My my, Texas chili! I have cooked chili in Texas for over 30 years. The bottom line is there is no definitive recipe and method worthy of the name Texas Chili. As I am from Southeast Texas my information absorbed through the years has been swayed by the Mexicans and the Cajuns. In Southeast Texas we tend to take in information and modify to our melting pot palette’s perspective, always rich in flavor and usually spicier than most. Spice is nice! Well it has been a while since I have cooked us a real big pot of Texas Chili so I decided to get after it. Texas Chili has some common ingredients. Meat, chili powder, onions, camino (cumin), liquid (beef stock, V8, beer…………), cayenne pepper, black pepper, beef stock or boullian and garlic. I like to use Mexican oregano and Mexican camino. The study and chemistry of Texas Chili is as easy or complex as your wish. For instance, chili powder, the key ingredient can be created by smoking and drying your own peppers. There are many various peppers that can be used to make your own signature chili powder. That is a fun project but way too labor intensive. I prefer to use any of the many Tex Mex companies right here in southeast Texas. You would be well served to stick with a brand you know. Tones, Gephardt, Fiesta and Mexene are the brands I have used. When making a batch of chili try to keep the sodium level down as much as possible. I like to use beef stock and I would most definitely prefer making my own beef stock but time is a factor. Slow roasting beef bones in the oven and then cooking them down in water and the trinity for many hours is just not worth the time. The final product is succulent, but way too labor intensive. As far as the meat goes what ever you got will work. I personally like beef chuck for my chili. Slicing the meat by hand is a labor intensive option. I usually get the butcher to coarsely grind my chili meat, but fine grind works too. I also like to brown a couple pounds of pork sausage with my onions prior to browning the meat. After all the meat is browned I add the wet ingredients. Some sort of tomato sauce is usually added, but not much. On this batch I used El Pato tomato sauce instead of Hunts. Trying to hone a flavor down to homegrown ingredients is not all that difficult. Goya products are readily available here in Southeast Texas and I like them! The debate over bouillon is a mess as well. Knorr is a fine brand and so is Goya. I chose to use Knorr this time around. McCormick products are always good quality. Keeping the sodium down in a pot of Texas Chili is very difficult if you use pre-made spices and mixes. There is never a need for additional sodium in chili. If you are sick and can’t eat salt don’t eat another man’s chili. Off the hook salty. That is why I do my own. I do not add fillers to my chili, but I could care less if you do. Anything to stretch a buck. I grew up eating chili over white rice. Pinto beans also are a great filler. Some uppity purist may give a damn but I don’t. During the cooking process I add garlic as I stir. I stir often. If the color is not right add some paprika. Paprika is a case study in itself. Commercial ingredients can come together to create a Texas Chili worthy of a Nathan’s Famous Hotdog. My chili and Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs with grated cheddar cheese will make you appreciate life! Back in the day, we used to carefully cube mock chuck tenders after they were partially frozen to maintain the perfect cube. Sometimes the best chili is not the prettiest. But if you are cooking competitive pretty may well win you the trophy. It is extremely rare for a judge to have the experience to judge a contest. If you seated the big stars on the various food shows I would have zero faith in their ability to judge me! Never trust a judge. Judge not, lest ye be judged!
My my, Texas chili! I have cooked chili in Texas for over 30 years. The bottom line is there is no definitive recipe and method worthy of the name Texas Chili. As I am from Southeast Texas my information absorbed through the years has been swayed by the Mexicans and the Cajuns. In Southeast Texas we tend to take in information and modify to our melting pot palette’s perspective, always rich in flavor and usually spicier than most. Spice is nice! Well it has been a while since I have cooked us a real big pot of Texas Chili so I decided to get after it. Texas Chili has some common ingredients. Meat, chili powder, onions, camino (cumin), liquid (beef stock, V8, beer…………), cayenne pepper, black pepper, beef stock or boullian and garlic. I like to use Mexican oregano and Mexican camino. The study and chemistry of Texas Chili is as easy or complex as your wish. For instance, chili powder, the key ingredient can be created by smoking and drying your own peppers. There are many various peppers that can be used to make your own signature chili powder. That is a fun project but way too labor intensive. I prefer to use any of the many Tex Mex companies right here in southeast Texas. You would be well served to stick with a brand you know. Tones, Gephardt, Fiesta and Mexene are the brands I have used. When making a batch of chili try to keep the sodium level down as much as possible. I like to use beef stock and I would most definitely prefer making my own beef stock but time is a factor. Slow roasting beef bones in the oven and then cooking them down in water and the trinity for many hours is just not worth the time. The final product is succulent, but way too labor intensive. As far as the meat goes what ever you got will work. I personally like beef chuck for my chili. Slicing the meat by hand is a labor intensive option. I usually get the butcher to coarsely grind my chili meat, but fine grind works too. I also like to brown a couple pounds of pork sausage with my onions prior to browning the meat. After all the meat is browned I add the wet ingredients. Some sort of tomato sauce is usually added, but not much. On this batch I used El Pato tomato sauce instead of Hunts. Trying to hone a flavor down to homegrown ingredients is not all that difficult. Goya products are readily available here in Southeast Texas and I like them! The debate over bouillon is a mess as well. Knorr is a fine brand and so is Goya. I chose to use Knorr this time around. McCormick products are always good quality. Keeping the sodium down in a pot of Texas Chili is very difficult if you use pre-made spices and mixes. There is never a need for additional sodium in chili. If you are sick and can’t eat salt don’t eat another man’s chili. Off the hook salty. That is why I do my own. I do not add fillers to my chili, but I could care less if you do. Anything to stretch a buck. I grew up eating chili over white rice. Pinto beans also are a great filler. Some uppity purist may give a damn but I don’t. During the cooking process I add garlic as I stir. I stir often. If the color is not right add some paprika. Paprika is a case study in itself. Commercial ingredients can come together to create a Texas Chili worthy of a Nathan’s Famous Hotdog. My chili and Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs with grated cheddar cheese will make you appreciate life! Back in the day, we used to carefully cube mock chuck tenders after they were partially frozen to maintain the perfect cube. Sometimes the best chili is not the prettiest. But if you are cooking competitive pretty may well win you the trophy. It is extremely rare for a judge to have the experience to judge a contest. If you seated the big stars on the various food shows I would have zero faith in their ability to judge me! Never trust a judge. Judge not, lest ye be judged!
Don't judge me bro ~
ReplyDelete