More chili nonsense....

KennyG

<p />Just another bitter cold day in Cleveland and yours truly was desparetely looking for some reason (any reason at all) to celebrate. [p]Since a Brown's postseason victory was not in the cards, I thought I would celebrate a Steeler's defeat with a pot of chili and a few roadpops. In my continuing quest for the perfect chile recipe, I found several interesting ideas I wanted to pass along:[p]From Cook's Illustrated - they recommend "Muir Glen" as having the best canned tomato products. I opted for their "fire roasted diced" for this cook instead of the distressed merchandise store "Fred's" brand ;>) that I generally use. [p]From Cooking Light - use a fruity Merlot instead of beef broth for more flavor - sounds good to me! Brown sugar was another suggestion. I chose brown sugar based Dizzy Dust general purpose to get all the additional spice goodies.[p]Other than that, this batch will include bacon, "chili grind" chuck and some leftover chorizo and hot italian turkey sausage.[p]Time will tell if it makes a difference. Being known for my loooooonnnnng chili cooks, I only have 9 hours until the wife gets home from work. I'd better hustle![p][p]

Unknown

KennyG,
sometimes I sneak a shot of Hershey's syrup into the kettle.

KennyG

shiek,[p]Great idea and no chocolate of any kind in the house - bummer. I'm off to the store.[p]Thanks![p]K~G

Nature Boy

KennyG,
What a great shot. Muir Glen does seem to taste better than the others.[p]Looks like a helluva meal. Perfect for this time of year!![p]At the beginning of the year, I predicted my second least favorite team...the iggles...would go all the way. Unfortunate, but looks like that is the deal. Sorry about your Browns. And Cornfed's Jets. And SongDog's 49ers. And my Skins.[p]Hey, what's that spice in the middle. Just behind the onion in the glass bottle?[p]Beers
Chris[p]

Fireball

shiek,
Why? What does the syrup add?
Fireball

KennyG

Nature Boy,[p]Thanks,[p]Cleveland sport fans have been trained to ignore pain hehe [p]That's "Spice Hunter" brand chili powder blend. Still a supermarket product but a definite cut above McCormicks.
On the extreme right of the same row is "Frontera" 3 chile adobo and spice rub from Mexico - good stuff![p]K~G

Nature Boy

KennyG,
I've seen that Frontera stuff. Sure is a nice label!
Have fun with the cook...and the smells...and the brews.
Chris

KennyG

Fireball,[p]Subtle amounts of chocolate and Cinnamon have long been the secret ingredients of Cincinnati chili, from such places as "Skyline", served on those micro-miniature hotdogs buried with cheese.[p]K~G

YB

KennyG,[p]Here is a picture of you cooking your special 24 hour chili.hehehe

[ul][li]KennyG's Famous 24 Hour Chili[/ul]

Dave's Not Here

KennyG,
Be careful with the cinnamon! A year or so ago (pre-Egg) I fixed some chili on the stove and the recipe included a cinnamon stick "for a couple of minutes". I left it in for an hour or so. The dog wouldn't even eat the stuff. It was horrible. Just remembered this experience, but it would have been appropriate in the thread last week about failures.

fiver29

KennyG,[p]We must be on the same page tonight my friend. I am just finishing up the Cooking Light recipe. It looked too good to pass up! Laurie had a big smile on her face earlier saying she had never tried chili made with wine. Ooohhh... smelled so good. I had a smile, too. Because someone couldn't let the rest of the wine go to waste. :-)[p]Tomorrow night's dinner. Chili always seems better on day 2. I have never tried cooking it on the egg, though. Any quick tips? I may try it that way next time.[p]John

KennyG

fiver29,[p]Yup, that was a good looking recipe in Cooking Light! I won't cook chili any other way than on the Egg - so much better than stove top. In an open container, the meat and beans will really pick the hardwood flavor. I generally use apple and hickory chips during the cook.[p]Since you mentioned that the chili was for tonight, try this just for grins if you have the time. Begin your reheating process on the Egg set for 275° with your favorite wood chips. Let it smoke about an hour and then bring it up to serving temps with a couple minutes in the microwave. You'll taste a difference.[p]One of these days, I'll invest in a cast iron crock pot for this purpose. I've been using Corningware deep casserole dishes for my cooks sitting on a pizza stone. I shoot for a finish temp of 190° which can take 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.[p]K~G

fiver29

KennyG,[p]Funny you should mention the cast iron crock. I bought one last night when I was at Wal-Mart for 12.96. They had them by the grills. Yes, they have their grills out already![p]Thanks for the info on reheating. I may throw it into the new crock and give it a try. And I have to admit .... I tried the chili before putting it away. Best darned chili I've made![p]John

KennyG

fiver29,[p]Seems to be plenty of good info exchanged today between us. I just reheated a small portion of last nites chili for my breakfast. Much better the second day!! The subtle chocolate and cinnamon perception was not there yesterday when fresh off Humpty. BTW, I knew you tasted the chili hehehe[p]On my way to Walmart after this post - thanks for the tip![p]K~G

RhumAndJerk

KennyG,
Unless it is Lodge Cast Iron, it is made in China.
Sometimes price is not everything.
RhumAndJerk

fiver29

RhumAndJerk,[p]What does that mean?

djm5x9

RhumAndJerk:[p]I believe there are two other American makers of cast iron cookware other than Lodge. One specializes in oversized cookware and the other (I think) is limited production. I think for general usage Lodge is hard to beat and a favorite of most cast iron aficionados. It is my favorite.

djm5x9

fiver29:[p]Some say that the China cast iron may be made of metals of questionable background . . . Junk yard metals with impurities. I am not a metallurgist so I do not know if the smelting process actually resolves this issue if there is truth to it.