The best chili recipes: 5 tips to cook excellent chili!

Chili is something metaphysical in the world of cooking. There are major competitions all over the United States, and believe me they can get really fierce. People take chili seriously! Chili is a very personal creation for the person who has created the dish. Lots of people can work their whole lives to perfect a chili recipe and that’s no joke. Just ask anyone who has ever competed in a chili cook-off. If you’re new to the chili world and want to get out of “the canned stuff,” welcome! Even if you are old at making chili, welcome! The tips here will do no harm and will only enhance your chili experience! Let’s get some tips!

Tip 1. What if your chili is too thick? What kind of chili is it? White Red? Beef? Chicken? If your chili is too thick, don’t use water to thin it out, that’s what everyone does. Use brother instead! The water will “kill” the hard work for the flavor of your chili creation. The broth adds the liquid you need, and unlike water, it also adds flavor and depth to your chili recipe!

Tip 2. What if your chili is too thin? You could add a little tomato paste to it as a way to thicken it up. Try it little by little until you achieve the consistency you are looking for! What if the tomato paste doesn’t thicken the chili like you want? So the next step is to try using something like cornstarch or cornmeal commonly called masa flour! You can also try using old school cornmeal. I like this myself. Corn flour gives a good texture. Some people I know in the southern US say just use good old fashioned instant mashed potatoes. Nothing bad! It works and adds texture too. Then it’s the calorie-free way to make it using arrowroot mixed with a little water then added to the chili and stirred. As you can see, there are many ways to thicken your chili. The choice is yours and you must experiment.

Tip 3. Most people I know who make chili at home just use plain, boring jalapenos every day. This is fine in most cases and they bring the “heat”. But the fact is, there is a world of different chili peppers out there. Anaheim, Poblano, Serrano, Santa Fe Chiles, Ancho Chiles, the very popular these days Chipotle in Adobo Sauce or Chipotle Powder, Cayenne, Tabascos, Thai Chili, Habanera and Scotch Bonnets. The list can go on and on from country to country. So why not try using more than one type of chili in your chili? Change the flavor, don’t settle for the mundane! Have fun!

Tip 4. First things first! Cook the meat! Whatever meat you are using needs to be cooked first. Brown the meat well before you need to add the liquids to the recipe. Browning the meat helps to keep the flavor of the meat. You don’t want the meat to get soggy from the liquids in the chili recipe. I prefer to brown my meat. That’s turning up the heat and putting the meat in the pan of my favorite skillet, the cast iron skillet, so it sizzles quickly, give it a little stir, and then turn the heat down. This is a classic searing technique that locks in the flavor of the meat.

Tip 5. The better the meat, the better the food! It is a fact that the better the quality of any meat or main component of a meal, the better the meal. Remember it’s quality over quantity! Just because you can get some cheap meats and get a lot of it doesn’t mean it’s quality meat and you’re going to get a quality meal. If you have to use a cheaper meat that is less tender, wait to cook your chili longer to tenderize it and consider using a meat tenderizer to help tenderize the cheaper cuts and cook the chili longer and you should be fine. . In the long run, if you can afford to get the best cuts, I always do that every day!