Paleo Musings Chili page

[curlygirl]

Wanna rock some chipotle chili this weekend?

[pjgh]

Sound recipe, that!

My old tried and tested Chilli Con Carne was a pound of beef mince, one onion, one can of tomato, one can of red kidney beans and then the chillies.

Since refining my diet to ancestral eating, I follow much the same recipe, but the meat is more like a couple of pounds and the colour is brought in with peppers, even aubergine "beans".

I've read all sorts about "spice dumps", but in the end, I like cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika and some celery salt as the main dump, initially. I add fresh chillies - Scotch Bonnet pepper, usually. I also add oregano. And, my secret ingredient: paleo chocolate - just a cube. This brings a real subtle background flavour which just rounds everything else out.

Leftovers ... omelette for breakfast, or a Cowboy Soup for dinner.

Again, sound recipe - how did you eat it? Over cauli rice? In lettuce wraps? I hope there was an avocado accompanying somewhere ...

[curlygirl]

Sound recipe, that!

My old tried and tested Chilli Con Carne was a pound of beef mince, one onion, one can of tomato, one can of red kidney beans and then the chillies.

Since refining my diet to ancestral eating, I follow much the same recipe, but the meat is more like a couple of pounds and the colour is brought in with peppers, even aubergine "beans".

I've read all sorts about "spice dumps", but in the end, I like cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika and some celery salt as the main dump, initially. I add fresh chillies - Scotch Bonnet pepper, usually. I also add oregano. And, my secret ingredient: paleo chocolate - just a cube. This brings a real subtle background flavour which just rounds everything else out.

Leftovers ... omelette for breakfast, or a Cowboy Soup for dinner.

Again, sound recipe - how did you eat it? Over cauli rice? In lettuce wraps? I hope there was an avocado accompanying somewhere ...

Really - chocolate? Your chili sounds really good! I have a chocolate chili recipe from WELL FED, but have not tried it. I've put coffee in chili before but not chocolate. Tell me more? Can you taste the chocolate flavor or does it bring out/deepen the other flavors?

We eat our chili straight sometimes or avocado on the side, or even over spaghetti squash or I especially like it over a sweet potato

[lil_earthmomma]

I luuuuurve avocado slices on top of chili. Mmmmmm!

My secret ingredient is parmesan rind. I throw the rinds into the freezer when the cheese has been finished, and chuck it into the pot while the chili simmers. It rocks! Damn, now I want chili!!!

[pjgh]

You don't taste the chocolate - it's just there to deepen the background and kind of deepen all the high and low notes. I make my chocolate up from cocoa powder and coconut oil, kept in the freezer to keep it stable - it's a high percent chocolate, I guess, and a lot cheaper than bought "high percentage" chocolate.

We have a Chilli every Friday night, usually with guac, Greek-style yoghurt, some kind of salsa and huge cos lettuce wraps. Love it! Never get bored of it.

[curlygirl]

You don't taste the chocolate - it's just there to deepen the background and kind of deepen all the high and low notes. I make my chocolate up from cocoa powder and coconut oil, kept in the freezer to keep it stable - it's a high percent chocolate, I guess, and a lot cheaper than bought "high percentage" chocolate.

We have a Chilli every Friday night, usually with guac, Greek-style yoghurt, some kind of salsa and huge cos lettuce wraps. Love it! Never get bored of it.

Oh - making your own chocolate and keeping it in the freezer is a great idea! Do you do it in ice cube trays or...? How much chocolate would you add for a 5 or 6 qt pot?

We do paleo pizza every Friday. Seems like we do chili about every 3rd week, but we all miss it. Needs to be more often I think!

[curlygirl]

Oh - just saw your link to your blog entry. You already covered it there. Thanks!

[yodiewan]

I made this recipe today:
The Food Lab: Real Texas Chili Con Carne | Serious Eats

I used some tapioca starch in place of the corn flour. It didn't seem to thicken it much, but it was still delicious. A touch of chocolate, like you guys have been talking about, would go well with this recipe in my opinion.

[pjgh]

Funnily enough, tonight were NOT having Chilli - I'll be doing some Fish Tacos (Gem Lettuce for the "shells").

Anyway, next time I make Chilli, I'll do it your way ... so, a few questions:

1. Small can of mushrooms - I guess these are button mushrooms. Fresh ones will suffice, I'm sure, but just wanted to know are they chopped or dropped in whole?

2. Can of tomato paste - is this thick, like I'd call "Tomato Puree" here in the UK, or sloppy, like I'd call "Passatta" ... or even a slurry, like I'd call "Chopped Tomato"? I usually puree the onion, garlic, ginger and tomato.

3. Sausages - are these cooked in whole, or skinned and in there as just the meat? That'd be a pork and beef Chilli.

I'm really looking forward to this - it'll make a really fun change from my usual.

Oh - just saw your link to your blog entry. You already covered it there. Thanks!

Yeah, kept in a ramekin, which if scalded out with boiling water first and dried with a piece of kitchen towel provides the perfect non-stick. After the choccy is poured in and it chills, it shrinks, so inverting, it will just drop out with a gentle tap.

Cutting is hard and you do need a sharp knife. Keep your fingers out of the way!

To answer the other question, I use about an inch square cube per couple of pounds of meat.

[curlygirl]

Funnily enough, tonight were NOT having Chilli - I'll be doing some Fish Tacos (Gem Lettuce for the "shells").

Anyway, next time I make Chilli, I'll do it your way ... so, a few questions:

1. Small can of mushrooms - I guess these are button mushrooms. Fresh ones will suffice, I'm sure, but just wanted to know are they chopped or dropped in whole?

2. Can of tomato paste - is this thick, like I'd call "Tomato Puree" here in the UK, or sloppy, like I'd call "Passatta" ... or even a slurry, like I'd call "Chopped Tomato"? I usually puree the onion, garlic, ginger and tomato.

3. Sausages - are these cooked in whole, or skinned and in there as just the meat? That'd be a pork and beef Chilli.

I'm really looking forward to this - it'll make a really fun change from my usual.



Yeah, kept in a ramekin, which if scalded out with boiling water first and dried with a piece of kitchen towel provides the perfect non-stick. After the choccy is poured in and it chills, it shrinks, so inverting, it will just drop out with a gentle tap.

Cutting is hard and you do need a sharp knife. Keep your fingers out of the way!

To answer the other question, I use about an inch square cube per couple of pounds of meat.

Sounds good. Thanks!

Your questions: mushrooms: sliced, tomato paste is much thicker than a sauce and comes in 6oz cans around here. You can put it on a spoon and turn it upside down without it really falling off - at least not without a big clump. The ingredients list should read something like: tomatoes, citric acid. The sausages were hot and spicy big sausages like kilbasa - in a casing. Ours are about 1/4 lb per sausage/kilbasa link. This is a picture of a similar sausage. Not skinned, just sliced. The ones we use are very spicy and add a lot of flavor and spice to the chili.