need a good chili recipe

[Brett Hartwig]

we are hosting a work party tomorrow and I am trying to find a really good crockpot chili recipe. Found a few on cooking websites that look good, but then you read the reviews and they complain about being bland or too thin. Anybody have a tried and tested recipe that I know will turn out good instead of just hoping it doesn't suck as the guests are arriving?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Here is mine, mostly ingredients, and simple directions...



1 lb bacon

1 lb hamburger

1 lb italian hot sausage

1 lb steak, any good cut (for cubing...don't use stew meat)

2 large cans of kidney beans (I use one light, one dark)

3 large stalks celery

1 large or 2 small yellow onions

1 large green pepper

1 large red pepper

1 large, maybe 2 spaghetti sauce jars (ragu traditional w/ meat is good)



Spices: chili powder, black pepper, white pepper, ceyenne pepper, franks red hot, tobassco, cracked red pepper





Directions:



First, brown the hamburger then place in a large simmering pot. Next, fry the sausage. If you have links or rope sausage, split the casings and break up the sausage as it cooks. Once cooked, move the sausage to the pot. Fry the bacon, pretty much all at once if the pan is large enough. Cook it thoroughly then set it on paper towels to cool. SAVE THE BACON GREASE. Fry the cubed up steak in the bacon grease then transfer that to the pot as well. Again, SAVE THE BACON GREASE.



Dice the onions and green and red peppers and the celery. Within the fry pan with bacon grease fry the peppers and the onions until soft. Near the end, toss in the celery as well. The celery will not get to soft. Once the celery is warmed through, move the veggie mixture to the pot.



Open the large cans of kidney beans, and the spaghetti sauce and dump them into the pot with the meat and veggie mixture. DO NOT drain, nor rinse the kidney beans. You

Dice onions, green and red peppers. Mix well in the pot. If it looks like you need more spaghetti sauce then add part of another jar.



Don't forget the bacon you have set aside. It should be cool now. Crumble it up or cut it up into small pieces and put it in the pot of chili.



Bring the mixture up to a good hot temperature and then reduce to low/med heat to simmer. It is important to get the chili hot before adding spice.



Add the spices above to taste. I usually add a LOT of chili powder (use Mexican Chili Powder if you like that), and lots of black, and white pepper. The ceyenne pepper really gives a good kick. If you get too much spice in, you can back it off a little with some sugar.



That's about it. Let it simmer for a couple of hours. Tastes even better when reheated the next day.



Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, and/or a dollop of sour cream, and some crusty bread.



I came in third with this recipe in a cook-off.



TJR

 

[Bill V]

It'll depend on your work group, you'll be the one to know for sure--but in general, you may want to stick with one that, online, is rated as "bland", especially to serve at an event where not everyone may want their chili to be an oral flamethrower. My experience says that most people who rate chili recipes online tend to take a "the hotter, the better" approach--and therefore, anything even moderately palatable to the average person gets poor ratings from them.



It's unfortunate that you're asking this the day before you need it--as with things like chili, I usually believe in trying any new recipe once on my own before inflicting it on (potentially-former) friends...

 

[Bill V]

p.s. If you're interested in a very good, very flavorful white chicken chili, let me know (verkuilb at yahoo dot com) and I'll dig it up at home tonight. It's not super-hot (although it would be easy enough for anyone to turn up the heat a bit to their liking), but the flavor, IMHO, is superb.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Also, I've never found any "crock pot" version of a given recipe that compares to the traditional prepartion variety. That's why I proposed my recipe. Cook it at home one day, warm it in a crock pot the next day.



TJR

 

[Andy Chase]

I've won a cook off with this chili:



Chili:

Brown 3 lbs of ground meat add seasoned salt, seasoned pepper and chili powder (usually beef, but pork is good too - could also add italian sausage)

Fry up some bacon, whatever amount you want, -1lb should do the trick, season w/ garlic and/or chili pepper. Chop up or tear up into smaller pieces (bite size or smaller).

Dice an onion, and some peppers (I usually use a green and red pepper, but last time I added a green, a red, a yellow and an orange.

Add 1 can of light red kidney beans, 1 can of dark red kidney beans and 1 can of chili beans.

(you could probably add whatever type of tomatoes you guys like, I dont like tomatoes so I dont add them).

Mix 2 packets of Cub/McCormick or Schillings to chili.

Add enough tomato sauce/tomato paste per your liking for consistency. I like mine a little thick so I add 3-4 cans of sauce and 1 can of paste.

Cook on low in crock pot stirring occasionally.

