Components of Chili

June 17, 2009

I recently made chili for the first time, but instead of giving you the recipe, I’d like to discuss the components of chili to get a better understanding of what it is and how it’s made.

The recipe I followed was fairly simple (All-American Beef Chili from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook).  I’ve also looked at a few other recipes to see what’s common in each and how they differ.  My goal for the post is to get an understanding of chili so the next time I want to make it, without a recipe I can say, “I need ingredients A,B, and C (with various options for each) and need to do X, Y, and Z.”  Let me know if the post is interesting or helpful, since it’s a slightly different way of looking at foods/recipes.

Ingredients

I’ve categorized the chili ingredients into five basic…categories: vegetables, meat & beans, spices, tomatoes, and liquid.  Admittedly those are pretty general, and could apply to a number of different foods, so let’s take a closer look.

• Vegetables – The standard veggie in most chili is the onion, so I’d remember that one.  The second most common is the bell pepper, but outside of those two, there aren’t normally other veggies included (unless you’re talking fresh chilies, which I’m including in the spice section).  Still, I’d use what you have and/or what you like – tossing in a diced carrot won’t kill anyone (except perhaps a chili purist).
• Meat & Beans – You can use one or both – it’s up to you.  Really, the only requirement on the meat side is that it should probably be ground.  You can use beef, pork, turkey or chicken.  It’s kind of the same with beans – red kidney beans may be the most common, but nearly any will work, including pinto, black, and cannellini.
• Spices – Of course the most common is your chili powder, which can vary quite a bit by itself.  Next, you’ll frequently see cumin and oregano (according to Mark Bittman your chili can just use ground chilies, cumin and oregano – excluding regular chili powder).  Garlic is a big one too.  Those are probably the big four to remember.  Your always welcome, of course, to add fresh chilies if you have them.  Other various spices I saw included allspice, cloves, paprika, bay leaf, cayenne, and chipotle powder.
• Tomatoes – Tomatoes are often used to achieve the texture you want.  There is usually some sort of tomato sauce or purée, but once you have that feel free to improvise.  You can dice some whole tomatoes, or use canned crushed, stewed, or diced.  Just remember that tomatoes are for texture.
• Liquid – Not all chili will require a separate liquid – it is largely dependent on the tomatoes you use.  For example if you are using diced tomatoes packed in juice, the juice will provide much of the liquid you need.  If your chili is looking dry, however, feel free to toss in some water or various stock.

Cooking

Now that we have a basic idea of chili ingredients (vegetables, meat & beans, spices, tomatoes, and liquid), I’d like to discuss basic methods of preparation.

• First, make sure your beans are cooked.
• Next, you’ll probably want to brown the meat and sauté the vegetables.  You can also spice the meat or veggies now if you want.

• Finally, you’ll combine all your ingredients in a pot and simmer for a couple hours.

That’s about it – you have “five” ingredients, and “three” steps.  As a disclaimer, I haven’t tried this without a recipe yet, but I would imagine if you’re tasting along the way you could come up with a pretty good chili.

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