The best chili ever

The Detroit Free Press ^ | October 2, 2001 | SUSAN SELASKY

[Willie Green]

Making a great bowl of chili is a personal thing. Given its status as fall's greatest comfort food, that's the way it should be.

Several Free Press staffers, in fact, piped up about their chili preferences after sampling this week's recipes. One boasted that his is the best, bar none. He turned coy, though, when quizzed why, offering only that he uses six kinds of meat and lets it simmer all day.

[TheRightGuy]

I grow my own hot peppers (4 kinds this year: habanero, jalapeno, cherry, thai dragon).

I grew thai dragons for the first time this year and have been pleasantly surprised by their initial sharp "snap" and lasting heat. Got several hundred from only three plants (miracle grow). Roasted some, froze some, and am using up the last of the fresh ones in today's batch of chili. Do you have any idea of the scoville rating on these?

[MikeO]

I like the "After Death" blend myself.

And you are right - you measure that stuff out in DROPS!

[Wm Bach]

Boston Chilli

Take some ground beef, "gray" it up on a big skillet.
Dump some B&M beans on it and mix it up.
Add some Chilli powder and maybe, if you have a lot of time, even some chopped up onions and bacon for that "exotic" flavour.

[Wm Bach]

Please! Somebody...stop me before I cook again!!!

[-YYZ-]

Everyone who loves hot stuff owes it to themselves to try out Huy Fong's Tuong Ot Sriracha.

That stuff's great. My favorite Vietnamese restaurant has it on the table and it's great with spring rolls, goi cuon, and the meat in a bowl of pho (soup). I liked it so much that I bought a bottle for home; I use it on all kinds of things, like sausages on a bun.

I realize now why I never cared much for my father's chili (sorry, Dad) - it was full of tons of kidney beans and huge chunks of stewed tomatoes, celery and mushrooms. I don't think I've ever had a real tex-mex style chili, but I'm sure I'd love it.

[Mr. K]

EVERY ONE OF THESE RECIPES WOULD BE IMPROVED BY ROMOVING SOME OF THE LIQUID AND SUBSTITUING A QUART (AT LEAST) OF A GOOD STRONG BEER (AND I MEAN A FULL_BODIED ONE)

[Leper Messiah]

Chili bump.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I love Skyline 5 way chili. Who would have guess that it was the chocolate and cinnamon that made it so delicious.

[LibWhacker]

Yea! A chili thread, my favorite! . . . But . . . no fair, Willie! . . . I'm trying to do my taxes and can't be foolin' around on FreeRepublic right now reading chili threads! :-)

But here are some of my favorite links anyway: :-)

Old FR Chili Thread #1 (The Chili Contest)
Old FR Chili Thread #2 (Thermonuclear Texas Chili recipie)
PepperFool Chili Recipes (many award winners)
ChileHeads Chili Recipe Database
Wallen's Contributed Chili Recipes
El Cid's Chili (national award winner!)
Foodtv.com...Emeril, Sarah Moulton, Bobby Flay, etc...Just search on 'chili' or 'chile'
AllRecipes.com....just search for chili
rec.foods recipes online (massive recipe database, 200,000 recipes...a crapshoot)
RecipeSource, formerly SOAR (another massive recipe database)>

Back to taxes. :-(

[Wm Bach]

Tomatoes in your chilli? Hot tomatoes for a hot tomato.

[Corporate Law]

Where is Camptown Chili? Is that the same as Camp Washington?

[TXBubba]

Yes, it is still there. We ate there last year.

[Brookhaven]

Chili's OK, but I'd take a bowl of brunswick stew over chili anyday.

[the_doc]

Thanks for the recipes.

(Ah, but I have to confess that most of us Texans don't recognize the Nevada cook-off. Our championships are held in Terlingua, Texas, a ghost town near the Rio Grande in the Big Bend country.)

[GOPJ]

My best friend is a Crockett from Canada. Great Country.

You'll like the "dark dove" taste. Really, try it.

[small voice in the wilderness]

Ah! Viva Terlingua! Jerry Jeff Walker and Sangria Wine. Two of my favorite things!

[ThePoetsRaven]

Martha Stewart's Chili Chop all them things Brown all that meat Cook all damn day Be too tired to eat it. My Way Open a can of Old El Paso...enjoy.