Texas Red chili - First try

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highergr0und

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Quite happy so far, letting it cool before eating. Nothing here but chunks of chuck, a mix of reconstituted and blended chiles, onion and a few spices.

Few questions for Texas chili experts though...

How much liquid is normal? Seems like a fair amount here but I'm used to making thick ground beef and bean stuff.

How thick should liquid be? I added some Masa harina to thicken a bit to where it coats a spoon nicely, not sure what the end goal is.
58588815ac5fa2977ea1beb7f4100f04.jpg


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Interesting. I just made my first ever pot of chili following a recipe from serious eats, and even though I halved the amount of liquid the recipe called for (based on comments on the recipe) it still seems pretty runny. It’s sitting in the fridge right now, so hopefully it’ll thicken up a little for dinner tonight.
 
Depends on how you like your chili. I've had bowls that were almost like soup and bowls that were basically just a bowl of meat. I like mine somewhere in between.
 
I make it thick enough for the spoon to stand up on its own, if too much liquid cook it with the top off the pot a while and it’ll thicken up, can also add a bit of tomato paste.
 
I'd just make up a batch of corn bread to pour it over. Or cook it some more uncovered to reduce the liquid.
 
Masa Harina is the go to for sure. Here are some thickeners I’ve used in my MSU Lab

Tablespoon of corn meal mix
Tablespoon of grits
One packet Instant grits
A roux of almond flour and bacon grease(most often)
Shredded flour tortillas
Shredded corn tortillas
Shredded coconut tortillas

My preference is to allow chili to slowly simmer and thicken. I try not to eat too many grains. There is a mesquite flour I’m wanting to try (flour comes from mesquite beans)Sometimes time tables get forked with. These hacks have helped bring it home on schedule.


Yours looks great.
 
Crunched up flour or corn tortilla chips will work also in a pinch

Larry
 
Forgot one- drop a Tamale in it.
 
I take a mild dried red chiles like California or new mexico and reconstitute them to make a thick paste kinda like tomato paste. Then use the paste as needed to thicken. I always start with the bare minimum liquids and add as i go. Once you add the chunks of beef, you have a small window before the chunks turn to shredded beef. Now you have shredded beef for taco's or enchilada's, its no longer Texas red.
 
The consistency you have there is perfect for me. I don't like thin and soupy. If you can spread it on a saltine.....too think. That is perfect. Another good thickener is instant mashed tater flakes.

I'm more for making the chile base from dry pods and add a bit of the powdered stuff just for flavor, but most times, I stay away from the powdered. Now, paprika is really good for color and dark earth tones in the flavor.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70988&highlight=Fire+pit+chili

I'd tear that up!

Bob
 
Last edited:
pharp said:
Would you be open to sharing the recipe...looks great!
Click to expand...

It's more or less the serious eats chili con carne, just everything halved. I used more masa than was called for, reduced the sauce more (well he doesn't really say how much to do so), smoked it on my traeger vs oven, and I ended up a little too salt forward so added some brown sugar to bring it back.
 
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