Prepping for the chili contest

[chiefsfan1]

The big day is Halloween Night. Along with a Trunk or Treat. I made my seasoning mix today. It has ancho powder, paprika, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, tumeric, all spice, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and unsweetened cocoa powder. I am grinding a choice chuck roast. The plan is to cube it then put it in a gallon freezer bag with the season mix and shake it up. Then grind it after the meat gets semi frozen. Is that a good idea or not? I'm thinking the flavor will be infused throughout the meat. Of course some bacon grease and or duck fat. I will use diced tomatoes, diced green Hatch chilies and black beans. The thing I am wrestling with is whether to use fire roasted tomatoes. The side dish will be BLUE corn muffins. Picked that up in Albuquerque. This will be a hoot.

 

[Rand]

if its for an actual contest I'd pass on the black beans.. those are very polarizing. Some people hate those. I occasionally include them WELL rinsed with other types of beans. I usually use rinsed kidney beans, pink beans, and chili beans.

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: Rand

if its for an actual contest I'd pass on the black beans.. those are very polarizing. Some people hate those. I occasionally include them WELL rinsed with other types of beans. I usually use rinsed kidney beans, pink beans, and chili beans.

Thanks, I wondered on that. It was mainly for me. LOL. It's not a huge contest, only 4 people have signed up at church.

 

[Bud]

No black beans. Actually no beans. But for me if I had to use beans they would be pinto.

 

[Lolvoguy]

 

[JHZR2]

That sounds good! Where do you get your spices?

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: Bud

No black beans. Actually no beans. But for me if I had to use beans they would be pinto.

yeah, Texas chili has no beans.

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

That sounds good! Where do you get your spices?

Believe it or not Aldi's. If they don't have it Tones at the local HyVee. Nothing really high end. I just roasted a Pablano and pureed it. The paste... I left out chopped onions and 4-8 garlic cloves.

 

[Leo99]

Sounds great. Do you need an unbiased judge?

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: Leo99

Sounds great. Do you need an unbiased judge?

it's a public vote. As people come to the trunk or treat they come in and sample the chili's. They are numbered. They then vote and place them in a jar.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Don't forget extra TP!

 

[BHopkins]

Originally Posted By: Rand

if its for an actual contest I'd pass on the black beans.. those are very polarizing. Some people hate those. I occasionally include them WELL rinsed with other types of beans. I usually use rinsed kidney beans, pink beans, and chili beans.

You are right about beans in chili being a polarizing thing. I won't waste my time on chili without beans. Honestly, I don't get what Texan's see in a chili without beans. It is a much more balanced dish with beans. So if I were judging, you would lose a couple points for no beans. Why, I'd think you a little weak in character, easily influenced by the Texas crowd.

 

[Rolla07]

I dont think the meat will get that infused by the dry seasoning mix. Personally id grind the meat from slightly frozen as is and season the sauce you simmer the meat in, instead. Id vote yes to fire roasted tomatoes. Maybe a dash of liquid smoke? Not too much but just to get a hint of smoke flavour.. Good luck

 

[ecotourist]

I don't know if this is an urban myth or not, but I seem to recall some dude (I use the term advisedly) winning by taking a sample of the chili from each of the other entrants and mixing them all together. For that to even possibly be true there must have been a lot of contestants and they must have been serving samples. I dunno. The other part of the story was that he was disqualified after the fact. Possibly not a very high class contest. I do love chili. Even if I pay later.

 

[BHopkins]

Instead of grinding the meat, consider cubing it into about 3/8"-1/2" pieces. After it is all cubed, brown it in hot grease. This can be a little timely process, as to brown rather than stew the meat, you have to do small batches. And cook hot. Remove the meat as it is done and put it in the stock pot. After browning all the meat, then saute the onions in the same grease. At the very end, add your garlic. Pour the onions, garlic, and grease in with the rest of the ingredients. I know. I thought the same thing when first taught this technique. Drain the grease if you really can't get past it. But you are draining off flavor. And you will never notice in the final product. The cubed meat really is one of the steps up from average to something special in chili. It takes time. But it is worth it. It will set your chili apart from all the rest. Especially if you use this technique to brown it.

