What's your best chili recipe that your willing to share? I work at SMU and we're having our annual chili cookoff for the IT department on 10/31. The name I picked for mine is "Ranger Red Chili", so I need a good red colored meaty one.
Thanks in advance!

Pick up a box of Two Alarm Chili Mix and don't tell anyone what you did. Not that it's cheating...it's just spices divided up and ready to pour into chili.

It's my favorite!

Making a batch of deer chili tonight for the cool weather and Ranger game!

This is the best chili i have had ever.
I always do the pod method.I also buy a 2 pound roast and cut it up into small cubes for the meat.

The Award Winning Bolner Family Deluxe Chili
(Made with Chili Pods or Chili Powder)
1 tablespoon of oil
2 lbs. chili meat
4 cloves Fiesta Fresh Garlic
15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 quart chicken or beef broth
5 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons flour
6-8 Fiesta Ancho Chili Pods,
-or-
4 tablespoons Bolner’s Fiesta Brand® “No Salt” Fancy Light Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Fiesta Whole or Ground Comino
1/2 teaspoon Fiesta Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon MSG (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste (optional)
IF USING PODS: Remove the stems and seeds from the pods, simmer in hot water until the skin loosens, and put through a sieve to remove the skins. Reserve the chili pulp.
Peel and chop the garlic.
SLOWLY brown, the meat and the garlic in 1 tablespoon oil. Add the tomato sauce, the broth, (and the MSG and salt - if desired). SIMMER one hour. Add the reserved chili pulp to the chili meat. Heat the 5 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan, over medium-low heat.
Fry the flour, pepper, comino, and if using chili powder instead of whole chilies for 5 minutes, and add this roux to the meat. SIMMER over low heat for 1/2 hour. Serve in bowls with hot tortillas. Chili is always better the next day.

Add a can of Rotel (mild) and a cup of petite diced tomatoes. Best ever. I usually saute about 2/3 cup of onions before browning and draining the meat. I get rave reviews.

Ten Chile Chili

Ingredients:
1/3 cup cumin seeds
2 Tbls coriander seeds
2 Ancho chiles
2 Mulato chiles
4 Pasilla chiles
6 lb. trimmed beef chuck, cut into 1-1/2 by ¼ inch strips
½ lb. thickly sliced lean bacon, cut crosswise into thin matchsticks
¾ lb. ham, finely diced
1-1/2 Tbls corn oil
3 lb. large yellow Spanish onions, finely diced
¾ cup diced celery
1 cup ground ancho chile powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
5 bay leaves
1 pequin chile (optional)
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
½ can (3-1/2 oz) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, coarsely chopped
1 smoked ham hock
2 cans (24 oz ea.) Italian peeled tomatoes, drained
½ cup golden tequila
2 cups beef stock
½ tsp rosemary
1 tsp crumbled sage
1 tsp oregano

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 500°. In a medium skillet, toast the cumin and coriander seeds over moderate heat until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and grind to a powder in a spice grinder or food processor.

Place the ancho, mulato and pasilla chiles on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until fragrant and puffed up, about 2 minutes. Remove the stems and seeds and grind the chiles in a spice grinder or food processor until powdered.

In a stockpot, combine the beef, bacon, ham and corn oil. Cook over moderate heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is golden, about 20 minutes.

Add the celery, ground chiles and ancho chile powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the celery is softened and the chile powder is fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Add the cayenne, bay leaves, pequin chile, jalapeno and Serrano peppers, chipotle chiles, ham hock, tomatoes, tequila, stock, rosemary, sage and oregano. Simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 4 hours.

get about 6 or 8 ancho chilies. Steep them in simmering water until soft. Fish them out and reserve the water. Cut them open length wise and discard seeds and stems. With the back of a spoon scrape out all the meat but leave the outer skin. Cook down about a half a pound of bacon. Reserve the crisp bacon and use about 4 TBLS of the fat to brown off on high heat 1 1/2 pounds of cubed up in 1x1 cubes of sirloin. Once browned add all the reserved scraped out chili meat. Reduce heat to low and cover for about 30 minute. Stir to keep it from sticking. In a mortar and pestle, and not some cheesy pre-ground stuff, grind up three tablespoons of fresh cumin seed. Add that. Add 2 tablespoons of fresh mexican oregano. Add three cloves of finely minced fresh garlic. Cook over very low heat for 30 minutes. Add the reserved chili cooking liquid enough to cover. Salt and pepper. Use more salt than you think you need. Cook uncovered and a higher heat until the correct consistency is achieved. Probably another thirty minutes. Dont boil it. serve with cornbread, or hoe cakes, with fresh chopped white onion on top. That's it, No tomatoes, No beans. No nothing but fresh ingredients andf include some of the bacon crumbles. The closest and most common dish to what we call chili and what it's styled after is guisado de res. This is very good guisado. Dont use any crappy pre-made chili powder, The meat from the chilis will be enough when included wth the garlic, the cumino, and the oregano. Fresh white onions, that'll be all you need, Try and then comment.

EASY EASY EASY

3 lbs. ground chuck
1 medium onoin
2 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper
3 tbsp. Gebhardt Chili powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 28oz. can of Tomatoe sauce
1 14oz. can of cut tomatoes
12oz. water
pinch of cayanne pepper
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste


Brown meat and saute onoins,garlic and bell pepper.
Add other ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

This. Keep it as easy as possible. Some of the absolutely worst chile I have ever tasted is some of the award winning competition chile at chile cookoffs. Chile should not be complicated or "gourmet". It should be easy and fun. The most important part of making chile should be keeping the beer cold and plentiful.

Agree with hasben. Chili should quick and simple (and cheap) to make. If you have a list of stuff as long as your arm, its probably not going to be very good, and , its chili! You are not going to be able to taste half that stuff that's in there anyway.

