ThirdEye's Green Chili question

[bmarley5780]

Hey guys! My daugter and I are goin to be entering out first chili comp. this Saturday at harley davidson.

I've had my eye on ThirdEye's Green Chili for sometime now and I'm pretty sure we'll
give it a try this weekend…

Have some some questions tho:
-They are providing each team with 10 lbs. of ground beef. Has anyone tried the recipe with beef?
- anyone use a smoker instead of a oven?

Any other advise for some newbies?

[kyle corn]

I've never had or even seen green chili with beef. Personally, I'd just make a big pot of red. I don't think it'll taste bad, I just think that pork and green chili go so well together. Perhaps give it a shot this week on a much smaller scale and see what you think?

[Bigdog]

It has been my experience that green chili goes good with most everything.

[bover]

Green chiles on a hamburger are excellent, so it stands to reason that a green chili with beef could be pretty good.

[BobBrisket]

I've made green chili with beef many times. I prefer beef, but I'd recommend a stew meat cut vs. ground beef. More than anything for texture and appearance reasons and that it is leaner than most ground beef will be.

[Sledneck]

I've made thirdeyes chili any times . I made it with beef once. It didn't taste that different . Pork is more lean than beef so I did notice the fat more visually.

[Grillman]

Is it a "Chili" contest; or a "Green Chili" contest?
You may want to check the rules to be sure you make
the right kind of Chili. If it's open to anything, you should
be fine.

[captndan]

Green chili as a sauce contains no meat. If it's green chili con carne flank steak is often used.

[thirdeye]

Grillman makes a good point, is there a green category? or is it just a chili contest?

Obviously you need to use the provided meat, to keep all cooks equal with respect to that ingredient.... but is there any rule that says you can't use some pork as well?

I would agree that making my wife's Green Chili with all beef will work, in fact it's the overall flavor profile of the chilies and seasonings that provide your base.

I have tried cooking the pan of meat with seasonings on top in a smoker, and it does give you a different flavor, I don't know if I would call it better... and I'm not sure if I would risk using the smoke option in a contest. I would recommend NOT skipping roasting of the meat with seasonings on top, and if you can't do that in an oven, using your grill is a logical way to do this. A clean burning fire should work fine.

One other thing you need to consider is your regional popularity of green chili. In the west, southwest and the south it's common to see green chillies and green chili. As you go through the midwest and more eastern, it's not as popular. This could work as an advantage to you in a contest as it might really stand out, or it could be looked at the oddball in a group of red chili entries.

[bmarley5780]

Its a charity event ...

I'm hoping to the standout more then the oddball. I think it should work out fairly well . I have gas tube burner in my smoker so that should help as well.
And my firebox well well big enough to get a clean burning fire goin.

I plan to use the gas tourch tip to roast the peppers, I'll use any excuse to break that thing out

Another thing, I need to make 3 gallons of chili with 10 pds of meat. How does your recipe equate to that?

Sorry for the elementary questions, but I usually go about chili in the "whatever is in the frig" kinda mentality.

[Sledneck]

I wouldn't put it up against other reds .it tastes great but looks terrible. People eat with their eyes. I've tried it in an event , didn't work . Had two judges find me after and they said they loved it but couldn't get past the visual

[thirdeye]

Originally Posted by bmarley5780

Its a charity event ...

I'm hoping to the standout more then the oddball. I think it should work out fairly well . I have gas tube burner in my smoker so that should help as well.
And my firebox well well big enough to get a clean burning fire goin.

I plan to use the gas tourch tip to roast the peppers, I'll use any excuse to break that thing out

Another thing, I need to make 3 gallons of chili with 10 pds of meat. How does your recipe equate to that?

Sorry for the elementary questions, but I usually go about chili in the "whatever is in the frig" kinda mentality.

Boy, 3 gallons..... the best I can show you is this 18 quart Nesco which was a double batch. It's not filled to the brim and it's kind of hard to estimate the quantity. The one thing in your favor is when you fill the judges cups, you will be able to make sure the meat to liquid ratio is correct.



Sled has an excellent point about the appearance, and the fact it will be judged side-by-side with other entries, most of which will be reds. When there is a dedicated green category, they all look similar. Here is a photo of huevos rancheros, but it's a good example of the appearance the green chili.



It's the flour thickener than gives it the dull, gravy-like look. Here is some of my meatless green chile sauce, you can see it's a little brighter.

[Sledneck]

When is this contest? i will be in north carolina this sunday and monday/ love me some thirdeye green chili.

[bmarley5780]

This Saturday the 28th.

[bmarley5780]

Man, you guys got me thinkin to much! At first, I was all for the just have fun part, but now getting closer to Sat. the "i gotta win" mentality is kicking in... My 9 year old daughter even told my wife were goin to kick everyones butt! HA GREAT STUFF!

I want the booth themed after a character, so my daughter can make the them outta the blue foam sheathing at Lowes ..


Original plan was doing the green chili, and having our team name "Gumby's Chili Team". With us having the Gumby theme for our booth.
But there was the great point about one green against all reds would not be good odds.
Stick with that?

Or, Go with a red chili and have our name "Angry Birds" the Iphone wonder game?