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: BHopkins

Instead of grinding the meat, consider cubing it into about 3/8"-1/2" pieces. After it is all cubed, brown it in hot grease. This can be a little timely process, as to brown rather than stew the meat, you have to do small batches. And cook hot. Remove the meat as it is done and put it in the stock pot. After browning all the meat, then saute the onions in the same grease. At the very end, add your garlic. Pour the onions, garlic, and grease in with the rest of the ingredients. I know. I thought the same thing when first taught this technique. Drain the grease if you really can't get past it. But you are draining off flavor. And you will never notice in the final product. The cubed meat really is one of the steps up from average to something special in chili. It takes time. But it is worth it. It will set your chili apart from all the rest. Especially if you use this technique to brown it.

It's funny you mentioned that. Yesterday I asked my wife about cubing the meat instead of grinding it. I LIKE it! This will be fun.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: BHopkins

Instead of grinding the meat, consider cubing it into about 3/8"-1/2" pieces. After it is all cubed, brown it in hot grease. This can be a little timely process, as to brown rather than stew the meat, you have to do small batches. And cook hot. Remove the meat as it is done and put it in the stock pot. After browning all the meat, then saute the onions in the same grease. At the very end, add your garlic. Pour the onions, garlic, and grease in with the rest of the ingredients. I know. I thought the same thing when first taught this technique. Drain the grease if you really can't get past it. But you are draining off flavor. And you will never notice in the final product. The cubed meat really is one of the steps up from average to something special in chili. It takes time. But it is worth it. It will set your chili apart from all the rest. Especially if you use this technique to brown it.

^^^ This...beat me to it. When browning, don't fear the fond build up. That's great beef flavor. Just turn down the heat a bit as you don't want it to burn. When you brown the onions, they will release a lot of water. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to remove the fond. After the onions are browned, add all the spices and 'toast' until fragrant, then add the garlic last. Toasting the spices this way produces MUCH more flavor than dumping them in a pot of liquid. To up the deep, rich, beefy flavor even more, add some veal or beef stock or demi-glaze. I'm hoping it's cold enough here this season to actually make chili....

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Originally Posted By: BHopkins

Instead of grinding the meat, consider cubing it into about 3/8"-1/2" pieces. After it is all cubed, brown it in hot grease. This can be a little timely process, as to brown rather than stew the meat, you have to do small batches. And cook hot. Remove the meat as it is done and put it in the stock pot. After browning all the meat, then saute the onions in the same grease. At the very end, add your garlic. Pour the onions, garlic, and grease in with the rest of the ingredients. I know. I thought the same thing when first taught this technique. Drain the grease if you really can't get past it. But you are draining off flavor. And you will never notice in the final product. The cubed meat really is one of the steps up from average to something special in chili. It takes time. But it is worth it. It will set your chili apart from all the rest. Especially if you use this technique to brown it.

^^^ This...beat me to it. When browning, don't fear the fond build up. That's great beef flavor. Just turn down the heat a bit as you don't want it to burn. When you brown the onions, they will release a lot of water. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to remove the fond. After the onions are browned, add all the spices and 'toast' until fragrant, then add the garlic last. Toasting the spices this way produces MUCH more flavor than dumping them in a pot of liquid. To up the deep, rich, beefy flavor even more, add some veal or beef stock or demi-glaze. I'm hoping it's cold enough here this season to actually make chili....

Toast the spices? I'll do that. I made a container of dry chili seasoning. I was thinking of using 2 tablespoons for a 2 pound roast. The blue corn meal showed up today. That should make it unique or turn people off.

