Chili Process

Black Shack Chili

Directions

There are three phases:

  1. meat/spice/beer phase, 1/2 hr 

  2. tomato phase, 1-2 hours

  3. grand finale bean/cheese phase, last 15 minutes

1 + 2 + 3 = 🤤

meat/spice/beer phase

  • chop meat and put ALL meat in a large cooking pot

  • begin to brown meat under fairly high heat

  • (if there is a lot of fat, I pour it out when it's there to pour, but with lean meat, I skip this as there isn't enough to bother)

  • add one bottle of beer (if I know I'm not de-fatting, I do this early)

  • brown meat in beer broth until the meat is brown

  • swig beer

  • add more beer if needed, so there is enough that the beer is boiling

  • finish beer#2

  • stir, add onion, garlic, and all peppers and spices, and do not stir, let sit for 5 minutes on top of bubbling beer/meat

  • as to how much of each spice to add, I don't measure so...

  • a lot of chili powder, basically pour enough to cover the ingredients well, at least several tablespoons; the problem will be not adding enough; pour freely

  • as to cumin, about 1/3 of however much chili powder, you added

  • salt, not much, to your preferences

  • white and black pepper, a couple of tablespoons each, more white than black

  • paprika a little less than the black/white peppers

  • red pepper depends on its heat, go light for now

the above spice amounts are only the base; we'll add more later to tweak, so don't worry too much, but do remember that once the heat is in, you can't take it out

the goal is to get the beer flavor into the meat and to let the spices melt without stirring for about 5 minutes; if the temp is correct, the meat in the beer will not burn at all, and the chili powder will turn into a blackish goo :) mmmm, that's good

this completes phase one, the house starts to smell so damn good; it is critical to flavor that tomato products not be added until this is complete

tomato phase

  • turn the heat down a bit, but still hotter than a low simmer, we want to be 'reducing' the chili down as it sits, just hot enough to not burn with regular stirring

  • add tomato paste

  • add salsa

  • add some crushed tomato (optional, used to balance the ratio of meats to tomato)

  • stir regularly 

  • get an official tasting spoon handy

  • 5 minutes after the above is well stirred we begin tasting/spice adjustment during this phase, this is where we perfect the proportions and the heat

  • the 'flat' or 'old shoe' flavor comes from cumin, it’s critical

  • the heat should be adjusted with red pepper

  • i usually add more chili powder here, gradually, sometimes a lot

  • i virtually never adjust salt, other peppers, onion, garlic

  • adjust, stir, wait 5 minutes, taste, and repeat

cook chili for a minimum of one hour here, up to as long as you'd like, I try for a minimum of 1.5 hours, by the end of this time, it should taste good :)

rescue note: too much chili and cumin will result in too bitter, too flat of a taste, rescue with a touch of sugar or splenda

grand finale bean/cheese phase

  • 15 minutes before eating time add cheese and beans and stir

  • simmer on low for 15 additional minutes

  • eat

etc.

19th-century Spanish priests warned people that chili peppers inspired passion and were an aphrodisiac.

Research has shown that the brain releases endorphins when one's mouth and sinuses are set aflame by a chili overdose.

Endorphins are painkillers that are a part of the body's self-defense mechanism. Aside from soothing the burning sensation caused by chilies, endorphins cause a "natural high."

Five centuries ago the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas applied ground chili peppers mixed with milk, to reduce external swelling.

Folks in Cincinnati prepare chili with a sprinkling of chocolate and serve it on macaroni.

What are those Bugs in my cayenne? Red Flour Beetles, that's what they are!

Believing he had found an exotic form of black pepper, Columbus took chile back with him to Spain and told the Europeans it was "the world's finest pepper."

Not pepper, Chris. Chile.

Mammals, including spice-loving humans, apparently feel the zing of chile because they are sensitive to a specific molecular interaction, biologists have found. Birds, meanwhile, will gobble up hot peppers with no apparent pain.