Chilli

I find chipotle paste adds depth.

Chipotle chilli paste will give it a smoky, spicy depth

A good splash of worcester sauce too

Oxo cube in when browning the mince and onions. Dark chocolate at the finish.

Cumin seeds

To add to the above I also add some coffee, jist a teaspoon of instant.

Something smoky, preferably chipotle but a bit of paprika can work.  Always ground cumin but that should be a given. A teeny amount of cinnamon and a couple of cloves gives a subtle background note. And a pinch of MSG always helps.

I wouldn't have thought to add any of the above tbh save for the dark chocolate. Always good to get new ideas👌

We stopped using meat and replaced it with lentils when some veggie friends came to stay. We much preferred it, and now use lentils all the time! Out of choice!

Only big one that I can see that's not already mentioned is frying off some cubed chorizo with the beef.

Other stuff I add (mainly mentioned already); smoked paprika, worcester sauce, beer, chocolate, squeeze of ketchup and brown sauce, oregano

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-chili-recipe

This is a helpful site, explains the different chilis. I go with a mix of a few different ones, New Mexico, Ancho, Chipotle, toast them lightly first, then blend, usually with a few sun-dried toms too. I also use Ox cheek in there as it's nice any tasty when slow cooking

Bovril and Worcester Sauce.

Poor man's beef bouillon and anchovies.

Also, use kidney beans in chilli sauce rather than just normal kidney beans.

And I like to use one tin of kidney beans, one of chickpeas and one of baked beans, gives a nice selection of shapes and textures

Best quality mince you can get your hands on and really, really brown it. Not to the point of burning, obvs, but you want it really caramelised. It'll rehydrate as it slow cooks in the sauce and give you great texture and depth of flavour. Echo the sentiments on dark chocolate above (go 80% cocoa or more). Only other suggestion would be some good quality home-made stock (unless you can get a shop-bought one without all the salt that's usually added).

Have heard of others using cuts like shin of beef or brisket instead of mince. These would do a lot of the work of the aforementioned stock I'd guess.

Yeah, mince is  the least-best meat to cook it with, TBH. You really want a tough old stewing cut, like brisket, shin etc, and cook it in a slow cooker.

I'm an absolute carnivore, but if you can't get a decent bit of stewing steak and let it just fall apart, then kidney beans, white beans, brown beans, and quinoa. Smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, beef stock, and chipotle to taste as well. Slow cook for as long as you can stand it, but at least four hours.

Look up 'over the top chilli' on you tube - cook on a smoker/kettle bbq- awesome flavour

I also follow the serious eats recipe linked above (I have Kenji’s book with it in). It’s immense. I find even just following his instructions to make chilli paste (freeze in ice cube trays) and then using them in a generic chilli instead of spices makes a difference.

get the Hot smoked paprika for some zing. Let it gently bubble on the hob for a day, or in the oven, to allow the flavours to develop and gain some proper depth

I make a really strong birria sauce from ancho and guajillo chillies, onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled bell peppers, spice mix (usually cinnamon, cloves and coriander), cider vinegar, honey and the water I rehydrated the chillies in, then add it to a standard beef chilli to taste. The birria lasts a week or so in the fridge and it's also good underneath the cheese bit of cheese on toast.

Add some Naga chilli for depth.

Add the cream of sum Yung gi.

I am a simple man, I add smoked paprika, it makes everything taste better (ie, more like smoked paprika)

But chilli's a fun one, because no matter how badly you do it there'll always be someone for whom it's the best chilli the've ever tasted.

When I was growing up chilli was a regular staple, but with baked beans. I'd probably hate it now, but loved it as a kid!

A good splash of red wine when browning the beef and some tomato purée for richness. Some dark chocolate right at the end to finish. I put mushrooms in mine as well.

Bin the mince and use diced beef instead, cooked so it's tender and falls apart then add your beans etc.

Bin the mince get thee to a butchers and get spaull or back vein.

Mince has no place in chilli

You will need to use the slow cooker for 12-24 hrs mins but can't beat it

I slow cook a shoulder of pork all day in BBQ sauce then 'pull' it. I then fry off onions with lots of garlic then add the pork with a sachet of Old El Paso Chilli mix plus lots of chilli powder, turmeric, smoked paprika, lemon juice, Worcester Sauce then add the tinned tomatoes, and eventually kidney beans (with chilli sauce as mentioned above) and a load of sweetcorn. I usually end up adding a splash of whatever chilli sauce I have in the cupboard and other odds and ends. My wife likes hers quite spicy but I like mine hotter so I then add a couple of drops of 'Dave's Insanity Sauce' to mine.

I occasionally do it with mince (I just fry the raw mince with the onions and skip the slow cook phase).

Dried smoked chilli’s, anchovies & give it plenty of time at the start.

The problem with 'chilli-con-carne'...I presume that's what we are talking about here, when you say 'chilli' ?

...is if you use really cheap crappy mince meat as the base.

If you start with bad ingredients, your setting yourself up to fail before you even start.

I use diced venison for my chillis. The stronger flavour works really well, even after it's been marinading in a chilli paste overnight.

