Chilli Con Carne - your best recipe please!
Discussion
grumbledoak said:
SJobson said:
They must put something addictive in the mix for us both to keep bulk buying like this 
<digs>INGREDIENTS: Maltodextrin, salt, paprika, chili powder (5%), onion, sugar, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, natural favours, cumin, garlic powder, food acid (330), anticaking agent (551), spice extract.
silverMX said:
My recipe goes like this:
Buy Jamie Olivers American Road trip cookbook.
Open to Chilli Con Carne page
Set aside 5 hours (!) for cooking
Impress.
It's lush...well worth the time taken!
This is very true, following this to the letter is an awesome chilli.Buy Jamie Olivers American Road trip cookbook.
Open to Chilli Con Carne page
Set aside 5 hours (!) for cooking
Impress.
It's lush...well worth the time taken!
One thing I do quite a bit is make a kilo of bolognese at a time and freeze it. Obviously you soon get bored of the bolognese, so add some chilli, cumin powder, kidney beans and you've effectively got a totally different dish.
Yay!
I've finally got my hands on a copy of the (undeservedly) long out-of-print 'Kenny's Cajun Creole Cookbook', having scoured the internet for this for the past two years. (I lost custody of the original to the ex when we split.)
This is the definitive chilli. I cannot emphasise the the strongly enough.
Since I'm in a good mood, I've typed it out for you.
Jailhouse Chili
2 large onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 tbs olive oil
3 tbs chili powder
5 red jalapeños, finely chopped
1kg minced beef, 20% fat
500g stewing steak, cubed
6 rashers streaky bacon, diced and fried
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tbs oregano
1 tbs cayenne
1 tbs turmeric
500ml dark beer
500ml beef stock
3 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 tsp garlic salt
In a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. After a few minutes add half the chili powder and half the diced jalapeños. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to a large casserole, leaving the oil in the pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine mince, chuck steak, fried bacon, the rest of the jalapeños and half the cumin, oregano, cayenne and turmeric. Mix well.
Brown the meat in 3 or 4 large clumps in the onion pan until brown on the outside. Don't worry about it not being cooked in the middle. Add this to the casserole.
Add the tomatoes, beef stock, half the beer and the second half of the cumin, oregano, cayenne and turmeric to the casserole.
Simmer on a very low heat for 1 hour.
Add second half of chili powder, the garlic salt and the rest of the beer. Simmer on a very low heat for another hour (or more) until the beef is cooked.
Serves 6 - 8.
I've finally got my hands on a copy of the (undeservedly) long out-of-print 'Kenny's Cajun Creole Cookbook', having scoured the internet for this for the past two years. (I lost custody of the original to the ex when we split.)
This is the definitive chilli. I cannot emphasise the the strongly enough.
Since I'm in a good mood, I've typed it out for you.
Jailhouse Chili
2 large onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 tbs olive oil
3 tbs chili powder
5 red jalapeños, finely chopped
1kg minced beef, 20% fat
500g stewing steak, cubed
6 rashers streaky bacon, diced and fried
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tbs oregano
1 tbs cayenne
1 tbs turmeric
500ml dark beer
500ml beef stock
3 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 tsp garlic salt
In a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. After a few minutes add half the chili powder and half the diced jalapeños. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to a large casserole, leaving the oil in the pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine mince, chuck steak, fried bacon, the rest of the jalapeños and half the cumin, oregano, cayenne and turmeric. Mix well.
Brown the meat in 3 or 4 large clumps in the onion pan until brown on the outside. Don't worry about it not being cooked in the middle. Add this to the casserole.
Add the tomatoes, beef stock, half the beer and the second half of the cumin, oregano, cayenne and turmeric to the casserole.
Simmer on a very low heat for 1 hour.
Add second half of chili powder, the garlic salt and the rest of the beer. Simmer on a very low heat for another hour (or more) until the beef is cooked.
Serves 6 - 8.
Mobile Chicane said:
smack said:
That sounds good MC. 
I will have to give beer a try in my chilli next, and see how that turns out.
Last time I made Jailhouse Chili I used Saku 'Tume' (Estonian dark ale, 6.7% ABV). I reckon Hog's Back 'OTT' would fit the bill perfectly. I will have to give beer a try in my chilli next, and see how that turns out.
