I won a chili cook-off contest at work with this White Chicken Chili recipe. It is not your typical beef & tomatoey chili, but really delicious if you don't have a creamy soup already:

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
First place winner in 2/23/09 in chili cook off
(I doubled the recipe for the chili cook off)

1 pound cubed and cooked chicken breast
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 T. oil
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
2 cans (15 oz. each) Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (4 oz. each) green chilies (mild or hot) ��" I used mild
1 tsp. each salt, cumin and dried oregano
ý tsp. pepper
ü tsp. cayenne pepper
8 oz. container sour cream (I used light sour cream)
ü cup heavy cream, or half & half cream (I used half & half)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Sauté onions and garlic in oil. Add cooked chicken, beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, cream and cilantro.

Looking at the ingredients if doubled, use the amount of onions that you desire. Maybe 2 medium onions would be too much for some people, and maybe you would like to use the hot canned chilis. I also use fresh cooked chicken rather than canned, and I have never used rotiserie chicken so I can't vouch for how it would turn out using that.

This is my T&T Chili recipe! I've made it with beef and turkey, it has many layers of flavor and is a real crowd pleaser! Have fun!!!
Gina
TOUCHDOWN TURKEY CHILI

2 pounds ground turkey (or ground beef)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
þ cup red wine
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 green bell pepper, diced
Three 15 ounce cans black beans, drained
One half to one 7 ounce can chipolte peppers in adobe sauce (depending on degree of heat you desire.)
1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 tablespoon (unsweetened) cocoa powder
1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
Salt, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
ý cup chopped fresh cilantro

Optional Toppings: Grated Jack cheese Sour cream Chopped onions Jalepenos, sliced Serves 8.

In a very large skillet or pot, heat oil, add ground meat, onions, and brown. Add wine, and deglaze, scraping up any bits from the bottom of pan. Then add tomato sauce, garlic, bell pepper, and stir. Add beans, chipoltes, adobe sauce, cumin, oregano, cocoa powder, and peanut butter. Cover and cook over low heat for approximately 30 minutes. Uncover and add salt if desired, pepper, cilantro, and continue to cook uncovered for another 15 minutes. Serve with optional toppings.

Can't leave out this CF classic, that Karen/riverrat turned us on to:

Beef Chili with Ancho, Mole, and Cumin

8 servings.

Chili:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
4 bacon slices, chopped
1 4-pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed, cut into ?- to ?-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 (or more) large garlic cloves, chopped
3? cups (or more) beef broth, divided
? cup pure ancho chili powder
? cup Texas-style chili powder blend (such as Gebhardt)
1 tablespoon mole paste
2 teaspoons (or more) salt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1? teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 to 2 tablespoons masa (corn tortilla mix)
? teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Garnishes:
Warm, freshly cooked or drained canned black beans
Chopped white, red, and/or green onions
Grated cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, or queso fresco
Sliced fresh or pickled jalape񯠣hiles
Sour cream
Tortilla chips or oyster crackers

Toast cumin seeds in heavy small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool; grind finely in spice mill or in mortar with pestle.

Sauté ¢acon in large pot over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to large bowl.

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Working in 4 batches, sauté ¢eef in drippings in pot until browned, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef and most drippings to bowl with bacon.

Add onion and garlic to pot. Sauté µntil onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add ? cup broth to pot. Bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Return beef, bacon, and any accumulated juices to pot. Mix in ancho chili powder, Texas-style chili powder, mole paste, 2 teaspoons salt, vinegar, oregano, and cumin seeds. Add 3 cups broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and simmer gently uncovered until beef is very tender, stirring occasionally and adding more broth by ? cupfuls if chili is dry, about 2? hours or more. Mix in masa by teaspoonfuls to thicken chili or add more broth by ? cupfuls to thin. Season chili with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cool 1 hour. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat.)

Set out garnishes as desired. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

? Bon Appé´©t, February 2009

Hmmm.... now the decision is WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE!!

Hadn't thought of the White Chili... that's certainly an option. I've always been one to cook something "deliciously different" at get-togethers.

Question about the Beef Chili from Karen/riverrat..... are those specialty spices from a hispanic market? Just wondering where I would find pure ancho chili powder, Texas Style chili powder and mole paste. This recipe also sounds "deliciously different" than the run-of-the-mill chili recipes.

I'm assuming that you don't typically add the beans to the chili like most recipes. From what I am reading on the recipe.... they are more of a garnish??

Thanks for the suggestions!

starlightfarm, I bought mole right in the local grocery store, my small independent one. It came in a container the size of a small glass, yellow label but I don't remember the name. The ancho chili powder I got from Penzey's and I used their chili powder too.

I made it and it was very good. Being from Michigan, though, I'm used to carbs in my chili, so I thought it needed to have beans or rice, at least on the side. It was awesome over a baked potato too!

Annie

If you can get your butcher to do it, a "chili grind" pork/beef mix is really great. The key is using 1/2" or slightly larger plates in the grinder. Just brown as usual and sub for whatever other ground meat in your chili.

The larger grind makes the chili much more interesting and flavorful IMO. So good that I bought an electric meat grinder at northerntool.com a couple years ago just in case couldn't find a butcher nearby that would do it.

jt

Linked is a picture of the mole paste that I used, and I believe Annie did as well. I couldn't find it locally; the link tells about the "mail order" source I was lucky enough to have.

Ancho powder I got at Penzey's. I made something last night that called for ancho powder, didn't have any but found that New Mexico Chile powder is a substitute. That I had sitting around from Whole Foods. Don't know if that helps you any though...

