What Do You Put In Your Chili?

[Simon_X]

OK,

Cold weekend coming up. Chili sounds real good. We’re talking about what strange ingredients everyone adds to there chili recipes.
I said my wife adds chocolate syrup to hers, somebody mentioned a pungent cheese, and somebody else mentioned rum.

Anyone have any other secret ingredients to a good chili?

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[happymommy]

OK,

Cold weekend coming up. Chili sounds real good. We’re talking about what strange ingredients everyone adds to there chili recipes.
I said my wife adds chocolate syrup to hers, somebody mentioned a pungent cheese, and somebody else mentioned rum.

Anyone have any other secret ingredients to a good chili?

---

Sorry, mine’s just plain old chili, no stinky cheese allowed! But feel free to drink all the rum you would like:thumbsup: Or chocolate milk, I have never heard of anyone adding chocolate syrup to chili. Does it taste as weird as it sounds?

 

[samcarter14]

I’ve heard of adding unsweetened baking chocolate to chili (like 2 oz); it supposedly adds a deeper flavor. I’ve never heard of chocolate syrup, though, yuck!

We had chili con carne a lot growing up. The old fashioned Betty Crocker recipe–onions, beef, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, and chili powder. Yum. Served with buttered crackers.

But my DH doesn’t like spicy food. At. All. So I do not make chili.

 

[happymommy]

I’ve heard of adding unsweetened baking chocolate to chili (like 2 oz); it supposedly adds a deeper flavor. I’ve never heard of chocolate syrup, though, yuck!

We had chili con carne a lot growing up. The old fashioned Betty Crocker recipe–onions, beef, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, and chili powder. Yum. Served with buttered crackers.

But my DH doesn’t like spicy food. At. All. So I do not make chili.

You should make it for yourself and freeze it!!

 

[BlestOne]

You should make it for yourself and freeze it!!

Just a little warning about freezing… I tried it once in a gallon size bag… when I thawed it the beans turned to mush in the microwave… then I tried thawing in hot water… thought it would be good to put it in a pot of water and turn the burner on low to speed things up… don’t do it! The plastic melts. So what I do now is cook the meat, onions, chili powder, tomatoes, etc… everything except the beans and freeze it… in a solid container smaller than my pot… for thawing I just put it in my pot and then I add the beans and heat it up.

 

[redtech]

I’ve got to say that I love a meaty chili with little or NO beans.

Also I finally tried cincinnatti style chili a few months back from a true cincinattian and all I have to say is YUCK! Sorry! I heard they have cocoa powder in theirs. shudder To coin a phrase from the Quiet Man “When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey, and when I drink water, I drink water” so “When I eat chili, I eat chili, and when I eat chocolate, I eat Hershey’s”

I don’t like anything strange in mine except occasionally a little cheese. I like it BOLD, I like it HOT, and I likes it spiceeee!

 

[happymommy]

Just a little warning about freezing… I tried it once in a gallon size bag… when I thawed it the beans turned to mush in the microwave… then I tried thawing in hot water… thought it would be good to put it in a pot of water and turn the burner on low to speed things up… don’t do it! The plastic melts. So what I do now is cook the meat, onions, chili powder, tomatoes, etc… everything except the beans and freeze it… in a solid container smaller than my pot… for thawing I just put it in my pot and then I add the beans and heat it up.

wow, I freeze it every time I make it and I’ve never had that happen. I freeze it in plastic containers, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Also, I take it out and let it defrost in the frig.

 

[petitfleur]

I went to a chilli cook off last year and the winning chilli had HOT DOGS in it. Hot dogs dont belong in chilli:nope: .
My DH doest care much for chilli either .

 

[happymommy]

I went to a chilli cook off last year and the winning chilli had HOT DOGS in it. Hot dogs dont belong in chilli:nope: .
My DH doest care much for chilli either .

I don’t think I would like that. A friend of ours has to have a slice of bread with peanut butter on it with his chili, that doesn’t sound so good to me either!!

 

[redtech]

I don’t think I would like that. A friend of ours has to have a slice of bread with peanut butter on it with his chili, that doesn’t sound so good to me either!!

I’ve heard people swear by this. I’ve never tried it though. They claim I’m missing out. The peanut butter, not the hot dogs.

 

[happymommy]

I’ve heard people swear by this. I’ve never tried it though. They claim I’m missing out. The peanut butter, not the hot dogs.

I think I’ll take my chances on missing out on it:shrug: I do like corn bread with mine!!

 

[armywife]

My chili is pretty generic, but since some of you were talking about what you have *with *it I had to post.

I love cinnamon rolls with my chili. I think it stems from when I was little. Our cook in grade school (back when everything was actually cooked and not just heated) Tillie, the school cook made “Tillie’s chili and cinnamon rolls”. It was the lunch everyone looked forward to. Yummy!!

 

[Simon_X]

Sorry, mine’s just plain old chili, no stinky cheese allowed! But feel free to drink all the rum you would like:thumbsup: Or chocolate milk, I have never heard of anyone adding chocolate syrup to chili. Does it taste as weird as it sounds?

Like SamCarter mentioned, the chocolate gives it kind of a deeper flavor…You dont put in a lot, but enough to kind of off set the chili powder…sounds weird, but you don’t even recoginize the taste of it…we make a pretty traditional chili…

I like it HOT!!!

