test kitchen....need some advice

my next cook off is not until january but if you cook your mind is always thinking of things to do. i was wanting to do someting in my next batch of texas style chili(idea i got from someone else but im gonna put a little spin on it) saw a guy floating a peice of pork...looked like a pork chop in his chili...so i figured it was for the pork flavor....ok i was gonna take either a hot italian sausage or a mild italian sausage and put it in the chili while it was cooking to get some of that flavor into the chili.......this is what im worried about...should i cook it first and then put it in or just cook it all day long in the chili....when using pork i dont want to send every judge home hugging the commode and calling earl if you know what i mean.
the cooking on the chili gose from a boil to a simmer to a boil to a simmer and its about a 3and a half to 4 hour process.
any suggestions?? the only thing im worried about if i grill or fry up the sausage befor i wouldnt want peices of black char to get into the chili and ruin the presentation......ok....now ill shut up......your thoughts.
 
If you want good pork flavor in there add some salt pork, a salt-cured chunk of fat that comes from pork bellies, or some thick chunks of bacon (not sliced, cubed).
 
Hi Mike

How was Texas? If you pre-cook the sausage, most of the flavor that could be transfered to your chili will be lost when the fat renders out of the sausage. Float the raw sausage in your chili and let it cook there, or, cook the sausage in the pan you will brown your meat in first, then use the fat to brown your meat it.

Or, if you carmelize your onions, you could do it in the sausage fat.

I have been known to make venison chili, and I will cook mexican chorizo sausage first, and then brown the venison in the sausage fat. Of course venison has so little fat in it, it needs the help.


Frank

PS Michelle says she misses your chili, and
Buckskin seconds with a "woof, arf, bark arf arf."
 
Bubba,
i would cook the chili with the sausage inside, in doing so all the flavor will incorporate into the chili if you want the full sausage flavor. When i make my Italian sausage pasta sauce i brown my meats (beef and the sausage) little wine, let it evaporate and then i add the tomato sause and let it cook for 2-3 hours...it comes out very flavorful.
Hope this helps..
 
Texas was awsome...there were 340 chilis judged last year i didnt make it past the first round...this year i made it to the 2nd round so at least i took a step in the right direction.
one thing that realy confussed me was the texas chili that i tasted was realy salty...im talking realy realy realy realy salty...im talking rip off the cap and throw the salt down your throat salty. im hoping that the pics i sent to the website will be up shortly i will post a link when they go up.



fdaniels said:
Hi Mike

How was Texas? If you pre-cook the sausage, most of the flavor that could be transfered to your chili will be lost when the fat renders out of the sausage. Float the raw sausage in your chili and let it cook there, or, cook the sausage in the pan you will brown your meat in first, then use the fat to brown your meat it.

Or, if you carmelize your onions, you could do it in the sausage fat.

I have been known to make venison chili, and I will cook mexican chorizo sausage first, and then brown the venison in the sausage fat. Of course venison has so little fat in it, it needs the help.


Frank

PS Michelle says she misses your chili, and
Buckskin seconds with a "woof, arf, bark arf arf."
 
please post how this works out.

I think the sausage might add a sheen of floating fat on top if cooked in the chili. I like the idea of the meat as an aromatic addition. I think lamb might add some serious savory goodness.

a quick google of italian sauage soup recipes...the first few all pre-cook the sausage.
 
thats my delima carl i cooked up some mild sausages the other day to eat on a bun like a hot dog it looked like on the plate there was some "juice" but not "grease" i thought the "juice" would add some flavor but i didnt want the "grease" to float on top.
 
couldn't you just crumble the sausage and mix it with say the onions in the pan then just add it to the chili itself? nothing like pork to add pork flavoring! :shocked: you wouldn't have to use too much either. well i guess that depends on how much you are making...but i mean relative to other ingredients.
 
in my throw down or freestyle chili the crumbling up would work..there are no rules...texas style i couldnt do that the only thing that is allowed in competition chili is meat and gravy and traditionaly the "meat" is beef
 
I'd say that if ya want to be different, throw the whole darned pig in!! A small one of course. Cute little baby pig should work perfect. Smoke it over an open fire for a few hours before tossing it into the chili. I think that it would be an instant hit. Bubbas Barbequed Chili!!
 
Or throw a short rack of ribs on top....:) I usually start to fry my sausage out of the casing and start to add onions and peppers and what to not to soften. I have added a sirloin on top before as well and that was quite tasty too it was either that or the can of guiness that I put in :) or maybe it was me drinking the guiness seems a bit cloudy to remember now....:beer:
 
Back
Top