(Lower food miles and a sustainable meat too - eat chilli to save the planet!)

OK, let's all take a moment to un-ring this bell.

Chilli is not a dish, it's a chilli pepper. The clue is in the name.

I'm going to go out on a wing, and suggest the dish you are are thinking of is a combo of mince, tomato, with a teeny tiny bit of actual chilli in it?

Or as I would call it, spicy bolognese.

My secret ingredient is pedantry as well.

Anyone adding a little honey too ? Brings out the flavour a bit more. Especially in spicy Bolognese.

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A smoky whisky such as Laphroaig is a good addition. If using mince it gets browned in oven whilst preparing everything else.

If an individual’s opinion is that chilli is just spicy Bolognaise, their opinion can be quickly discounted and don’t accept any invitations to dinner at their’s.

Anyway… Chilli

Ground cumin and ground coriander we also go heavy-ish on bay, oregano and basil and a well heaped teaspoon of cocoa powder. Authentic, almost certainly not, rich and spicy yes.

Plenty of mild chilli powder is better than a small amount of hot in my experience.  It just seems to spread the flavour.

Chipotle or habanero sauce also good as a depth/heat additive.  We used to have a fairly ridiculous chocolate habanero sauce and just a half teaspoon added to a normal mix added a welcome depth and kick.

My recipe.  Note this is an intentionally mild base, I add actual chillies and/or pain to taste depending on target audience.  I've no idea about meat, I chuck a pack of Quorn mince in 15 minutes before the end.  I'll typically double up the quantities here and freeze half of it in individual portions.

--

2 onions, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

400g tin chopped tomatoes

400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

300ml stock

1/4 tsp cayenne

1tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp mild chilli

1/2 tsp coriander leaf

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tbsp Marmite

Pinch of salt

Chunk dark chocolate

Star anise (remove after 10 mins)

1 tsp mild chilli

I'm sorry but you can't call that a chilli dish, that's like, Nigel Farage levels of dissociation.

What you've cooked, is beans and tomatoes, with a bit of onion.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

What you’ve cooked, is beans and tomatoes, with a bit of onion.

Note this is an intentionally mild base, I add actual chillies and/or pain to taste depending on target audience.

Best quality mince you can get your hands on and really, really brown it.

If you can get kangaroo mince, give that a go. It's superb.

My recipe. Note this is an intentionally mild base, I add actual chillies and/or pain to taste depending on target audience

That's all stuff I'd regularly include in a chilli (maybe not the star anise) but did you put tsp where you mean tbs? It looks a bit under spiced to my jaded palate - I mean, what use is 1/2 tsp of coriander leaf in what looks like 2kg-ish of chilli. That's not even a garnish!

Remember, don’t overdo the Carolina Reapers… 😉🥵😱

 did you put tsp where you mean tbs? It looks a bit under spiced

Personal preference to an extent, I'm not a huge fan of coriander but I appreciate it adds a flavour note even in small amounts.  I didn't say but these are all dried herbs, using fresh yes I'd switch tbsp for tsp.

As I said, that's my baseline recipe, I build that first then tweak / iterate from there.  You can always add more stuff, it's harder to take it out.  It's easy to end up with one dominant flavour, eg smoked paprika is a key spice in many chillies but go in too large with it and you wind up with taco filling.

You should try the star anise, it really lifts it.  Just don't leave it in there for two hours!

.

Rarely have mince in our chilli now.

Much prefer adding a tin of Lidl's mixed taco beans and a tin of their kidney beans both of which have sauce.

use kidney beans in chilli sauce

use pinto beans or turtle beans. Kidney beans are OK, but not as good as pinto beans.

as for using kidney beans in chilli sauce, much better to make a delicious chilli sauce of your own imo.

1 tsp mild chilli

Why? the rest of the spicing/herbs looks good.

Most of a jar of chilli paste is a recently discovered thing, very good in vegan chilli sin carne. (Pendantry levels @Cougar can be proud of)

After decades of experimenting making my own (and a variety of Brit recipes and pseudo-Mexican chilis) I finally chanced upon what the Tex-Mex chef’s use! ie a good ready-made seasoning mix.  Flavour and depth has now improved tenfold! Wouldn’t do anything else.  You can’t (practically) purchase it in the UK  but you can easily make your own clone batch.  Here:

https://www.liveeatlearn.com/homemade-chili-seasoning-mix/

Some good reading there re the basics of a flavourful chili.  Lower down the page there is an (excellent) 10 min veggie chilli recipe (into which you can bung some meat if you must):

https://www.liveeatlearn.com/vegetarian-chili-recipe/

Thank me later!

PS, I can’t emphasise enough to use good quality ingredients when making the seasoning. Especially invest in quality smoked paprika.   I recommend El Avion brand and order it online.  Deep vivid red and smoky.  Nothing at all like basic supermarket rubbish.  Also use premium tin tomatoes (San Marzano etc)  or at least the Deluxe Lidl/Aldi ones. I most often also chuck in a few chopped fresh toms.

It may seem like a faff to get all the dried seasoning ingredients to make the mix, but once you’ve done it and stored in a masonry jar then a great and authentic chili/‘bowl o’ red’ is the easiest thing to have cooking on the stove in 10 minutes.