 

[Simon_X]

My chili is pretty generic, but since some of you were talking about what you have *with *it I had to post.

I love cinnamon rolls with my chili. I think it stems from when I was little. Our cook in grade school (back when everything was actually cooked and not just heated) Tillie, the school cook made “Tillie’s chili and cinnamon rolls”. It was the lunch everyone looked forward to. Yummy!!

We make Corn Bread as a side, but yours sounds interesting…

 

[happymommy]

Like SamCarter mentioned, the chocolate gives it kind of a deeper flavor…You dont put in a lot, but enough to kind of off set the chili powder…sounds weird, but you don’t even recoginize the taste of it…we make a pretty traditional chili…

I like it HOT!!!

I’ve heard of people adding chili powder to chocolate things before, like hot chocolate and candy. But I had never heard of chocolate syrup in chili before.
I can’t handle anything too hot, I love it, but it doesn’t like me so much It’s not worth it, plus our kids like chili so I have to keep it toned down a little for them too.

We always have corn bread when I make chili, but I love cinnamon rolls. Man, I’m getting hungry!

 

[Simon_X]

I’ve heard of people adding chili powder to chocolate things before, like hot chocolate and candy. But I had never heard of chocolate syrup in chili before.
I can’t handle anything too hot, I love it, but it doesn’t like me so much It’s not worth it, plus our kids like chili so I have to keep it toned down a little for them too.

We always have corn bread when I make chili, but I love cinnamon rolls. Man, I’m getting hungry!

Our kids not real big on too hot chili, that’s why I keep a bottle of Red Devil (can I say that on a Catholic website) on the table.

 

[basilisk]

I went to a chilli cook off last year and the winning chilli had HOT DOGS in it. Hot dogs dont belong in chilli:nope: .
My DH doest care much for chilli either .

I can fairly guarantee that cook off wasn’t in Texas… I think they would horse-whip you there if you dared to enter chili like that in a contest!

A small amount of cocoa powder makes sense to me. Chocolate syrup? Eeeeewwww… I think I can hear Tex crackin’ his whip again!

I don’t put anything wierd in mine. I like tomatoey chili, and I found a great crock pot recipe that satisfies that taste. I didn’t think it had enough beans it in though, so I doubled them, and it was great. Plus, more filling, lots of fiber, meaning the chili stretches further than without beans or with fewer. It uses stew meat, too, instead of ground beef, so it tastes richer. Sometimes I use beef, sometimes I use pork, depending on what is on sale. Each tastes a bit different, of course, so it depends on mood too. We sometimes put shredded cheese on top, and if we have it, sour cream. We learned that at Lindy’s in Chicago. But it’s good all by itself. Fresh cornbread is practically the *de rigeur *side, when I make it, too.

Spicy food is required at our house at least a few times a month, to keep my DH from losing his mind. He loves good, hot Mexican food, and when he was stationed in Korea, he got all kinds of addicted to their food. He sees kimchee at the store and his eyes light up.

This it totally unrelated to chili, but it’s something else you can do with cocoa powder. My DH sprinkles a tablespoon or so in our coffee grounds before brewing sometimes. It tastes really smooth and rich when he does that. I put lots of sugar and milk in my coffee, and it still doesn’t taste “chocolatey” but it sure does taste good. And it’s nice to have a change now and then. We put cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the grounds sometimes, too.

 

[ejlo1]

I’ve got to say that I love a meaty chili with little or NO beans.

Also I finally tried cincinnatti style chili a few months back from a true cincinattian and all I have to say is YUCK! Sorry! I heard they have cocoa powder in theirs. shudder To coin a phrase from the Quiet Man “When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey, and when I drink water, I drink water” so “When I eat chili, I eat chili, and when I eat chocolate, I eat Hershey’s”

I don’t like anything strange in mine except occasionally a little cheese. I like it BOLD, I like it HOT, and I likes it spiceeee!

What can I say? It’s an acquired taste. Both my parents grew up in Cincinnati and Cincinnati-style- chili is a staple in their house. My mom was pregnant with my brother when they built a Skyline Chili parlor 15 minutes away from their home in south Florida. She got so excited she could finally satisfy her midnight cravings for a cheese coney! (a small, special hot dog on a bun, covered in chili, mustard, onions and heaps of finely shredded cheddar cheese) I think you have to either growup eating it or try it not expecting it to be like other tomato based chilis.

As my Dad always said, “It’s not hot enough unless you have to stop and blow your nose at least once”. :bighanky:

 

[mystified]

Depends upon what kind of chili. Red, brown, green, or clear.
Potatos go good in the clear chili, and meat or chicken in the others. Have heard of putting chocolate in the chili, but not the reverse, and some good ol’ southern-style cornbread (not the kind that’s loaded with sugar) sounds like somethng I’ll be trying.
We put chili on the beans not in the beans.
I also like a good salsa picante on a baked potato, maybe with a little lemon juice.

 

[SeekerJen]

Hot dogs? In chili? What is this world coming to?

I like to add Italian sausage to mine for flavor (cut the casings off, brown it up like ground beef). Some red wine in the simmer step also gives a nice flavor. I’ve never tried unsweetened chocolate, but I imagine it would work the same way that mole sauce works. Hershey’s chocolate syrup, OTOH- there are no words, sorry.