Real Chili Recipe Discussion - compare notes

[NavinRJohnson]

Since I think it is pretty much accepted that the Real Chili recipe posted somewhere on this site is not really that close to the real thing, I think it is time for those of us here who have attempted it to compare notes and see if we can't come up with a very close facsimile of the original. With games becoming increasingly important, I'd like to try to perfect this thing within the next week or two.

Without knowing or having the benefit of a side by side comparison, I think I could have fooled 75% of you with the batch I made/ate last night. That being said, it still wasn't all that close. I have a few thoughts right off the bat.

1. Cinnamon - keep it in the drawer. There isn't cinnamon in Real Chili.
2. Chocolate - see Number 1.
3. Onions - Same as above. Chop 'em up and put them on top if you want, but there are no onions in the chili. Onion Powder? That may be a different story. Going to check that out next time.


As far as the meat goes. I don't think its browned ahead of time. In my last batch I put the raw ground beef right into water and spices, and more or less boiled it and broke it up. It come out nice and fine. Everything is pretty much added in and simmered uncovered for several hours. Here are the ingredients and quantities I intend to play around with next time...

1 lb. Ground beef
2 tbsp. Chili powder
1 tsp. Allspice
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups water.
1 tsp. vinegar (malt or cider)

Other possible additions I am not sold on but am considering:

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
Tomato paste - just a little
Beef broth (to replace some of the water)
Bay leaf

Once done simmering - cover and put in the fridge to cool. The fat will rise and harden so it can be removed.



One other note that has me a bit confused from that review where Real Chili was listed as one of the 5 best in the country..

The degree of heat is determined by the amount of meat; i.e. more meat equals more heat.

This isn't making much sense to me, nor do I really buy it. Sounds like justification for charging more to me. I suppose if you browned the meat first with all of the spices and then added the rest of the ingredients in different quantities for Mild, Medium, Hot, this would fly, but when I think about this stuff being made I can only envision them doing whatever is the simplest and least expensive, least labor intensive approach (thus no onions, no browning meat in advance, etc.) - i.e., add a bit more spice to the Medium and Hot batches respectively and bump up your margin.

Those are my thoughts. I am interested in others opinions.

[DoubleMU0609]

The degree of heat is determined by the amount of meat; i.e. more meat equals more heat.

This isn't making much sense to me, nor do I really buy it. Sounds like justification for charging more to me.

This is exactly what it is.  They charge more for medium/hot (the same price and same amount of meat so I'm not sure what the difference is) than they charge for mild b/c there's more meat.

[Chili]

I would also say always use stock (or broth) instead of water. It adds so much more flavor. This goes for almost all cooking as well: rice, soups, ect.

The bay leaf is important in my opinion as it adds subtle flavor to broth which adds to the meat. Same with the red pepper flake. I still add unsweetened bakers chocolate to my mine, but I cut the amount by about 3/4. There is also black pepper added. The tomato paste acts as a thickener for the chili.

And WHY IN GODS GOOD NAME ARE YOU SKIMMING THE FAT OFF?!?!?!?!?!? GREESE = FLAVOR!!!!!


Also, the more meat does equal heat.

[NavinRJohnson]

And WHY IN GODS GOOD NAME ARE YOU SKIMMING THE FAT OFF?!?!?!?!?!? GREESE = FLAVOR!!!!!

That's why I don't brown/drain the meat first. You get the benefit of the fat, but the stuff you are skimming off once it hardens is pretty useless. Believe me, there is plenty left behind.

Agree on the black pepper (salt and pepper should pretty much go without saying in anything).

[MUCam]

The unsweetened bittersweet chocolate is a necessity for Cinncinnati style chilis (which are similar to Real Chili). Unsweetened chocolate brings the flavors together and adds richness and color to the chili. more importantly, it adds a tartness that rounds the recipe out. I would not recommend leaving it out.

[NavinRJohnson]

That is exactly why I choose to leave the chocolate out...Real Chili is about as close to Cincinatti style i.e., Skyline and others, as a Starbucks Latte and a Cappcucino from McDonalds. They are both called chili, and served in the same manner, but from a flavor and texture standpoint they are very different - with Real Chili of course being far superior. I may agree with the earlier post about using a very little bit for the color/richness factor in particular as you point out. I'm torn on this one.

[MilTown]

When I make it, I use the chocolate, but I found that the chili was somewhat chalky. The Chocolate seemed to overpower everything else sometimes. I found that adding some sugar to the chili makes it a lot better and rounds out all the flavors. Also, I'm not a big cumin fan, so I leave that out. Next time. I may also try to melt the chocolate with a small amount of butter and milk before adding to the mix.

[WashDCWarrior]

I actually use dark chocolate instead of baker's chocolate.  Similar to you adding sugar.  Another recipe change I really like is instead of using all ground beef, I use 3/4 ground beef and 1/4 Jimmy Dean pork sausage.  Much more flavorful.

[NavinRJohnson]

Another recipe change I really like is instead of using all ground beef, I use 3/4 ground beef and 1/4 Jimmy Dean pork sausage.  Much more flavorful.

Which relates back to the earlier fat = flavor discussion. Pork fat - very good. Beef fat - not so good, although I personally don't care for the pork sausage flavor or texture in chili of any kind.

[NateDoggMarq]

At real chilli eating his bowl of chilli with a fork


Man Law
One must only eat Real Chili with a Spoon??