You can’t (practically) purchase it in the UK  but you can easily make your own clone batch.

I did this with fajita seasoning.  My fajitas were so popular with The Girl - they ask like every other week, "can we come for fajitas on Sunday?" - that I got bored of measuring out a 1/4tsp of this and a 1/2tsp of that, and made a big jar of the stuff.

Air fryer for scale:

I find smoked paprika adds a lovely flavour, the brand I like the most is La Chinata

I forgot to make clear, in the US, chili powder is a blend of spices, not one specific dried and ground chile.

So in order to make the chilli seasoning mix that I posted above, first make the chili powder that goes into that chili seasoning mix!  For the gods’ sake don’t be using tablespoons of extra hot powdered chiles! When making your own chili powder simply adjust the amount of cayenne (or  whatever dried hot pepper you use (I use bags of Asian supermarket ‘Rajah’ brand extra hot red chilli)  for heat/taste.  Authentic Tex Mex chili powder additionally calls for preparing your own from dried ancho chiles (and optional guajillo, chipotle etc)  but you don’t need to go!to such lengths

There are lots of US chili powder recipes online.  Here’s a basic one:

2 tablespoons paprika
½ tablespoon cumin
½ tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
¾ teaspoon cayenne (or any dried hot pepper)

@Cougar

Yes, masonry jars make everything better!  I’m always scanning marketplace and charity shops for more.  Nothing beats having not to fish out disintegrating/splitting plastic bags of long-gone-tasteless ingredients.  Cooking a curry used to make our kitchen and selves look like the Holi festival!

“Pass the turmeric?

(digs into tub for packet) Here!…(splitPOF!)”

”gargh!”

“mustard seeds?”

”Here…oh.  (spaf!) Now rolling under the fridge, wait… 😗”

RE chili non/con carne recipes, I found refried pinto beans make a great thickener if required. Gran Luchito (sp?) bags of it are handy.  Use a tablespoon or two to thicken, then turn the rest of the bag into a great refried bean dip using garlic powder, cumin powder, salt and soured cream or creme fraiche. Mix into tub and heat in microwave.

I mostly standardised on reusing Tesco spice jars.  They're a good size (they clear the drawer lip by a fraction of a millimetre) but the lids aren't quite as airtight as I'd like.

What goes best with chilli though.....?

Plain rice?

Chips?

Baked spud and cheese?

For me, chilli needs a good kick of actual chilli, not flipping Jalepenos. I like to add a couple of Scotch Bonnets'eses.

(Now I really fancy chilli and spud....)

What goes best with chilli though…..?

Plain rice?

Chips?

Half and half.  It's the English way. 😁

What goes best with chilli though…..?

Depends!

For me depends on weather, hunger and mood.

1. Decent plain corn chips (no Doritos nonsense), homemade refried bean dip, some cheese dip, home-made proper guacamole. (Sometimes will make cheesy nachos for ultimate scoffage)

or

2. Cheesy jacket spud and creme fresh.

or

3. Garlic bread and bowl of side salad with the chili in it’s own bowl.

or

4.  Steamed Basmati rice (since finding a microwave rice cooker this happens more often)

Drinks?

Chilled lager or a glass or three of bold red to match the strong flavours of the chili.

I stopped using mince and go for braising steak instead. Brown the heck out of it in a cast iron casserole dish, take it off the heat and chuck in a load of onions along with cumin seeds. Once the onions are cooked, add some stock and a load of whatever spices you're using.

Bang it in the oven for a couple of hours until the beef is semi tender. Take put all the meat and roughly shred it.

From there on, it's the same as normal chilli. Add the beans and a second helping of spices. Chipotle paste as already mentioned. A spoonful of marmite, some soy sauce and Worcester sauce. A tiny bit of fish sauce. No tomatoes. Back into the oven for 45 minutes or so. Don't go too mad with the stock. You don't want too much liquid.

What goes best with chilli though…..?

Plain rice?

Chips?

Baked spud and cheese?

Bread and butter - for dipping.

I like the chili to be runny, tomatoy and not too hot.

Ideal for dipping bread and butter into. And when its dried from the dipping, spoon on some onto the bread and eat it sandwich style.

Why are you all storing your spices in brick/stone jars ?

Are you all mixing up with Mason jars ?

To make it worse, I think I meant kilner jar…

Buy some dried Chipotle and Ancho chillies online or from your local mexican food vendor (we have a great one here in edinburgh). Soak a couple of those in hot water (not much) until soft and the water is kinda dark red. Chuck that in at the same time as your tomatoes.

Not gonna lie, MSG is also a weirdly delicious addition to chilli.

To make it worse, I think I meant kilner jar…

That's the name I was searching for.  I had Klein in my head, but that's those weird bottles with only one surface, like a Mobius strip.  Fun fact, one of the main manufacturers of those is former hacker Clifford Stoll.  I have his book here and it came with a flyer for them.

Anyway, you're right.  They're both brand names, Kilner is the clip-top, Mason is a screw-top where the middle disc and the screwy edge are two separate parts.  I think.