Changeling, I use Penzey's chili(s).
My preferance is Ancho Chili ground.(which is the texture of granulated garlic.) I up the "heat" factor with Cayenne.

Check out the chili pepper page at Penzey's..maybe give you some clues to the direction you want to go with what peppers and how to use them.
Doesn't mean you have to use theirs..I just find the information given wonderful and thorough.

Here is a link that might be useful: Penzey's Chili Peppers

Ground chili is just that....peppers, dried and ground up.
Chili powder has other things in it like maybe garlic, maybe cumin and you never know just what variety fo chili is ground up.
I like New Mexico chili powder for most things....and perhaps some chipotle and some guajillo in addition.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: chilis

I am a competition chili head. There is a hundred old spice house in Ft.Worth, called Pendereys. They custom grind chili peppers to my specifications. They also have grinds of their own that are also 100% chilies.

Here's a thread I started at a different food forum, which has a fairly active Mexico board.

I buy whole dried chilies instead of ground chilies because once the chilies are ground, they start to lose flavor. Dried chilies are not good if they are very old either, but they keep better than powdered chilies.

If you use whole chilies instead of chili powder, you will have to remove the skin after cooking them, but it tends to fall off mostly in one piece, and so removing it is generally not difficult, unless the chilies are old and too brittle. The skin should by pliant when you buy them, and this also means that they are fresher and will have fuller flavor.

I make chili sauce in large batches and freeze it. You can use concentrated chili sauce in place of chilies.

Note that all chilies have different flavors, and some do not mix well with each other (see link above). Ancho and Guajillo are good together, but their flavors are very different. I often add Pasilla to the mix, and all of these are fairly mild. If I want heat, I add cayenne or Serranos. I tend to stay away from the chilies with smoky flavor, such as Moritas. I've found that chipotle chilies often do not mix well with other chilies, but are good on their own. I've also found that mild fresh chilies, such as Anaheim and Poblanos. Poblanos are the same as Anchos, except that they have not been dried. Chilies develop a richer flavor during the drying process, in a similar manner to raisins and prunes having different flavors from the fresh versions.

More Chili Information

Lars

Publicman/Lars thanks a lot for the information, I literally didn't know any of the things you discussed. I think I got somewhat carried away by all the responses I had on the Chili question I posted and forgot the original idea of my post! Thanks a lot for the "Link", I'll examine it thoroughly later.
However it did have a learning effect in , "Chili Powder", it's amazing how much difference there is in different brands of it! The only thing I have found is that I don't like the "Tones" brand whatsoever, it just doesn't seem to offer any taste other than "Blah", I bought a big container of it from SAM's and gave some to my neighbors trying to be a good neighbor, they threw it in the trash (tough bunch of ladies), both ladies use McCormick, but I really don't think that is very good, since there cooking is normal at best. I really think they are caught up in the "Brand" syndrome!
So now I find myself at ground "Zero" again on finding a really great Chili powder.
It just seems that all company's have become so taken with there stock price and how they can lower the bottom line that quality has suffered a heck of a lot while the prices just keep going up!!

I'm sure there is a small company out there dedicated to making an awesome product blend that has been tried and tested over and over with out compromising the ingredients , for the sake of making another "nickel", who are they, man I wish I knew!

Are all chili peppers hot? Are there any that add a distinctive Mexican flavor without heat?

absolutely. The Ancho is a very mild pepper..that's why I like it..some tastebuds in my house like "flavor" but not heat. To make chili powder though, I add some mexican oregano and bit of onion and garlic granules too.

click on the link I left above for Penzey's it explains the different heat levels.

I used to buy my (whole and ground) chiles and chili powder at Penzeys, but switched to The Spice House. (Same products (same family) but better quality and customer service.)

Their medium chili powder is a good all pourpose blend that I use when I'm in a hurry and don't want to bother with working with whole chiles.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Spice House

The Gebhardt chili powder blend is another well known label; a cut above some of the other grocery store brands.

I use the medium chili powder from Penzey's as it has the right amount of heat for me. And I have also bought the plain ground chiles from them.

Changeling, I vote for Gebhardt's chili powder also. Problem is, it's difficult to find in some locations. I live in New York City, right smack in the middle of the biggest "foodie" neighborhood, but I can't get Gebhardt's here. I finally found it at Hometown Favorites (all one word) dot com, and now order it regularly. This has been made in Texas for many years and is really essential to Tex-Mex food. On the other hand, New Mexican and Arizona cooking tends to go for whole chiles in a variety of mixtures, so you may want to try that also.

I have made chili both ways, and if you have access to a Mexican market that has dried chiles you're better off grinding them yourself, just like grinding your own coffee beans yields a fresher flavor. However, if you have a market that has pretty good turnover of items a canned chili powder is pretty convenient.

You can use a blender to grind them.

Alton Brown had a program on 'Good Eats' on chili, and he made his own chili powder. Check out the link. I myself haven't made this recipe, but go to the link below and follow the link that says "AB's Chili Powder" under the heading "Other Recipes from this Episode" for his version of homemade chili powder.

The other major ingredient that we associate with Mexican food is cumin, and that makes a BIG difference with whole cumin seeds freshly ground versus powdered cumin that's been in a jar for months. Freshly ground has more of the flavors that you want, and the whole seeds stay good a lot longer than the ground cumin. (Just like coffee.) Since a lot of chili powder mixes have a lot of cumin in them, the quality of the mix will vary with the age of the ground cumin it contains.

