Chile con carne coming up

>Seeds and all.

F for your butthole.

Alright, that looks better. I was under the assumption that you were just going to use these peppers and nothing else: The ghost chili is a bit much, though, if you want to actually enjoy your food.

some people like their shit spicy.

also their chili.

>ghost chili is a bit much

Nah, it'll be fine. 1 should be just enough to make it hot, but not overpowered. None of the other chili peppers really add any heat.

pic related: On the left is a combination of the water used to soak the chili peppers, and the remainder of the strained pulp. This will be used to top up the chili as it cooks to keep it from getting dried out.

On the right is the chili sauce that will act as the base. Once the peppers were rehydrated, I put them in a food processor and blended them into a paste, then I ran them through a strainer to filter out the seeds and the skins. I got about a cups worth of sauce from all the peppers shown above, and the consistency is about like ketchup.

Now it's time to prep the meat.

Everything is prepped.

Top pic: 1 whole chopped white onion. 5 cloves of garlic

Bottom pic: Chuck shoulder has been cut into about 1" pieces and seasoned with Juden salt and fresh ground black pepper. Seasoning include cumin, Mezkin oregano, black pepper, white pepper, Tabasco.

Need to make a beer run, then I'll start the cook.

...

So far your recipe looks pretty good. I may try this. Last time I made chili for the peppers I only used guajillo, and habanero, but for some reason even after using two habanero it wasnt spicey. I also used some powdered cayenne. which seemed to add more heat than the fresh habanero. Is there a certain way to cook with fresh peppers?

hahaha im sorry 3 peppers

>Is there a certain way to cook with fresh peppers?

You just have to adjust to taste, dude. Capsaicin latches on to fat, so it will be dispersed, and weaker, in fattier dishes than it will in something like chicken or fish.

A good option is to simply mince up some fresh pepper and add it to your plate when you serve, as you get more heat and the citrus flavor of the pepper as well.

I used two pounds of ground beef as well. If as you say it latches on to fat, then that makes sense.

Yea, 3 habs isn't shit for 2 pounds of ground beef, dude.

pic: Phase 1 begins.
- Here I've got about a tbs of lard heating up with the garlic. The goal is to infuse the lard with the garlic, which will be removed and set aside once it starts taking color. The garlic will then be ground and added to the chili during the stew process. Once the garlic is browned, I will start browning the meat, and then set it aside for phase 2.

The pot is a Lodge CI dutch oven.

When I make chili, I use fresh sliced chilis -
serranos and jalapenos. I throw the serranos in during the beginning (w/ seeds) to cook with the meat and let their eat add to the base of the dish. I find they form a good base heat. The jalapenos are added later as a nice green element and aren't cooked down to mush, and they have some bite on their own, but since they aren't cooked too long, most of their heat remains in them.

Is that chilli oil or is your pan rusted?

10/10 so far keep it up OP

It's just funky light from the stove-top. That was the "good" picture.

Toasted garlic set aside for adding later. I've got a mortar and pestle I'm going to use to grind it up and toss it in during the simmer.

Meats almost done browning.

Meat's browning. Too dark and it gets dry, so it's best to be a little on the light side IMO.

There's a nice little bit of fond building in the pan.

OP died. Press F.

Pic related: Phase II - prep the base.

Top pic: Fond development on the bottom of the dutch oven.

Bottom pic: Onions added with some of the chili liquid to deglaze the fond. I will cook these onions until they've got some nice color and I can get another little bit of fond built up on the bottom of the pan again. Then I'll deglaze it with the chili paste and start to cook that down some.

Onions done and there's a nice little bit of fond on the bottom of the pan again, perfect for the chili sauce.

Adding the chili sauce to the onion. The sauce will deglaze the bottom of the pan, and I'll cook it to reduce the liquid content in order to concentrate the flavors, and to once again create a bit of fond on the bottom of the pan.

looks good my man can't wait to taste the end result.

Cumin, oregano, and the white pepper has been added, and the chili sauce has been reduced and concentrated into a nice paste, and it's created another layer of fond on the bottom of the pan that the beef will deglaze.

At this point, phase II is complete, and the base is now prepared for the simmer phase.

Lurkin'

Here's the browned beef before it goes in the pot. I think I got some decent color on it without cooking it too long.

lmao

Phase III: the simmer

The beef has been added to the chili sauce, along with some of the chili water, and the moisture deglazed the pan again to get the fond created by the chili sauce. From here, I'll bring it to a boil, and reduce to a simmer and monitor the level of the liquid for a 3 hour simmer, topping up with the chili water as needed. I'll do seasoning checks on the hour and make any additions as needed, but I won't add salt until the end of the simmer.

It's going to be a while. ETA till complete 0200 EST.

