CHILI: what ingredients are a must & what ones do not belong?
It's chili weather (no pun intended, haha), and I have been attempting to perfect my chili recipe lately. In my research of other recipes I have found so many people are so passionate about what exactly chili is and what ingredients must be in it. They are also just as passionate about what absolutely, without a doubt has no business in chili. What has to be in a chili for you to consider it... well... chili? What ingredient or ingredients have no business in chili?
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33 Comments:
Beans
bessfour at 1:30PM on 12/23/08
I meant...beans (no way).
bessfour at 1:30PM on 12/23/08
My chili must have beans, beef, pork, and tomatoes. Spices include a lot of things depending on what I have on hand, but I love to add paprika for the smokiness.
nightowl at 1:32PM on 12/23/08
Meat: ground beef and pork sausage
Beans - yes, but not too many
Pasta - not in the chili itself, but I have served it over pasta before
kyle25 at 1:42PM on 12/23/08
anything sweet including choclate and cinnamon.
Must have real chili powder and not the cheap stuff...I use gephardt's.
KingT at 1:50PM on 12/23/08
No beans and yes to bakers chocolate.....
Markbb at 2:12PM on 12/23/08
LOL@bessfour - haha great comment and clarification!
Need to be in the chili:
• Red Beans and Black Beans
• Cumin and Chili Powder
• Can of Salsa
• 2 Large Onions and lots of garlic
• Meat/Soy base
• Tomatoes baby!
Don't belong in chili:
• Refried Beans (makes it too thick for my taste!)
• Carrots, celery AND/OR brocoli (I HATE it when these are in there; like WTF!?)
• Ketchup (no thanks)
I like to serve mine over rice! Yummmy!
hungrychristel at 2:18PM on 12/23/08
My chili cannot have beans! ... blech! Hubby likes them though, so I usually make a batch with beans just for him. 2 tips for good chili - use the best chili powder you can find and cook your onions/green peppers with the meat (at the same time, in same pan).
caramel at 2:35PM on 12/23/08
I forgot to add that I usually use equal parts ground beef and ground pork.
caramel at 2:39PM on 12/23/08
If I'm really being a purist? Beef (of stewing variety, probably chuck), assorted rehydrated red chiles (whizzed in the rehydrating liquid with a blender), onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, beer and maybe a little water. Salt and pepper to taste.
Beans served on the side.
If I'm not being a purist, then pretty much anything goes. Except "cookie spices" (cinnamon, clove, allspice, etc.) or chocolate. As my darling BF puts it "No f*ing mole!"
Amandarama at 2:39PM on 12/23/08
I use ground beef, tomatoes, kidney beans, and celery here. I hate onions, so that never goes in my chili - cooked or raw.
It's always served over rice at home...and anywhere you go in Hawaii. Of course, medium-grain steamed rice, NEVER Minute rice (gross) or long-grain.
I'll serve it over linguine if I'm feeling particularly Cincinnati. It doesn't taste right if you don't use allspice, cinnamin, and chocolate in the chili though.
Cassaendra at 2:47PM on 12/23/08
I'm not a chili purist at all. After all, I grew up on my mother's chili mac that always included elbow macaroni, to stretch the ground beef and beans even further.
I guess I would say that the only essential ingredient is that it has to have a kick to it, from fresh, dried or canned peppers, or a combination of those, or some other ingredient that included the kick, like rotel tomatoes or canned chili beans.
Without the kick, it's more like hot dish. Which is fine if that's what you're after, but it's not chili.
dbcurrie at 2:47PM on 12/23/08
My favorite bean combination: pinto, small red kidney, large red kidney. Not too many and in equal proportion. They should be dried and cooked beforehand preferably in dark beer. I like to add button mushrooms but don't do it often enough. Celery please. V8 is great! Dark chocolate is for dessert. Keep it out of the chili and serve it afterwards with dark beer. I like Amandarama's idea of serving the beans on the side.
SilverRush at 2:50PM on 12/23/08
must haves are: ground beef, beans (but not too many) onions, garlic, some sort of pepper (either jalepeno, serrano, banana) teeny bit of curry powder, oregano, cumin, paprika and of course, chili powder.
I've grown to dislike tomatoes in my chili
Alm25 at 3:09PM on 12/23/08
dried ancho and pasilla chiles-toasted then ground
cumin, black pepper, coriander seeds, 2 cloves, 3 allspice berries, 2 bay leaves-toasted then ground, lard,combo of hunks of stewing beef and ground beef,equal part (by volume) onions to beef,mucho garlic,tomato paste,fresh peeled/seeded/diced tomatoes,beer or red wine,water or stock, salt,, sugar if it needs it
coolname at 3:19PM on 12/23/08
that is my standard chili. but to tell you the truth i'll eat and enjoy most chili people make as long as it isn't too sweet and doesn't go overly crazy on the heat. i like spicy food but i really don't need to show you how tough i am by eating some stupidly spicy food.
coolname at 3:22PM on 12/23/08
MUST have: Cumin, ground beef, beans - prefer kidney, tomatoes, onion.