 

[BHopkins]

Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Originally Posted By: BHopkins

Instead of grinding the meat, consider cubing it into about 3/8"-1/2" pieces. After it is all cubed, brown it in hot grease. This can be a little timely process, as to brown rather than stew the meat, you have to do small batches. And cook hot. Remove the meat as it is done and put it in the stock pot. After browning all the meat, then saute the onions in the same grease. At the very end, add your garlic. Pour the onions, garlic, and grease in with the rest of the ingredients. I know. I thought the same thing when first taught this technique. Drain the grease if you really can't get past it. But you are draining off flavor. And you will never notice in the final product. The cubed meat really is one of the steps up from average to something special in chili. It takes time. But it is worth it. It will set your chili apart from all the rest. Especially if you use this technique to brown it.

^^^ This...beat me to it. When browning, don't fear the fond build up. That's great beef flavor. Just turn down the heat a bit as you don't want it to burn. When you brown the onions, they will release a lot of water. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to remove the fond. After the onions are browned, add all the spices and 'toast' until fragrant, then add the garlic last. Toasting the spices this way produces MUCH more flavor than dumping them in a pot of liquid. To up the deep, rich, beefy flavor even more, add some veal or beef stock or demi-glaze. I'm hoping it's cold enough here this season to actually make chili....

Toast the spices? I'll do that. I made a container of dry chili seasoning. I was thinking of using 2 tablespoons for a 2 pound roast. The blue corn meal showed up today. That should make it unique or turn people off.

There are a few different methods to bring out the most of your spices. This is how I do it. Alton Brown does it very similarly. I make my own chili powder from dried chile peppers. Mine is a combination of New Mexico, Colorado or California, Negro Pasilla, cascabel and arbols Seed and stem them. Then put them in a 300° oven for about 5-6 minutes. The aroma will be wonderful! After they cool, grind them to a powder in a food processor. A blender will also do the job if you don't have a food processor. Next is the cumin. Buy comino seeds in the Mexican section of the grocery. Even better, pick them up at the local Mexican market. That's where you are going to find the best and freshest selection of dried chiles anyway. Heat the comino seeds until they turn light brown. They can also be done in the oven at 300° for 5-6 minutes, or in a dry frying pan on the stove top. Both ways work well, but I like to do them in the frying pan because of the small amount. Once again, the aroma will be absolutely intoxicating. At least, it is to me. Let cool and grind. Because of the size of comino seeds, they are a little harder to grind in the food processor. I use a mortar and pestle. I've heard some use a coffee grinder, but some have reported the wrath of the wife after the next pot of coffee tastes like cumin. The flavor with homemade chili powder and cumin is totally in a separate class from chili with store bought chili powder and ground cumin. You will never hear the end of the praise for your chili.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1

Toast the spices? I'll do that. I made a container of dry chili seasoning. I was thinking of using 2 tablespoons for a 2 pound roast. The blue corn meal showed up today. That should make it unique or turn people off.

I re-read your original post and found you already mixed all the spices + salt together. I don't cook chili from a mix like that. Different strokes. Re: Spices. I buy them from the bulk bins here, in small quantities, to get the freshest. I've also ground my own pure chili powder as BH described. You can also toast the whole red chilis until fragrant, pop off the stem, dump the seeds, then stuff into a Mason jar, then fill with very hot water to rehydrate for about 10min. Pull them out with tongs and dump into a blender. (Taste the chili steeping water before using it. If it's bitter, discard it and use water or malty lager beer (no bitter ale in chili)). Otherwise add enough to liquify the chili paste and blend until smooth. Then dump that into the skillet + the other spices to fry after the onions have browned. Add the garlic last as before. I also use a couple of fresh green chilis. As I don't have a gas range, I either use a charcoal fire or a plumber's torch to blister the skin, then put into a small paper bag, then seal and cool about 8 min. (The skins are indigestable and will give you the wind something terrible...) dice, then brown with the onions. No doubt this is a lot more work than dump & simmer. However, the results are well worth the effort. To kick it up even more, heat a cast iron skillet on a charcoal grill and add some pecan, hickory, peach, cherry, etc. wood for smoke. Brown the ingredients as above. Here they will all be perfumed with flavorful smoke and add great flavor to the pot. BTW: 2 tblspns of mix doesn't sound near enough to me....