Topic: The Ultimate Ultimate Chilli Con Carne

[redhotvindy]

Lean mince, by the way, is the worse thing to use. You need a decent bit of fat in there to give flavour (properly fried out at the start). Fatty mince also gives a better texture. If you don't like the fat content just spoon it off at the end.

..........But lots of chilli con carne recipes do specify cuts of 'solid' beef.

Absolutely ? but mince is cheap and the kids love it!!!

[Malc.]

I've spent this lunchtime looking over the web for various recipes and found hundreds of variations. From what I have gathered it falls into two dishes, the Texas chilli which is more a Spanish Mole with chunks of casseroled meat without beans and the more familiar Chilli Con Carne with ground meat and beans.

I think it is more likely that early versions were probably made with finely cut meat as opposed to ground, but nothing I have read supports that either way.

Actually, reading over all the recipes has been a worth while venture and given me some ideas to try my own recipe. But something that did come to my mind was to make a Sofrito to provide the base to my recipe. Using chopped onion, carrot and celery sweate d off with garlic then tomatoes cooked down with with fresh chilli and red wine, flavoured with bay leaf, corriander, cumin then seasoned. I'll probably try it with braising steak and add beans so it will be a mix of chilli con carne and a mole and will add a small amount of dark chocolate.

Any thoughts on this?

[PaulP]

I thought the question of chilli versus curry was interesting for this recipe.

To my mind a chilli-con-carne should have paprika and cumin but not corriander.

The recipe does look a bit too much like a curry by the inclusion of corriander.

Paul

[Secret Santa]

make a Sofrito to provide the base to my recipe. Using chopped onion, carrot and celery sweate d off with garlic then tomatoes cooked down with with fresh chilli and red wine, flavoured with bay leaf, corriander, cumin then seasoned. I'll probably try it with braising steak and add beans so it will be a mix of chilli con carne and a mole and will add a small amount of dark chocolate.

Any thoughts on this?

My instant thought is that it is not a chilli!   

It sounds like a spiced up bolognese sauce or ragu. I like the concept of what you're trying to do but it moves it too far away from a 'basic' chilli con carne to still merit the name.

[Secret Santa]

To my mind a chilli-con-carne should have paprika and cumin but not corriander.

The recipe does look a bit too much like a curry by the inclusion of corriander.

I agree with that.

[Secret Santa]

But lots of chilli con carne recipes do specify cuts of 'solid' beef.

There's no doubting that George. I was just pointing out that if you're going to use minced beef, as many of us do by preference, then for taste and texture you need to be using a fatty mince.

[redhotvindy]

To my mind a chilli-con-carne should have paprika and cumin but not corriander.

The recipe does look a bit too much like a curry by the inclusion of corriander.

I agree with that.

Well this has been an interesting first couple of post for me - really negative comments

So becuse its got lime in it does that make it a cocktail aswell!!!!

Bolloxs to you lot - enjoy your form without me on it