I really like to have: homemade chili powder, sauteed green pepper, and it's nice over rice and/or tortilla chips, and topped with sour cream and grated cheese. :) YUM!
MaresyDotes at 3:39PM on 12/23/08
Cinnamon and chocolate get the thumbs down from me.
My mom put beans in her chili and so do I. Chili doesn't seem complete without it.
Some hardcore chili enthusiasts eschew tomatoes but it is something that I must have. I guess I'm into chunky chili. :)
I also don't mind the sensation of having smoke coming from my ears because the chili is crazy hot & spicy.
I like my chili with a side of cornbread.
holdthemayo at 3:49PM on 12/23/08
Must Haves:
Some sort of tomatoe (puree, diced fresh, canned, it doesn't matter)
Meat/Soy of a certain texture. ie ground and not chunked
onions
cumin/chili powder
No Way:
Corn
Chocolate
Watery veggies such as broccoli, peas, or spinach (WTF guys, really?)
Aynsl156 at 3:51PM on 12/23/08
Buffal/bison meat makes it really rich!!
Ancho chili powder gives it a special taste, and of course,
dark dark chocolate!
epidemickittykat at 4:21PM on 12/23/08
I have been making the same chili for 18 years. I like heavy ground chuck. Ground tomatoes and chef's cut tomatoes, 2 kinds of ground chili pepper,
cumin, chopped chilis, and a goodly amount of onions.
I like mine topped with good mexican crema and over rice.
Every now and then I get a bug and make a mole for it with dried anchos and some poblanos.
JerzeeTomato at 4:22PM on 12/23/08
It must have a dark heavy beer in ti along with some chocalate and cinnamon and chile peppers of all sorts. No to beans.
pjracz10 at 4:56PM on 12/23/08
@holdthemayo: After my own heart! Chunky, SPICY, blazing hot, and apparently, according to your name, a completely unrelated dislike of mayo! Yay!
nightowl at 5:07PM on 12/23/08
oh, i am a corn in chili hater. ew!
coolname at 5:13PM on 12/23/08
Chili powder made from the chiles I grew and dried myself, chunks of beef chuck or chunks of turkey breast (no ground meat), beer--preferably Black and Tan, cumin, Mexican oregano, onions, garlic, bacon, a little crushed tomato, a little jalapeno and a small amount of beans. And of course, it's always better the next day.
dhorst at 6:27PM on 12/23/08
has to be chopped meat not ground preferably beef and pork, a good strong beer or better yet a heavy cab. no beans and no cilantro!
huneybumper at 6:53PM on 12/23/08
I am not a purist with my chili. I like mine runny and add a small can of pork and beans along with kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce and some Pace salsa along with the usual suspects. A little dab of sour cream in the bowl and it is good to go!
bareneed at 7:56PM on 12/23/08
hmmmmm chili is my fave and there are a number of ways to make it, go figure depends on what you like. I do a vegetarian with three kinds of beans, onions, garlic, toms, chilis, toasted chile powder and some sort of vegie protien I carmelize the onions and throw in the garlic, we also throw in some mole at some point, it is spicy, not sweet and tangy. I have to go get some, back in a minute...
Shelleyanne at 11:42PM on 12/23/08
My chile, this is what I make, be it right or wrong. If I said chili, my DH would laugh at me. It is 'chee-lay' con carne in my house. Also he says this is not Mexican food. Oh well, at least I try!!
Ground beef, or cubed trimmed chuck steak/roast, onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, a combination of dried and ground ancho, California, and/or Guajillo chiles, kidney beans or pinto beans..(I love kidney, DH loves pinto) cumin, Mexican oregano.
I usually make this with chile pepper/cheese cornbread (for kids...DH eats with tortillas). I always make enough to use leftovers for a "tamale casserole". Layers of spiced cornbread or masa dough (whichever I am in the mood for) and layered with the chile and cheese and bake.
lamora at 11:57PM on 12/23/08
Ingredients:
• Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans (or alt-textured bean other than chick peas), Tomatoes, Corn, Onion, Green Pepper,Serrano or Habenero Peppers (pref roasted if have chance), Garlic, Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt, Corn starch. I guess we could try it with ground beef or turkey...
To be served with:
• Cheddar, Sour cream or yogurt, Corn bread
• I want to try it with hotdogs, but then thats for leftovers...
What it cant have:
• oregano, beer, half of coolname's ingredients, pork, pasta, celery
blizcheetah at 12:42AM on 12/24/08
yeah get the corn out of my chili, that's gross, nothing should snap in your mouth when you're eating chili.
onions, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin are musts in my mind, you can play with the rest of the stuff. that said, when i think chili, i add ground meat, heat, and beans to the equation.
z911empire at 10:03AM on 12/24/08
what is a mole for chili?
rwcantrell at 10:04PM on 12/28/08
A mole (moe-lay) is a sauce that contains various spices, nuts, chiles and, usually, chocolate.
Amandarama at 12:47PM on 12/30/08