I'll start the cornbread about an hour before completion.

but chile is from America...
what

This is about the level of moisture I'm looking for.

Great thread. Well executed from beginning to end. Looks delicious.

Good shit, OP.

Thanks, user. I hope it inspires somebody to try it out themselves.

pic related: simmer at first hour

You can see that some of the fats are being rendered from the chuck already, and I'll remove the excess as the simmer commences. The heat setting is on a very gentle simmer.

2 hour mark has been reached.

Top photo shows what the sauce looks like after a stir. Notice how it has reduced and thickened. The consistency is a bit thicker than ketchup.

Bottom photo shows the sauce stirred with an addition of about 1/4 cup of the chili liquid. This should be all that's needed to ride it out until the end, which is another hour or so.

The flavor of the sauce is a delicious blend of chili flavors that the cumin really accentuates and compliments. I don't foresee the need for any additional spices at this time, but will reserve judgement until the simmer is complete. The heat is fucking SPOT ON. The arbol peppers are working very well with the ghost pepper, and there is just the slightest hint of heat at the first bite, but then it slowly builds to an after burn that stops far short of being uncomfortable...for me at least.

Giving it another hour and will start on some corn bread to go with it.

Looks good

>weak genes

Looks great, I love classic chili. You have inspired me to create my own walkthrough thread as you have. I am planning on making a large batch of Sunday gravy this weekend; would any anons be curious as to the process?

This looks amazing, user.

Thanks, user.

Talk about coincidence, I just did a ragu Napoletano the other day. I've still got about a quart of sauce left, and some beef ribs to gnaw on.

Regardless. Pic related: cornbread

Once the cornbread is done, it's time to have a bowl.

Taste test reveals it doesn't need any additional seasoning, and it seems the heat is decreasing, which means I might have to add some diced habanero to the serving bowl.

How would the great decrease?

Well, dubs, as capsaicin adheres to fat, I think what's happening is that as the beef slowly cooks and renders its fat into the sauce, the capsaicin is getting more dispersed, and less concentrated on the tongue per each individual bite.

Yo man. Kudos to you. Unlike most of this board, you can appreciate beanless chili without being a total prick about people who do put a common ingredient in. Also, your chili sounds kickass.

that looks great

however, without beans and with chunky meat I consider this a thick goulash rather than chilli con carne
call me an idiot if you want, but I don't see the diference

Thanks, dubs user.

Lets wrap this up.

Pic related: Top is hot cornbread right out of the oven.

Middle is the chili after about a 3 hour simmer.

Bottom is the serving with fresh green onion garnishing the chili, some fresh tomato, and cornbread with butter.

End result?

The meat is tender, and the chili gravy resulting from the long simmer is very rich and well blended with the garlic, onion, and cumin, and the heat is very mellow and develops on the back end, rather than the front, and would require additional heat for those that really enjoy spicy foods. I used the entire bowl of chili liquid to keep the hydration up, and some may want a thinner gravy, however, a little water or beef stock could get that job done. All in all, I think my goal was met in that this is fairly representative of an authentic old school San Antonio chili, and is wonderfully flavored and rich, although the next time I'm going to double up on the ghost pepper.

Give it a shot, and enjoy.

Quality thread. Looks tasty and I'd eat a bowl in a heartbeat and thank you for making it. Appreciate the posts.

Looks awesome, I'm going to have to try this

You must be really white.

At what point would you add the beans, if you were using any?

Depends on the beans you're using.

Fresh beans usually either need an overnight soak to soften them up, or need to be cooked for 2-3 hours, so you'd have to judge when to put them in on how long it'll take to cook them completely through.

Canned beans can be added whenever you want, and if I were to use canned beans, I'd just toss them in about an hour before the end of the cook. I did about a 3 hour simmer for this batch, so I'd have added canned beans at hour 2 if I used them.

i've just cooked some chile of my own and threw one can of beans in for the last 30 mins of the cooking

good thread op

your pepper blend is enticing, and yet simple

Thanks.

The next batch I'm going to up the arbol chili's and add another ghost chili, and instead of using water to rehydrate the chilis and create the sauce, I'm going to use beef stock.

looks good user. good job.

How much of the spices did you use user?

It came out to about:
1.5 tbs cumin
1 tbs Mezkin oregano
.5 tbs white pepper

The cumin really enhances the natural chili flavors, so adjust to meet your individual taste.

what do you think about substituing chicken instead of beef? I have a shit load of chicken thighs.

I think it would be fucking delicious is what I think.

Use the same approach, garnish with some fresh diced tomato and green onion, and serve with either cornbread or some refried beans.

Use chicken stock to rehydrate your chili's and to make your chili sauce.

I wouldn't worry about simmering it for more than about an hour, though. That's the time I use for my chicken curries and it always turns out great.