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Okay, my turn.
Compared to Buzz's efforts, mine seems to be less intricate. Basically surveyed a bunch of recipe's to get the gist of ingredients.
I basically used the standard blend of spices for the chili powder (ground chili, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, etc.)
The big difference (that might distinguish my chili) was that the all of the ingredients were organic. Even the 15 pounds of ground beef (made nearly 4 gallons of chili in one big pot) was sourced from an organic farmer friend of mine (one of the chief test pilot's where I work) from whom I bought half a cow (organic grass fed, no growth hormones's and minimal if at all use of antibiotics). There was very little beef fat from all this ground beef. Seems I read somewhere that grass fed beef has less of a a certain dangerous kind of fat, I notice that it doesn't feel as 'heavy' when I eat it. I ended up using it to saute the onions.
The garlic, onions, bell peppers were all fresh chopped.
Oh, I put about 2 ounces (so far...it's still simmering) of 87% dark chocolate. Also added a tablespoon of sucanat (very raw/unrefined sugar). Also used some Worcestershire sauce. Considering the salt content of the other ingredients (like the diced tomatoes), I only added another 5 teaspoons of salt. Oh, and I added some sundried tomatoes soaked in olive oil.
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Carnos Jax wrote:
Okay, my turn.
Compared to Buzz's efforts, mine seems to be less intricate. Basically surveyed a bunch of recipe's to get the gist of ingredients.
I basically used the standard blend of spices for the chili powder (ground chili, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, etc.)
The big difference (that might distinguish my chili) was that the all of the ingredients were organic. Even the 15 pounds of ground beef (made nearly 4 gallons of chili in one big pot) was sourced from an organic farmer friend of mine (one of the chief test pilot's where I work) from whom I bought half a cow (organic grass fed, no growth hormones's and minimal if at all use of antibiotics). There was very little beef fat from all this ground beef. Seems I read somewhere that grass fed beef has less of a a certain dangerous kind of fat, I notice that it doesn't feel as 'heavy' when I eat it. I ended up using it to saute the onions.
The garlic, onions, bell peppers were all fresh chopped. I put about 2 ounces (so far...it's still simmering) of 87% dark chocolate.
There, I fixed that for ya . . . . .
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What does the chocolate do???
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I think this kinda chili is a hanging offense here in Texas. 
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josntme wrote:
I think this kinda chili is a hanging offense here in Texas.
Oh! So it does have a use!
Is hanging just for the makers or those who LIKE it (especially those from NEW YORK CITY!) ?
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....heard of adding dark chocolate to sauces but I usually add to the end after cooking (to prevent any possible 'burning')......so I add to sauce after it is done and let it melt in (after removing from heat).......
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I added the chocolate during the simmering phase where the heat was at it's lowest. I'm gonna guess the chocolate functions like a cocoa based mole that's used in some traditional Mexican recipes (I ended up putting the whole 3 oz bar in there)..
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I forewent the chocolate this year (as far as putting it in the chili that is...), but there is a place in chili for the sweet component, be it chocolate, brown sugar, molasses, or that which is contained in other ingredients. We simmer the beans in beer which provides sweetness, as does the sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, which also made it in this year. We got all our beef from Costco, its degree of organic-ness unknown.
The key to good chili is to provide the proper vehicle(s) to carry the flavors of the peppers and spices, and not to overdo it with the hot peppers or spices. We cook the components separately, and assemble and simmer in stages. The meat gets most, if not all of the hottest peppers and spices, and the beans after being "beered" are held in abeyance until final assembly and simmering to keep them from getting bruised and shmushed. It's very tedious and time consuming, but everyone seems to like the results.
If you go the fast route, you can still make a good batch, but it's best to stick w/ a tried and true recipe, because it's tougher to recover from adding something that doesn't work well. Also remember, some hot stuff gets hotter when simmered, whereas other hot stuff mellows as it is absorbed while simmering w/ other ingredients. After forty+ years, we've got a pretty good handle on it.
Enjoy the holidays,
Buzz
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No doubt. I can't imagine the results if I became learned in the art. Cooking (as I've observed in Indian preparations) can be a very involved process that's worth the rewards (don't let Indian resteraunts fool you...it can get much better, but wouldn't be affordable).
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