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chili con carne advice

i've got a chili cookoff coming up with some friends. we're competing against each other, and there will be some judges.
 
i've never done one of these before. i'm thinking to bring two pots. one of them on the mild side, and another one at whatever heat level i think tastes best. apparently this is permitted lol
 
do you guys have tips for me or a favorite recipe?
i'm looking at these as a starting point. kenji usually doesn't steer me wrong:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/01/the-best-chili-recipe.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/11/real-texas-chili-con-carne.html
 
i'll probably be using beans.
 
also, is there an online shop (or member-vendor here) that has a good assortment of quality, whole, dried chilis? or maybe powders? and not like crazy large bulk quantity preferably?
i have a lot of peppers in the freezer, but they're all superhots, and none of them are dried. i think dried peppers are essential to get the flavor right here.
 
thanks
 
There's no such thing as authentic, chili has always had varied recipes. There is "Texas Chili" which is specific (no beans etc.) but authenticity has never really been a thing, there's green chile, beef chili, chili with beans, different meats, corn, pasta, potato, whatever!!!! It's it's not sanctioned, and they do not specify Texas chili, do your thing!
 
hogleg said:
Here's some championship winning recipes
 
https://www.casichili.net/recipes.html
 
Click on "fun" then click on "recipes" scroll down to chili recipes.
 
interesting, but seems like they all use proprietary spice blends. fort worth lite? mexene? cowton lite?
 
i bet i could find all of those at a HEB or something, but i don't live by one even if i wanted to use pre-made blends 
 
The most important part for me is using lean ground chuck mixed with ground pork. I prefer 85% or better lean chuck with regular ground pork.
 
If its gunna have beans i really prefer black beans. Lentils are surprisingly good in place of beans too.
 
If you want to try something unusual add a little heavy cream or few tbs of Campbells mushroom soup to a test pot. It really changes the "mouth feel" of a bowl of chili.
 
My favorite part about a good chili - the MOST important thing, is the DEPTH of flavors. This can be accomplished with different types of chilies especially Mexican, like guajillo and ancho, things like chocolate, or coffee, beer, etc., spices, aromatics.
 
Best place to start imo is with the pros:  ICS
 
Have competed multiple times in ICS events.  The people and events are great - very similar to a bbq competition.  If you're going two entries I'd encourage you to cook a "crowd pleaser" entry and then a "senensis pleaser" entry.  Make something you think everyone will like, then make something exclusively for you.
 
The best part of most contests are the precious hours before cooking starts and after turn in - the times when you're walking around talking to the other competitors & sharing info/techniques, etc. 
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Yeah that stuff is called hot dog chili when it's the regular grind... goes great on dogs! No so much in a bowl.
 
 
Cincinatti Chili, that's what goes on hot dogs...perhaps seenyor Scoveel would agree.....
 
One trick that a lot of pros use is adding raisins. It adds depth and a visually pleasing sheen to it. You don't need to leave them in it though if you don't want to. Just steeping them in a mash bag during the cook will work great. You can also use dates.
 
stettoman said:
Cincinatti Chili, that's what goes on hot dogs...perhaps seenyor Scoveel would agree.....
 
or spaghetti!
 
Does it have to be a "red" chili?  I've won three cook offs with a white chicken chili recipe.  Granted, none were professional competitions, but they were all judged by some very discerning eaters.  It's sooooo good.  It's a Cooks Illustrated recipe from Kenji's days there, however, I can't definitively say it's one of his, as I can't locate that print issue.  It has Anaheims, Poblanos and Jalapenos, so has some great flavors.
 
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/3321-white-chicken-chili
 
SmokenFire said:
Best place to start imo is with the pros:  ICS
 
Have competed multiple times in ICS events.  The people and events are great - very similar to a bbq competition.  If you're going two entries I'd encourage you to cook a "crowd pleaser" entry and then a "senensis pleaser" entry.  Make something you think everyone will like, then make something exclusively for you.
 
The best part of most contests are the precious hours before cooking starts and after turn in - the times when you're walking around talking to the other competitors & sharing info/techniques, etc. 
 
i was already planning on doing that with heat level, but you're right, i'll just be more creative in general with my sinensis pot. :)
 
nmlarson said:
Does it have to be a "red" chili?  I've won three cook offs with a white chicken chili recipe.  Granted, none were professional competitions, but they were all judged by some very discerning eaters.  It's sooooo good.  It's a Cooks Illustrated recipe from Kenji's days there, however, I can't definitively say it's one of his, as I can't locate that print issue.  It has Anaheims, Poblanos and Jalapenos, so has some great flavors.
 
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/3321-white-chicken-chili
 
it does not, but somehow i think that for these guys white chili won't stand on even ground. i wanna win this thing lol
it sounds really good though. hopefully i can give it a try before the cookoff.
 
Some of the best chili i ever made was pork chili verde but i can see how it would have problems in a cook off. Lots of people cant get past the green baby vomit color. :D Flavor though is off the charts with grilled country style ribs cut into cubes. Really lean pork belly/side works well too.
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