices are kidney beans, or pinto beans and canned beans should be drained and rinsed. Use the beans in moderation, chili is a meat dish. MSG is often used, just go lightly. Arrowroot mixed with water into a slurry can be used to tighten a soupy chili, start with 1/2 teaspoon and use at the end. There is an old adage around chili cooks when asked "How do I make my chili better?" The answer is "take 1 or 2 ingredients out".

Here is a good starter chili recipe, it comes from the LBJ recipe collection and has all the basics, but gives you room to build upon.
Pedenales River Chili
(LBJ Presidential chili recipe)

• 4 pounds coarsely (chili-grind) ground beef
• 1 large chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6 teapsoons ground cumin (I prefer to start with 3t and adjust from there)
• 6 teaspoons chili powder (I prefer to start with 3t and adjust from there)
• 2 (16-ounce) cans tomatoes
• salt to taste
• 2 cups hot water

In a large frying pan, (using Crisco) brown meat with onion and garlic until meat is lightly browned; transfer ingredients into a large cast-iron Dutch oven. Add oregano, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, salt and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour. Remove from heat, skim off excess grease and serve. Makes 12 servings.
====================================
One final thought.... the professional chili competitors have a whole different philosophy, and technique because they cook on-site. The biggest difference is during the last 60 minutes of cooking, they will add several "dumps" of spices every 15 or 20 minutes. this is so they can refine the flavor but keep the taste fresh. Another option for you is to make up a spice dump and stir it in about 15 minutes before judging starts:

• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. MSG

 

[BC Buck]

I'm assuming you can cook your chili off-site and will bring it to work in a Crock Pot, so plan on cooking a day ahead so the flavors can meld. This will also give you a chance to adjust seasonings if needed. Just don't overcook it, chili does not have to simmer all day. Also when your chili is chilled some fats will rise to the surface, remove some of them so your chili won't be greasy when judged.

Okay, since there will be judges, one school of thought is that it is very hard to impress all 10 of them if you try and get too creative or exotic with a particular recipe. Rather, set your sights on not offending any of the judges. Too spicy or too salty is not good, you want a balance of flavors and you want to taste any heat at the end. Competition chili needs to look good, smell good and taste good. I would stick with red chili and use a coarse ground chuck which is about 15% to 20% fat. Two options would be to buy chuck steaks and grind them yourself, or dice into 1/8" cubes... or add 20% ground pork. You will have to decide on beans or no beans. Most professional chili competitions don't allow beans, but more informal contests do. Popular choices are kidney beans, or pinto beans and canned beans should be drained and rinsed. Use the beans in moderation, chili is a meat dish. MSG is often used, just go lightly. Arrowroot mixed with water into a slurry can be used to tighten a soupy chili, start with 1/2 teaspoon and use at the end. There is an old adage around chili cooks when asked "How do I make my chili better?" The answer is "take 1 or 2 ingredients out".

Here is a good starter chili recipe, it comes from the LBJ recipe collection and has all the basics, but gives you room to build upon.
Pedenales River Chili
(LBJ Presidential chili recipe)

• 4 pounds coarsely (chili-grind) ground beef
• 1 large chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6 teapsoons ground cumin (I prefer to start with 3t and adjust from there)
• 6 teaspoons chili powder (I prefer to start with 3t and adjust from there)
• 2 (16-ounce) cans tomatoes
• salt to taste
• 2 cups hot water

In a large frying pan, (using Crisco) brown meat with onion and garlic until meat is lightly browned; transfer ingredients into a large cast-iron Dutch oven. Add oregano, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, salt and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour. Remove from heat, skim off excess grease and serve. Makes 12 servings.
====================================
One final thought.... the professional chili competitors have a whole different philosophy, and technique because they cook on-site. The biggest difference is during the last 60 minutes of cooking, they will add several "dumps" of spices every 15 or 20 minutes. this is so they can refine the flavor but keep the taste fresh. Another option for you is to make up a spice dump and stir it in about 15 minutes before judging starts:

• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. MSG

Wow sounds like someone has competed in a few chili cook offs. That was a educational read and going to experiment with the spice dump. Sounds like there is as many tricks competing in chili as the big 4 in bbq competition. Judged a BBQ event last Summer that had chili ancillary. Had close to 60 different entry. After judging was over where able to taste all that looked interesting. Only about 5% tasted similar. About 25% where good but did not represent chili to the judges. One that I remember looked real dark brown.Tasted more like a Guinness stout beer than chili but was good.

 

[noboundaries]

My recipe is listed above in the thread link by jcam222. I've tried a lot of meats in my chili, but bar none, brisket point is SOOOOOO satisfying. The mouth-feel of the braised meat as it melts in your mouth can't be beat. You don't get the same texture sensation with ground meat, brisket flat, or cubed chuck roast.

 

[thirdeye]

Wow sounds like someone has competed in a few chili cook offs. That was a educational read and going to experiment with the spice dump. Sounds like there is as many tricks competing in chili as the big 4 in bbq competition. Judged a BBQ event last Summer that had chili ancillary. Had close to 60 different entry. After judging was over where able to taste all that looked interesting. Only about 5% tasted similar. About 25% where good but did not represent chili to the judges. One that I remember looked real dark brown.Tasted more like a Guinness stout beer than chili but was good.

The CASI judges for example consider color, aroma, consistency, taste, and after-taste (bite). So if you saw something really dark, or tastes like beer it would score lower. There is much more latitude in backyard or peoples choice events. Hopefully the judges have some kind of guidelines for judging, but I would not be surprised if they didn't. Where the system can fail is a judge that starts off being very critical and scoring lower... then after tasting a few entries changes their scoring, but they can't go back and adjust the earlier entries.

 

[kawakx125]

Smoked Tri-Tip Chili

We love Chili around here, and the season is right. Instead of ground beef, we take a page out of the competition chili handbook and swapped to tri-tip as it is lean, and will continue to stay tender when braised without falling apart. Enjoy!

www.atbbq.com