Unfortunately I don't have a ton to contribute to this thread as I just got into cooking chili a few months ago, but I'm wondering what others consider some of the best chili they make?
I just started making this recipe from All Recipes a few months ago, which is quite good:
The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World
I add extra onion, an additional jalapeno pepper, a dash of cayenne, garlic to taste, and I cook my own beans rather than using canned. As of yet I haven't found green chili peppers, so that hasn't made it's way into the recipe yet.
Over the past few years I used the above chili as a base, and kept iterating it. This is how it stands now:
Ingredients:
- 2 cans Crushed Tomato
- 1 can Diced Tomato (unseasoned or with herbs)
- 2 Bell Peppers
- 2 Jalapeno Peppers (3 for more spice)
- 5 to 10 Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers
- 2 Stalks of Celery
- 1 Medium or Large Onion
- 4 to 7 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 to 4 Cups of Beans (any variety)
- 1 lb ground or stewing, beef or chicken
- 1 can whole kernel corn (optional)
- 3 Roma Tomatoes (optional)
Seasoning (prepare in these quantities to make 1 batch of the mixture, only 1/3 to 1/2 cup for one batch of chili)
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika (use smoked paprika, if desired)
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
1) Chop Onion and Vegetables, Mince Cloves of Garlic
2) In a separate pan begin browning meat
3) In large pot begin cooking onion just under medium, cook until translucent
4) Add peppers, celery and cook them through
5) Cover pot and cook vegetables for 5 minutes on medium-low
6) With a few minutes left for vegetables stir in a quarter of the seasoning
6) Add meat/juices to vegetables
7) Add one can of tomato, 1/3 of the beans, another portion of seasoning, 1/3 garlic, stir
8) Repeat step 7 twice for following tomato cans/beans/chili/seasoning/garlic (the garlic will be poached in the chili rather than fried)
9) Heat chili through by bringing it to a bubble on medium high
10) Reduce heat to a few notches under medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for an hour
11) Add salt to taste
12) Dice Roma Tomatoes in large chunks and stir into chili with 15 - 20 minutes left (optional)
13) With five minutes left stir in Whole Kernel Corn (optional)