Use crushed tomatoes as your base to make it RED. Cook the meat and onions until you cook the grease off them. That is important. Add the Two Alarm Kit as mentioned. Add the crushed tomatoes last.

I would always use this recipe until I started experimenting on my own. If you want a homemade tomatoe based chili recipe that is easy to make, PM me.

I was at a chili cookoff in college where a guy won it with canned chili and a few extra ingredients. I do not like the chili that usually wins. I like more than just chili flavor and meat.

don't forget the beans.

C'mon now! There ain't no beans in real Texas chili!!!
You can ask any REAL TEXAN!
Jus' Sayin'

Here's mine. Three lbs. of beef cut into sugar cube size. Brown in a little oil with 3 medium onions diced and 3-4 cloves of garlic diced. Add a can of diced tomotoes (15 oz.), 1 tbs. of ground coriander, 1 tbs. of black pepper, 1 tsp. of cumin, and a box of beef broth. If you want it hot, substitute a can of Rotel for the diced tomatoes. While all this is going on, boil 4 dried ancho chili peppers (minus seeds and stems) until soft, puree them in the water they were boiled in, and add this to the mix. Don't need salt as it is already in the beef broth. Don't need chili powder as the the ancho peppers are that. Cook all this for a couple of hours and add water to make it the consistency that you like. Put cheese, onions, fritos, etc. on top when eating. I like my beans on the side. It's good and my wife loves it - she grew up in San Antonio.

This is fantastic.

Chili Blanco

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-5 slices thick cut bacon
1 large white onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tsp dried oregano
32 oz. chicken broth
4 cups of Great Northern beans, about three 16 oz. cans (rinse if using canned beans)
1 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 small can diced green chilis, drained

shredded Monterey jack or Mexican blend cheese
fresh limes
chopped cilantro

Cook the chicken and shred, chop, or dice it. I dice it and then cook in a little olive oil.

Render the fat from the bacon and sauté until crispy around the edges. Remove from pan, leave 3 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan. Add the onion and some salt, sauté until they have a little color.

Add the garlic, cumin and oregano to the onions, sauté for a couple minutes over medium heat.

Add the chicken stock. Turn down the heat to a simmer.

Add the beans, the meaty parts of the bacon (strip off the cooked fat and give it to the dogs), the green chilis, and a touch of just the adobo sauce from the canned chipotles.

Add the chicken. Simmer for 2 hours or until you like it.

I usually add some powdered chipotle. You can add more adobo sauce for some heat.

Spoon into a bowl.

Squeeze some fresh lime juice on top, garnish with chopped cilantro and shredded cheese. You can also throw on some sliced avocado.

I"m going to share my "secret" recipe for genuine PERDENALES RIVER CHILI.

It comes straight from the 1971 10th Edition, Commemorative Edition, Fredericksburg Home Kitchen Cook Book that was issued on Fredericksburg's 125th Anniversary, that was put together by the Fredericksburg PTA. This cookbook is entered in the Library of Congress. Take a look at the name of the person who contributed this chili recipe at the end.

PERDENALES RIVER CHILI

4 pounds chili meat; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic; 1 teaspoon ground oregano; 1 teaspoon comino seed; 6 teaspoons chili powder, (more if needed - I normally use about 6 to 9 tablespoons - but I like my chili spicy); 1 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes; 2 to 6 generous dashes liquid hot pepper sauce; salt to taste; 2 cups water.

Place meat, onions, and garlic in large , heavy fry pan or dutch oven. Cook until light colored. Add oregano, comino seed, chili powder, tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, salt and hot water. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer about 1 hour. Skim off fat during cooking.

Contributor: MRS. LYNDON B. JOHNSON


PS: This is a simple, basic recipe that makes absolutely great chili. You just need to adjust the spices to your liking.

By the way if you are interested in some genuine old time recipes, german, hill country, etc., the original 1916 (yep- the first edition was put out in 1916) Fredericksburg Home Kitchen Cook Book is available in pdf format here. You can download to your computer and have all kinds of original old time recipes - many I have never heard of.

http://www.archive.org/details/fredericksburgho00ladi


Actually that archive.org website is kind of a neat place. I'm going to spend some time looking around in there on a cold winter day.

Here's a recipe I've had for so long I forget where it came from. It's always a big hit at gatherings and supposedly won several chili cook-offs back in the mid-70's. If you like it really hot you can add cayenne and/or jalapeno. As with most chili it's even better after it sit's overnight.

Ingredients

3 pounds beef chuck coursely ground
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 can beer
1 can rotel chiles and tomatoes
3-4 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoons black pepper coarsely ground
1 1/2 teaspoons monosodium glutamate or accent
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes ground
1/4 teaspoon sage ground
1/4 teaspoon oregano ground
1/4 teaspoon thyme ground
1/4 teaspoon coriander

Directions
Brown beef, onion and garlic in a large cast iron skillit/dutch oven.

Add all remaining ingredients, stirring well, cover and cook on medium low for 1-1/2 hrs.

Add more beer or some chicken/beef broth if chili gets to thick during cooking.

(This recipe can be done in a crock pot after the meat is browned and onions are sautéed.)

.

Here's some of my notes ~

http://theheartoftexas.blogspot.com/2011/01/texas-chili-from-scratch.html

The Bolner Family recipe looks good and a lot like the way I make it. Always use chuck roast or something similar cut up into sugar cube size pieces - not ground meat. Also, using the dried chili pods instead of all chili powder makes it taste great. I use 4-5 dried ancho chili peppers, without seeds or stems, boil them, then puree them in the boiling water and add to chili. This recipe works great with venison as well. I also brown a couple of chopped onions with the meat.