How to Make Chili
Chili is an all-American favorite--and one that lends itself to much interpretation. In fact, once you factor in the regional trends and personal tastes, there may be as many variations on how to make chili as there are people who make it. While most recipes use some combination of the same basic ingredients--meat, beans, peppers, tomatoes and spices--chili aficionados are particular about their tastes.Texas chili, for instance, contains no beans and rarely other vegetables beyond chili peppers. Vegetarian chili, on the other hand, relies heavily on beans, as it's obviously meatless. White chili uses great northern beans instead of kidneys or pintos, tends to be a little sweeter and is often served over spaghetti. Other varieties of chili use chunks of pork or other meats. And the list of ingredients that people add to their own recipes includes everything from sweet corn, bourbon and molasses to peanut butter, cocoa and pineapple--and virtually everything in between.
A basic chili recipe, such as this one, gives you the framework with which to develop your own personal take on this robust dish.
Transcript
-Hey everyone! I'm Judith with recipe.com. And today, I'm gonna
be showing you how to make chili, a beautiful stew
to spice up any party. So what you are gonna
need for this is 1 pound of ground beef. We
have 1 can of tomato sauce, which is 15 ounces.
We have 1 can of 14-1/2-ounce can of diced tomatoes.
We have 1 can of kidney beans, 15 ounces, undrained.
We have 2 to 3 teaspoons of chili powder. I've
got about 2-1/2 in them. We have a quarter cup
of chopped onions, 1 sweet greed red pepper which we
have chopped into small pieces. We have 4 cloves of
garlic, which we've minced; half a teaspoon of dried basil;
half a teaspoon of salt; and a quarter teaspoon of
ground black pepper. So, first thing's first. Put again our
large saucepan on to a medium heat and we're gonna
put it our ground beef, our onions, our garlic, and
our lovely colorful green pepper. So that's all gonna go
in there and we're gonna let that cook until the
beef gets nice and brown. So our beef is browned
nicely here and now it's time to add in the
rest of our ingredient. So, let us put in our
tomato sauce in here. In that goes. The diced tomatoes
too. Now, we've left all the sauce from the can
in there too as well as the kidney beans. They're
going in there. Now, if you don't have kidney beans,
you can also use pinto beans. They work great too.
I mean, there's so many variations to chili to be
honest. A lot of people add, you know, different herbs,
spices, a little bit more spiced than herbed and all
that, so you can really just play with it as
you like. So, we'll add in the dried basil, the
salt, and the pepper. And of course, let us not
forget our chili powder. So if you like it really
spicy, you can add more, but we've got about 2-1/2
here as I said. 2-1/2 teaspoons. That's going in there.
We'll give it a nice mix. Oh and all those
colors and flavors just look great. Alright, so now we're
gonna simmer that for 20 minutes with our lid on.
Well, our chili is done and thank goodness 'coz I
cant wait to try this. It smells great and it
looks even better. Let me give that a good stir.
Wow! All those flavors are coming out. Lovely, colorful, nice,
and thick. We'll put that in our bowl and this
is perfect. You serve that maybe with a bit of
sour cream. A little bit of cheese on top works
well too. You can serve it with rice, with corn
bread, with crackers, on a hotdog, you know. Your world's
your oyster, but that is how you make chili. Well,
thanks for watching everyone. For more great recipes and savings,
go to recipe.com.
What You'll Need
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, undrained
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
- Chopped onion (optional)
- Dairy sour cream (optional)
- Crushed red pepper (optional)
Step By Step
1
In a 3-quart saucepan cook and stir ground beef, sweet pepper, 1/2 cup chopped onion, and the garlic over medium heat until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat.
2
Stir in tomato sauce, undrained beans, undrained tomatoes, chili powder, salt, basil, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. To serve, ladle chili into bowls. If desired, top each serving with cheese, chopped onion, and/or sour cream and pass crushed red pepper. Makes 4 main-dish servings.
3
Chili for Two: Prepare as above, except divide all ingredients in half.
4
Cincinnati-Style Chili: Prepare as above, except omit sweet pepper, basil, and optional garnishes. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper with the tomato sauce. To serve, place 1/2 cup hot cooked spaghetti on each of 4 serving plates; make an indentation in center of each portion. Top each serving with some of the chili, 1 to 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese, 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped onion, and/or 1/4 cup additional kidney beans.
Looking for ideas for how to make chili in your own signature style? A good place to begin is by considering some substitutions--experiment with different types of beans or peppers, adjust the blend of seasonings and herbs, or add some unexpected nuances such as chopped or pureed sweet potatoes. Make your chili lean with ground turkey or chicken. Vegetarians might consider using tofu in place of the ground beef or foregoing the meat altogether.
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