Authentic Chilli

Hi Vinnie,

I am going to be posting about it on my blog tomorrow. So hope you will come read about it.

It's purist chili and Texan to boot. :D

No tomatoes!

Mulligan Stew Me

BZ

Hi Vinnie,

Thanks for your compliment. Here is the link to my chili post. It's up now and ready for you! I posted about homemade hotdog buns right before this post. And the next post will be about chili dogs...the ubiquitous sandwich of Texas! :D

Mulligan Stew Me: Chili, The National Dish of Texas

Your welcome! It's pretty awesome. Better the next day too. I like alot of cumin in the chili. That is also pretty authentic. They used to use way more cumin in chili recipes than they do today.

If you end up making it, let me know how you like it, ok? I actually end up using all my spices that are listed. But some people might want to go lighter on them...

Bluezebra, that is a good looking chili recipe. I do something similar, but do include some tomato puree. I also use roasted garlic and sauteed onions which I also puree. I toast the cumin seeds and grind them, and also include in my recipe a bit of brown sugar and finely grated Mexican chocolate.

Have you ever fried the paste made from the re-hydrated chiles after it's run through the strainer or food mill. I took the idea from a Rick Bayless cookbook. It concentrates the flavor and removes any harsh/raw flavor remaining from the dried chiles, and gives the broth a beautiful shine and bold flavor. I typically make mine with guajillo and chipotle chiles. A little fresh lime juice a couple minutes before serving really brightens the flavor.

A little cooler weather and I might make a batch.

Kevin

"I dream of meatball sandwiches. All you can eat. Two bucks."

Hi Kevin! Thanks for the compliment. I haven't tried frying off teh chili paste but that sounds like an interesting technique! My sole purpose with this recipe was to try to create as closely as possible a type of recipe that could have been used out on the trail...

I love Rick Bayless' stuff and basically think he IS the authority on Mexican cuisine from my pov. I actually use his sofrito recipe (I think lol! I can't remember where I found it online when I went looking for a new one!) Also your idea of a food mill sounds awesome! I don't have one but have been wanting one for years.

The roasted garlic sounds good also! I ended up adding dried onion to the dish because for some reason that dried onion, adds a little intensity to the chili. Also, the same thing with the granulated garlic sprinkled on the meat when you brown it adds a different flavor...so I guess I'm not really "authentic" but if you remove those two elements, it would be pretty true. I hope you will try it. It's really wild not to use any tomato product and it ends up being so brick red...

Bluezebra, I guess I actually toast the garlic in a dry skillet until the skin blackens a la Bayless. My paste is a take off of his Essential Guajillo sauce found in his first cookbook. Check that out for the frying technique.

I really use a chinois, though a food mill would do the same thing and they are much less expensive. As long as the bits of chile skin are taken out. You do that with the strainer. If you leave those in they are very bitter I believe.

Kevin

"I dream of meatball sandwiches. All you can eat. Two bucks."

Hi to you two!

Kevin, I am gonna have to try your technique sounds really awesome. And yes I really hate the chili skins being in there because they get stuck in your throat kinda like crushed bayleaf does if you've ever had it but it also makes it a bit bitter. Most people probably won't pick up on the bitterness cuz it's pretty subtle. The seeds are VERY bitter, though, but I just shake those out before rehydrating them. Any missed seeds are picked up in straining. I just use my strainer because of the guage of hole structure. To me a chinois would be overkill cuz the mesh guage is soooooooo fine. You really don't need it that fine to remove the "husky skin".

Vinnie, on my recipe it's about a 1-2 on the hotness scale with 3 being the hottest as in 3alarm chili. But it's easy to adjust the heat. Start by not adding the jalapeno and reducing the amount of cayenne pepper. You can even eliminate the cayenne completely as well, if need be. The chili will be a warm spiciness without a lot of heat. You can always add a jalapeno (fresh at a time). The seeds and veins are what makes them hot.

As for doin it fresh, I haven't seen any fresh ancho's (red poblanos) or fresh guajillos in my area. I have seen the Anaheim or Colorado/New Mexico chile but always green down here, not red. I think you want the depth and color that the dried chile gives if you are making red chili. But I always use fresh roasted peppers when I'm making green chili (that is if I can get the hatch chiles fresh)...if not I use what I can fresh and supplement with canned hatch chiles.

Straining is really easy. A trifle time consuming but very worth the end product.

I keep remembering things. I also toast the dried chiles a la Rick Bayless before hydrating them. Cut them open, remove seeds and loos veining. Open them up and hold them down with a spatula in a dry skillet for 10 to 15 seconds on each side. It's a bit of work, but adds to the flavor considerably, and also helps remove bitterness.

The only fresh peppers I use are a couple serranos which I roast black, skin, seed, and puree with everything else.

This broth is a deep shiny red, and silky smooth. The heat can vary depending on the heat of the dried peppers, which I find can vary quite a bit.

Oh yeah, wearing gloves is not a bad idea. At the very least wash your hands, then wash them a few more times before you get near the old eyeballs.

Kevin

Homer: Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

Hi Kevin, I've done both, toasting them and not toasting them and I really think not toasting them (especially on the anchos) allows more intense sweet flavor to come out. Otherwise it's kinda out of balance toward the shallow acrid side...I used to toast everything up in a cast iron skillet outside on my propane grill then proceed but it just dint "do it for me dawg" lol! :D