Wiz said:
Jailhouse Chilli
As recipe with the addition of a diced red pepper as i couldn't find jalpenos.
Delicious Thanks MC 
Glad you like it. It is rather good. (Even better left to 'mature' for a few days in a cool place.)As recipe with the addition of a diced red pepper as i couldn't find jalpenos.
Delicious
Thanks MC Scour the internet for Kenny's Cajun Cookbook - copies pop up on Amazon from time to time.
Lefty 200 Drams said:
Mobile Chicane said:
Heat up a non-stick frying pan, and chuck in the mince in a whole block. Dry off any moisture on the outside with a kitchen towel. FFS don't break it up with a spoon. You want the block of mince to brown on the outside, since browning meat is where the flavour is. Breaking it up will boil the mince and result in a grey, tasteless mass.
That's a great tip that I have never heard or thought of before. Thanks!I'd agree the better option is to cook in small batches, it's the same as browning meat for a casserole, you don't whack all the chunks in together as you end up steaming rather than browning.
Willing to try it, but feel unsure about the fry it off keeping the mince in the complete slab technique.
Willing to try it, but feel unsure about the fry it off keeping the mince in the complete slab technique.
I reckon it would work fine, but obviously the only brown caramalised bits will be the sides of the slab. By frying small amounts in batches, you can brown more of the meat.
In practice though, not only is this a slight ballache but quite how much difference it makes to the overall flavour I couldn't tell you.
In practice though, not only is this a slight ballache but quite how much difference it makes to the overall flavour I couldn't tell you.
The reason I brown the outside in a block is because I want the 'roast meat' flavours from browning, but I don't want to cook the inside.
I think leaving the centre raw and then allowing the meat, cold stock and tomato mixture to very slowly come to the boil gives more tender meat and more 'body' to the sauce.
I think leaving the centre raw and then allowing the meat, cold stock and tomato mixture to very slowly come to the boil gives more tender meat and more 'body' to the sauce.
OK I can see what you are aiming at, but that is why a few pages back I mentioned that I don't use mince for chilli but shin beef cut into cubes. Meat is quickly browned on the outside but is obviously not cooked on the inside, similar effect.
However having said that the cajun recipe posted above that uses a combination ground / minced beef and cubed beef does sound intriguing and possibly better. Once our current batch of chilli is used up will definitely be trying that.
However having said that the cajun recipe posted above that uses a combination ground / minced beef and cubed beef does sound intriguing and possibly better. Once our current batch of chilli is used up will definitely be trying that.
F i F said:
OK I can see what you are aiming at, but that is why a few pages back I mentioned that I don't use mince for chilli but shin beef cut into cubes. Meat is quickly browned on the outside but is obviously not cooked on the inside, similar effect.
However having said that the cajun recipe posted above that uses a combination ground / minced beef and cubed beef does sound intriguing and possibly better. Once our current batch of chilli is used up will definitely be trying that.
Having said all this, I'm going to give the OP's recipe a go. However having said that the cajun recipe posted above that uses a combination ground / minced beef and cubed beef does sound intriguing and possibly better. Once our current batch of chilli is used up will definitely be trying that.
Chili I think is a lifetime endeavour and I'm not so precious that my favourite recipe can't be improved upon.
Borough Market spies shall be briefed for Habanero and Chipotle...
Frankeh said:
bazking69 said:
I'm guessing you do it to freeze but where do you get those tins from? And do they come with lids?
I do the same thing. Think it was Bazking who gave me this link some time last year. They're really good because they stack well and no 2s give you a decent portion too. As you can see on the link, they come with card lids. Good for scrawling on the contents and date.
F i F said:
I'd agree the better option is to cook in small batches, it's the same as browning meat for a casserole, you don't whack all the chunks in together as you end up steaming rather than browning.
Willing to try it, but feel unsure about the fry it off keeping the mince in the complete slab technique.
I did this after I first read MC's technique, but I found it a lot harder to break up the meat after it was browned.Willing to try it, but feel unsure about the fry it off keeping the mince in the complete slab technique.
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