 

[Scott Tanner]

my Dump recipe



1 Big pot (12 qt.) or crockpot

2 lbs. country style pan sausage

3 lbs. ground beef or meatloaf mix

2 lbs. ground turkey

2 4 oz cans medium diced or sliced chilies

1 4 oz can hot diced or sliced chilies

2 16 oz jars medium salsa (or hot, if desired)

2 40 oz cans red kidney beans

3 14.5-oz cans Italian style stewed tomatoes

1 4 oz can tomato paste

2 large Vidalia onions, quartered

4 tbsp. chili powder

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

salt

pepper

Brown and drain all meat, peel and quarter onions, and drain chilies. Place 1 can of kidney beans, drained, into food processor and puree. Combine all ingredients into pot, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer at low for 2-3 hrs, stirring occasionally. Place cover off to side of pot for last hour to evaporate some of the liquid. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh warm Italian bread with lots of butter, and Tums. Serves a lot of people, to halve recipe, get more people.

 

[EddieS'04]

My dad had a good chilli recipe. It was all in his head. Now he passed away. No one ever wrote it down.

 

[Robert Caffyn]

I have a recipe that calls for venison and bear meat. Got any? Only thing is, it has to stew for at least 24 hours. And I never use kidney beans, use pinto beans instead. This recipe lost a contest to a guy that made it with ground beef. The judges asked whats in it? I told 'em, they said who's next? Bob

 

[doug brandin]

WOLF Brand; w/o beans !

 

[Johnny O]

I mix up a package of Carroll Shelby's. Use all the cayenne pepper and half the salt, plus a can of diced tomatoes and I dice up one red bell pepper and one green bell pepper. Beans are optional.

 

[Richard L]

My Family Style Chili is similar to TJRs but I think a pound of bacon would not go well with most weight conscience people...but I do like bacon. I also dont think Italian sausage or turkey belongs in chili, I am more of a TexMex purist, but that is just me.



FAMILY STYLE CHILI

2 lbs of coarsely ground Sirloin

2 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning (will thicken the chili)

2 tablespoons of Chili powder

1/2 can of beer

In a large skillet, Brown meat. Add Taco seasoning, chili powder and can of beer.

simmer until thickened.



In a large pot or slow cooker add the seasoned meat to:

1 medium to large onion diced

1/2 small bell pepper diced

1 rib of celery diced

6 large cloves of garlic, smashed or minced

2 cans of diced tomatoes

2 small cans of tomato sauce

2 cans of Beans undrained (I usually mix Pinto, Kidney, or Black beans)

1/2 cup of your favorite Picante sauce, mild, medium or hot... to taste ( I use Pace)

Add remaining 1/2 can of beer, if you have not already drank it..lol

1 Bay Leaf

1 Tablespoon of Oregano

1/2 Teaspoon of ground Sage

Salt and Pepper to taste

If you want a bit of a smokey flavor you can add a few dashes of Liquid Smoke.



Simmer slowly for at least one hour. Serve hot with shredded Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese sprinkled on top.



Like most chili, it taste better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight and reheated later



This recipe is easily upsized by simply adding another pound or two of meat, and just increasing the remaining ingredients in proportions to the meat. ie: if you double the meat, just double everything in the recipe.



Rich

 

[Brett Hartwig]

wow you guys are making me hungry. i want to try all of these recipes. luckily, the party is postponed because a doctor my wife works with had to have surgery (that sounded bad didn't it?) anyway, i have time to experiment with your recipes for a while yet. thank you

 

[TomT]

I like Chorizo in my chili. Easy to find down here in Texas, not sure about everywhere else.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Chorizo instead of beef, or as part of the meat?

 

[TomT]

With beef. The more meat the better.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Yum!



The mexican restaurants around here will sell us all the chorizo we can haul and it is pretty cheap too!

 

[Richard L]

freeport,

Yep, that made me hungry too. I had all the ingredience including some Dos Equis lager beer and it is going to be a bit chilly tonight, so I just put on a small pot of my chili.... I have been tasting and it is really good!



...Rich

 

[Gavin Allan]

OK, i have a crockpot full of Richard L.'s "Family Style Chilli" started this morning. When I get home tonight I'll get some cornbread going to go with it.



Zero degrees here this morning- should be good!

 

[Richard L]

Gavin,

I hope you enjoy your chili tonight. Remember that my recipe is just the basic recipe and any of the ingrediences can be increased or decreased to fit your taste or mood. I don't know that I ever make it exactly the same way twice...lol It more or less depends on how I feel when I make it and no two pots of chili taste exactly the same because I don't measure anything, I just eyeball it...lol



PS: The pot of chili I made last week included a second bottle of Dos Equis beer, and some of Tony Chachere's Creole/Cajun Seasoning...Now that adds a real nice kick to the basic chili.



...Rich