How to Perfect Your Chili

The amount of chili recipes on the Internet are almost endless. When you search "chili recipe" on Google there are 9,480,000 results. There are so many different ways chili can be prepared that there are chili cook-offs across the United States. People flock to get a taste of all the different chilis and crown the winner of the best chili. But what exactly is the best chili? This question is subjective based on the person tasting the chili. People have very different tastes and chili can be made in so many different ways. Why are there so many variants on such a simple dish? This is mostly due to the amount of ingredients that go into chili, and the different flavors you can derive from those ingredients. The best chili ever to one person could be a mediocre chili to another. For example, someone who doesn't like beans will likely hate a really good chili that has a lot of beans in it. Each and every chili is up for interpretation of the taster. Let's dissect the various components of chili.

There is a basic equation to make a chili, but first lets talk about what chili is. Chili is a braised dish. What does braised mean? According to the dictionary braise means to cook by sautéing in fat and then simmering slowly in very little liquid. So that doesn't exactly describe chili, but it is close enough.  At it's very core, chili is a tomato based braise with southwestern spices, beans, and vegetables. Sounds easy enough right? Well not really. There are so many questions that can be asked while you are making chili. What kind of meat should be used? What kind of beans should be used? Which spices should be used? These questions could fill a novel in regards to chili. However, that is the beauty of chili, it is up for interpretation. Anyone can take this basic dish and do whatever they please with it. 

The meat is an important aspect to chili, unless of course you're a vegetarian. Like almost all ingredients in chili there are a variety of meats that can go in a chili. The traditional method uses beef, whether it be ground beef, chuck roast, or short ribs. There are also chili recipes that call for chicken. For now we will be focusing on a traditional recipe. According to Seriouseats.com, bone in short ribs makes for the best chili. The bone could be used to add extra flavor and body according to the same article. The downside to this strategy is the expense. The national average cost for short rib last week was $5.12/lb, compared to ground beef (80/20) which was $3.79/lb. If you're trying to make a more economical chili then stick with the ground beef and save a few bucks. If you do have the budget, then go ahead and spoil yourself. If you are a vegetarian just go ahead and skip the meat you can compensate for it by adding more beans, which we'll talk about next. 

Now that we've got some meat in our chili how about we add some beans. Much like the meat beans can of course be excluded from your chili if you so choose. If I am being honest I have never used dry beans or made dry beans in general. Mostly because they are a pain and could even be dangerous. Undercooked beans could cause some serious food poisoning, plus canned beans work perfectly for your chili. There are a ton of options for beans in your chili. Kidney beans are the obvious first choice. You pretty much can't go wrong when it comes to this portion. Put whatever beans you like to eat. Pinto beans and black beans are also great additions to any chili. I would even try some baked beans to add some extra sweetness to your chili. Sweetness is essential because it removes a lot of acidity from the tomatoes. The key to good beans is to ensure that they maintain their integrity in the chili. You don't want a bunch of busted up beans in your chili. You can also add any variety of beans together. This is especially useful if you're a vegetarian. Make a 3-bean, or even a 5-bean chili. 

A chili really isn't a chili until you add the proper seasoning. Now you could add just another chili mix that you bought from the store or you could add your own seasoning and switch things up a bit. This may take the most experimenting, due to the fact that it depends on your taste. You may want to add more heat to your chili or you may want a smokier flavor. This is ultimately up to you. You could also add some brown sugar to sweeten up your chili. Check out various recipes and test out what best fits your tastes. Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. It is pretty hard to really ruin your chili unless you add to much heat to handle, so make sure you constantly tasting your chili. 

There are a couple more additives that you may want to add. There are chilis made with cola, hot sauce, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and more. Again these are all ingredients that you'll want to experiment with. I recommend Googling some recipes from chili competitions. These recipes are some of the most creative recipes. You're bound to make an awesome chili with these recipes. I love adding some Tabasco to add some heat to my chili. 

So the keys to a really great chili are the right meat, the right beans, perfect spices, and getting to know what you like. Remember that there is no such thing as a perfect chili. Keep trying different recipes and adding your own twists until you find the chili that you love. There are so many good chili recipes, feel free to step outside of your comfort and experiment with your chili. So now that you have some different ideas for how to create the perfect chili go ahead and find those recipes. 
page counter