Hey guys, my girlfriend is entering a chili cookoff in the no beans category, and she's looking for a good recipe. Anyone have some good ones? Other categories are welcome too, but for the sake of the cookoff, no beans...

Thanks  8-)

No BEANS? That is a travesty.  

You just have to have BEANS.

Chili with beans? Yeah, that's good, but beans are a side dish. Chili has no beans. Chili con carne is chili with meat. Chili has chiles in it.

Here is an EXCELLENT chile recipe: http://www.richz.com/chili/recipe.html

Also take a look at his drop shot article

"Chili with meat" sort of makes meat sound like the side dish, doesn't it?

I'm trying to cook chili right now.....Man am i failing horribly at it.

I need some recipes badly.

I don't share my recipe, but here are some quick recommendations.

Use fresh peppers.  Poblano or cerrano peppers might be a good place to start.  Use 1 or 2 peppers per pound of meat, then adjust for your taste the next time you make a batch.  The heat comes from the seeds mostly.  If this batch isn't hot enough, you can always spice it up, but once it's too hot, it's hard to back it off without ruining the batch, so spice it up slow.

Don't trust prepackaged chili kits.  Use fresh vegetables, good beans (if you like chili with beans), and good lean meat.

Chili Powder is good, but I like to use plain Cumin and Ground Cayenne sometimes instead.

Brown your meat and saute the vegetables separately, then combine them into the chili pot.  Then, don't be afraid to let it simmer for HOURS.  Simmering lets all the flavors blend so you don't get one bite that tastes like raw onion and another bite that tastes like hamburger.  On chili days I typically start simmering around 10am so we can eat by 5.

The fresh ingredients are a must. Here's some things I use in my chili that sets it apart from most:

Get some thick sliced bacon. Cut it into 1/2" long chunks, then fry it up. DO NOT OVERCOOK !! You dont want it crispy. Keep the pan with the bacon grease for the next step.

Get some beef cubes. Get the ones that are marbled with a little bit of fat, not the extra lean. Cut them into bite size pieces, then brown them in the bacon fat. 99% of people use ground beef in their chili, which is fine. The beef chunks are a nice change.

Then the bacon and beef go into the crock pot along with all of your other ingredients (spices, tomato paste, peppers, celery,etc.) I cook mine on low overnight. The last thing I add is pearl onions. I try to get them fresh as I despise canned vegetables of any kind. Yes it's a lot of work peeling all of those little bite size onions but it's worth it. Put them in for the last two hours. Any longer and they lose their crunch and turn to mush.

Now you're eatin'....

"Chili with meat" sort of makes meat sound like the side dish, doesn't it?

Uh....yeah.  :

;D

Beans ? Beans in Chili ?  Get the rope

          T

Simple recipe:

1 lb Mexican Chorizo

1 lb ground beef

1 medium Spanish onion (yellow onion) chopped

8 tbls cilantro

1 tbls chopped garlic

2 tbls black pepper

Brown over medium heat until the onions are translucent

Add:

1 can of beef broth

1 package Williams Chili Mix

Simmer and stir until broth is mostly absorbed

Add:

1 can diced Mexican tomatoes

1 can Campbell's Beefy Mushroom Soup

Another can of beef broth

1/2 cup yellow corn meal

2 tbls sugar

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes

Add:

1 can red beans

1 tbls salt or salt to taste

Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes

Suggested serving options:

Tabasco

Jalapeno peppers

Sharp cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Pickles

Crackers

8-)

Awesome, thanks guys  

One more tip:

Chili gets better with age! If you plan on serving it on

Sunday, make it on Friday or Saturday. Also, chili can

be frozen and keeps indefinitely.

8-)