Now if you want a real cumin orgy, Google the term "Sam Pendergrast's Original Zen Chili" and you'll come up with a recipe which uses a half a cup of cumin. I love this recipe but I can only make it for myself; my wife isn't as nuts about cumin as I am. I once made a batch using beef shin meat for the meat source, and it needed hours and hours of slow cooking but yielded some darned good chili. That recipe, by the way, is on an excellent web site which covers all aspects of chili cookery, including the holy war over the presence or absence of beans.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/ndx_chili.asp

Here is a link that might be useful: Pressure Cooker Chili

arley that statement about cumin makes a lot of sense. The cumin I am using is easily a year old! What do you use to grind up the cumin seed?
It seems I have been keeping spices way to long so I think I will start putting the date on spice containers as I buy them!

Beanthere, I am strongly considering purchasing my stuff from the spice house on the next order I make which will be very soon. I know everyone seems to like Penzys but I'm not to fond of them!

I grind a lot of dry spices--cumin, black peppercorns--in a cheap coffee grinder like the one in the link. (There are dozens of varieties of this model from dozens of manufacturers. They're all basically the same. Just a little container that has a blade in the bottom.) Some people use a separate one just for spices, but being cheap/thrifty/lazy I use the same one for coffee AND spices. To get the flavors out of the grinder after you use it for spices, break up a couple of dry saltine crackers in the grinder and grind them into crumbs. Toss the crumbs and wipe out the container with a paper towel. The crumbs absorb the traces of spices and the next batch of coffee won't have any cumin overtones.

Here is a link that might be useful: example of coffee grinder

Ya... some confusion going on it seems.

Chilie is a pepper. Chili is a dish. So in a literal sense you can have chilie powder made out of dried ground peppers.

Now... to make the dish most in the U.S. consider chili you have to add a spice mixture know as "chili powder".

As I recall Lars has a fondness for Mexico and lives in the South Western corner of the U.S. I'm not surprised that he would think of powdered peppers before a spice mixture. One of the things really interesting about his cooking is that he is doing different things with his food. Much as I'd love to sample Lar's cooking someday I'm going with Arley on the cumin. Cumin is the heart and soul of the dish we call Chili. My pot of chili often contains several kinds of hot peppers but it also takes a load of cumin. People walking into my home will exclaim in delight when I cook chili because of the fragrant cumin.

I found whizzing my whole cumin seed in the blender with some tomatoes chops the cumin up pretty good. Not as good as hand chopping. My first lesson with cumin seed was to chop it up on a cutting board with a knife. Still strikes me as the best flavor. Our friends on the CF from India have recommended toasting the cumin... very good but I'm not 100% sold. The seed does require considerable cooking to release the oils that account for the intense flavor.

The very best cumin I can purchase at the moment is bulk ground cumin from GFS which is a restaurant supply company. Tops even Penzey's whole seed. Still ground does not get the full spectrum of flavor so I add mostly ground GFS cumin and top note my flavor with some freshly chopped seed. Somehow ground cumin even when fresh and strong still does not have the high aromatic essence of whole seed.

Chili powder often contains garlic that I've removed from my chili. Garlic is great and garlic is good but it is also sweet and not the character I want. Maybe sometimes it is alright.... I used to add sliced fresh garlic to my chili. Goodness that warms your entire body when the mood is there for it.

Cilantro, in particular fresh cilantro provides an intense aromatic flavor and scent that many associate with north of the boarder "mexican" cooking.

LOL!... sorry don't mean to go on so much. Chili is one of my favorite dishes. Fresh garden tomatoes are priceless if you want chili with star power. Different peppers add heat with different characters as Lars noted. Peppers at different stages of ripeness also display remarkably different characteristics. Green habeneras are not ripe but they are milder and have more tang then mature red habs. Then the amount of time a pepper cooks will change the flavor and heat profile of a pepper.

My chili is tested and approved by Luna!
{{gwi:1476748}}

Suppose I should admit I don't use chili powder in my chili. Not powdered peppers or any branded spice mix. Cumin and cilantro with hot peppers being part of the vegtable mix. I top coat much of my food with salt and black pepper and always do so with chili.

{{gwi:1476749}}

: )
lyra

Well guys you have passed me like a rocket. I just want a really good chili powder to make a great bowl of Chili without getting into the narrow corridors of individual tastes. I suppose that some time later when I better understand things I can appreciate where you are going with various techniques and ingredients. But, it appears I got so caught up in things that I forgot my goal of just making good chili !

Thanks for the input.

Okay then get some chili powder and some cumin and go from there..
I love cumin..but would never grind my own..
I use Penzey's because I'm happy with their products. I've ordered once from Spice House. Only thing I bought that was the "same" was the Galena Street Rib and Chicken Rub..didn't seem any different to me.

So Change, go to the store, purchase the "medium heat, medium priced" chili powder. Grab the same brand cumin..Pick up whatever other aromatics you like, garlic, onion, peppers.. Dice them up, saute them to soften in oil (your choice). Toss in the meat, ground, cubed whatever..Brown it. (If it's leftovers then don't worry about it.) Don't forget the salt..a good teaspoon atleast to start. Start pouring in tomato sauce, or diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes or tomato puree. Depending on what tomato product you choose, add a bit of meat broth (again whatever you choose).Toss in chili powder and cumin. For about 4 cups of tomato product I'd use 2-3 T of each. (but that's my tastes) Let simmer for 30 minutes. Taste..adjust seasonings..add more broth, add more salt, add some black pepper, add more chili powder, add more cumin...Let simmer another 30 minutes..taste again..you like it..no? adjust a bit more..If it's a bit bitter, add some honey or brown sugar..a bit sweet add a splash of vinegar. Pour in some rinsed canned beans. I like kidney and small red. One of each..but do what you like..simmer to warm the beans..or simmer longer...whatever fits into your schedule.