2004-12-20

Codejack's really hot chili

From kuro5hin.org, a customizable and yummy chili recipe.

Let's start with some ingredients:
  • 1 lb. ground beef, 85-90% lean; Too much fat will make the chili greasy, while too little is bad, too.
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced; You can also use white onion, but under no circumstances should you use red or vidalia.
  • 1 can each light red kidney beans and dark red kidney beans.
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes; If you can find them with peppers and chiles, skip the next three items.
  • 2 habanero peppers, finely diced.
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced.
  • 3 green chiles, diced.
  • 1 can tomato paste.
  • 2 Tbsp chile powder.
  • 1 tsp salt.
  • 1 Tbsp pepper.
  • 2 cups (or more) water.
Combine beans, tomatoes, peppers, chiles, tomato paste, half the chile powder and water in a 3 qt. sauce pan. Stir, cover, and simmer on low/medium heat for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.

Cook beef over high heat until brown and drain. Add onion and return to heat. Cook until onion is just translucent and remove from heat. Lightly season with salt, pepper, and chile powder.

Add meat and onions to sauce pan, stir, and let simmer for 3-4 hours, adding water and stirring occasionally. About hour two, add the rest of the chile powder and pepper. For best results, remove from heat, let cool, and refrigerate overnight, then reheat the next day.

Now, this will not be the hottest chili in the world, but it's pretty hot, and I have found that if you get much spicier, it starts to interfere with flavor. If you want less spice, remove 1 each of the habanero and jalapeno peppers. If you want more spice, go find the dreaded Peruvian Death Pepper or the Aji Pinguita de Mono (literally "little monkey dick"), and add them. Compare the spices of different peppers and chiles on The Scoville Scale.
I tend to go a little on the less-spicy side, especially as my cast-iron stomach lining has deteriorated from my high-school days... just can't handle the heat anymore...

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