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Good chili con carne recipe?


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Old 31-01-2008, 08:14
Inspiration
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I recently purchased a slow cooker with the intention of making great simple chili con carne.

However, mine always seems to turn out to not be as dark as I've seen others cook. I only used one tin of kidney beans so I'm wondering if thats why?

I seem to recall a great chili con carne I once had where the chili was a rich dark brown consistancy and tasted great. Mine however looks more like a stew and doesn't seem to hold itself together as well.

I cooked it on a medium setting for 6 hours.

Any tips/simple recipes that can't go wrong?
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Old 31-01-2008, 08:52
stud u like
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I recently purchased a slow cooker with the intention of making great simple chili con carne.

However, mine always seems to turn out to not be as dark as I've seen others cook. I only used one tin of kidney beans so I'm wondering if thats why?

I seem to recall a great chili con carne I once had where the chili was a rich dark brown consistancy and tasted great. Mine however looks more like a stew and doesn't seem to hold itself together as well.

I cooked it on a medium setting for 6 hours.

Any tips/simple recipes that can't go wrong?
Wherein lies the tale of the bad chilli! Chilli needs to be thick and stirred with love on the hob.

I am constantly stirring it for about an hour until it has thickened up nicely.

I guess if you want it thick in the oven you could use passata. I made a sausage casserole the other day with passata and a tin of soup made it wonderfully thick by cooking it at 190 for 50 minutes.
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Old 31-01-2008, 08:58
Kacey
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My favourite chili base is made this way:

2 onions - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
6-8 dried chillis
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tin chopped tomatoes

Fry the onion until golden, add the garlic, grind the spices and chillis and add to the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, add the tomato puree and tomotoes - now at this point I bring the sauce to the boil and simmer for around 15-20mins before adding kidney beans and whatever else I'm using and simmering until everything is cooked, but I imagine at this point you can pop everything in the slow cooker and leave it.
This certainly makes the best chili I've ever made and with some tinkering you could easily use it for slow cooking.
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Old 31-01-2008, 09:22
dollylovesshoes
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A great chilli from the US! This is what I do

Good quality mince
Onion
Red/green peppers
Green chilli optional
Garlic
Dark mild chilli powder
a sprinkle of oregano
paprika
cummin powder
Passata
Can of kidney bean and Can of Pinto beans

slices Jalapenos

I fry onion and garlic till soft Then add chopped peppers optional chopped green chilli
add the herbs/spices stir well with the onion. keep stirring for a few mins on low heat if it goes too dry just add a little bit of water.....by frying spices you are getting rid of that *raw* spice taste add mince and still well to break it up fry till brown. Then add drained kidney beans and pinto beans stir then add passata add sliced jalapenos stir well

If a little thick you can add some water
Bring to boil! Then simmer for as long as you want.....if it looks a bit too liquid just remove the lid slightly
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Old 31-01-2008, 10:29
grassmarket
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Don't use red kidney beans, use pinto beans. Advantages

1) Nicer flavour
2) More authentically mexican
3) Won't kill you and your entire family if you don't cook them right.

Dried pinto beans are quite easy to get and take a lot less cooking than kidney bean - 4-5 hours soaking in cold water, about an hour to cook until they are soft, then just add to the chilli mix.

Also, if you prefer a thick rather than a soupy chilli, use tomato puree and a little water instead of fresh or tinned tomatoes. That will also give you a darker colour.

More of the heat in a chilli comes from the powder rather than the cooked chillies themselves, so you can be quite generous with those as long as you don't overdo the powder.
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Old 31-01-2008, 11:52
Number Three™
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Surely it doesn't take six hours to cook? Mine only takes an hour.

I can't believe I hadn't thought of adding green/red peppers. But I sometimes add bacon in mine, it adds some flavour. And to make it thicker, you just have to let it cook for a bit longer on a low-medium heat after the timer goes off.
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Old 31-01-2008, 21:57
agentz
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If I've got any I chuck a few chunks of rich dark chocolate (75% +) and half a glas of red wine into my chili. Yum
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Old 31-01-2008, 23:15
janebach
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I tend to use the same ingredients as everybody else. I cook mine slowly on the hob for a good hour. I also find its much thicker and tastier after freezing.


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Old 01-02-2008, 01:20
bobsatlog
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Have a look at these:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.ph...%20Pot%20Chili
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Old 01-02-2008, 03:10
cyfrin
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I used to make my own chilli CC but never in a slo-cooker as it needs to reduce......But i was tight for time once & got a couple of tins of STAGG Chilli - Classic c-c-c......My family adored it so much I always buy it now!! The vegetarian version is also brilliant but beware of the 'fiery' one - it does what it sez on the tin!!

Give it a go - you can always pass it off as 'homemade' LOL
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Old 01-02-2008, 10:06
Aerick
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I like to use a mix of black beans and kidney beans in mine.. But DO rinse the black beans (if they're tinned) or else your chili will be BLACK. (as the juice is dark black and it will color your chili).

If I use ground beef or other beef in my chili, I like to put a large kielbasa sausage in mine. The juice flavors it nicely.
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Old 01-02-2008, 13:02
MelodyMaker
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Years ago I cut out a recipe from the Evening Standard for a chilli which I have now been making for years and have never looked back - tomato free! It's slightly different to a traditional chilli but absolutely delish and the kids LOVE it!!

500g beef mince
250g pork mince
2 lemons, rind sliced & diced + juice from both
125g pancetta/bacon
onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, flour
500ml beef stock
300ml red wine

Fry off pancetta/bacon till golden, remove and use fat to fry onion & garlic, add both mince and brown all over, add chili powder & cumin to taste (I like a lot!), tablespoon of flour, add lemon juice & rind, add stock, wine, oregano & bay leaf and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
YUM YUM
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Old 01-02-2008, 14:14
pinkfairy245
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I just got a slow cooker, and chili works really well, comes out incredibly rich. One of my best chillies ever! just put everything and left it on low all day. Add the spices, chili powder, flakes, cayenne pepper, cumin and paprika about an hour before the end. As supposedly they lose their flavour in longer cooking, and cayenne turns bitter.

Oh yeah in my chilli i put, browned mince, onion any other veg lying around can be anything, two tins of tomatoes, tonnes of tomato puree, 2 oxo cubes, bay leaves, worcestershire sauce, garlic think thats it. I tend to just put anything in that i can find! oh and just before serving half a teaspoon of cocoa or a bit of dark chocolate.
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Old 03-02-2008, 18:12
cyfrin
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come on 'Inspiration' - let us know if any reply has helped you - please!!
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