Chili powder, I used Spice Islands brand, which is readily available here and which Cook's Illustrated rated tops a few years back. (They liked neither Gebhardt's nor Penzey's, but we're all entitled to our opinions!) I'm sure any will do.

Gardenweb isn't liking fractions lately, so let me define the question marks in the recipe I pasted. Before I do, let me just say that I REALLY love this recipe, as does everyone to whom I've served it.

beef cubes - half to three quarter inch cubes
3.5 cups broth
quarter cup, both of the chili powders
1.5 tsp oregano
quarter tsp cayenne

There, I think I got them all. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: when i made it

I also make a mole-style chili but a bit different than FOAS's. First, like Annie, we like beans. Also, mine starts with making the spice blend using dried chilis, spices, & chocolate instead of a mole paste. I even use the masa harina. No bacon though. For the meat, we like short-ribs braised in beer & onions before adding to the chili. If you're interested in another recipe let me know & I'll be glad to write it out. The flavor combo is wonderful & there's enough heat to be chili but not so much the kiddos won't clean their bowls. Frankly, I think FOAS's looks very similar & a lot less work! I've C&P'd. We just finished off a pot of chili made from 2 lbs. of beans & 5 lbs. of short-ribs so it's going to be awhile before we're wanting chili again! lol

/tricia

With minor variations my chili is constructed much like FOAS's great looking recipe.

ever since I was made aware of the small "chunks" of meat as opposed to ground meat my chili has done nothing but improve. Being able to brown the beef is important but also you get to work the rest of the recipe over the fond left behind.

I just use whatever meaty roast is on sale and slice it into pieces myself. different cooking/simmering times for different roasts, like a chuck will take a bit longer than a sirloin tip.

hint number two = cumin. Use it and lots of it.

hint number three I stole from Alton, if the meat is tender and you still are a bit thin I crush tortilla chips up and use them as a thickener instead of a masa or cornstarch slurry.

I serve my chili over the beans or rice or mac or....

Don't forget the beer, eh?

FOAS, that's the stuff I used, I was astounded to find it here now, I used to have to go to the dreaded Walmart and dodge the WalMartians. You know, those alien creatures that seem to be at every WalMart, LOL.

Annie

LOL Annie, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do...!

Just a point of clarification: What I posted is a Bon Appetit recipe which we affectionately call RiverRat's recipe because (I believe) she introduced it to the forum. It has nothing to do with me other than that I love it and happened to post it to this thread.

(No big deal I know, but I just get weird about being credited for something I didn't contribute!)

My chili can't have any powder in it. No chili powder, no garlic powder, no onion powder. It has to have the real stuff.... peppers, galic, and onions.

Tomatoes are the key to good chili. No good tomatoes and no good chili can result. Different types of tomato give a whole different character to chili. Yellow tomatoes make a sweet chili and reds more sour. Very ripe tomatoes cook down into juice and greener ones stay chunky longer.

Peppers cover a huge flavor spectrum. At the moment I have potted jalapeno, cayenne, and habenera growing in my kitchen. I have two cultivars of habenera... the Burpee hab and the Red Savina. Not happy with my Red Savinas and will be growing another red cultivar next year. The orange Burpee habeneras are nice... tangy with plenty of heat. Jalapenos go in my chili not so much for heat as for green pepper flavor. Pepper "bite" will cook down over time to warm flavor tones. Sometimes I add a couple jalapenos at the end of the cooking to put a little bite back into the flavor. Habeneras have a fairly mean bite so they have to be cooked down some... for most people that is.

Onions come in several types. Mostly I look at when they go in. In early and they cook down to become a sweet flavor. Late and they stay hot and crunchy.

Hard to beat fresh garlic but again cooking time will blunt the flavor. A big part of garlic flavor is the smell and that is lost over time.

Cumin is essential but more is not always better. An excessive amount can take on a bitter tone. Old cumin is often bitter to me. Usually the best is whole seed that is cracked and cooked awhile. Many here rightly advise toasting the seed. As with garlic the essential oils are critical to cumin flavor. Cumin has to cook some to get the oil out but extended cooking can cook off the delicious smell of cumin.

Beans... red beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans... they all give a different flavor. Mixing them up can have a cool visual affect. If you like paste style chili try adding refried beans... eat it with a fork.

I frequently add cabbage. Cabbage adds lots of fiber, sweetness, and sometimes has a hot pepper like heat. I make a skillet chili that features crunchy cabbage and onions with very little liquid.

So no I don't have a recipe for you. Hard to make bad chili if you work with good stuff. Add cumin, garlic, peppers at the start and again a few minutes towards the end of cooking. It will be the smell that draws people to it... if it smells good to them they will love eating it.

I posted a beef heart version of my chili on the soup thread. It was excellent with a mild vension taste quality. I can get free cow parts so that was my motivation for using heart meat. Often I buy a bottom round roast and boil that in tomatoes until it falls apart... very thick meaty chili without any grain or starch thickeners.

: )
lyra

This is the favorite in our house. After last week's challenge, I should change the name to "1 Stinking Beer Chili":

Caribbean Chili

⢠1 lb lean ground beef (the original recipe calls for ground lamb, I usually use a combination of ground pork and beef)
⢠1/2 cup honey
⢠1 large can fire roasted tomatoes
⢠1 smaller can roasted tomatoes w/green chilies
⢠1 can Rotel tomatoes w/peppers
⢠1 large can black beans
⢠1 large chopped sweet onion
⢠2 limes (juice)
⢠1 bottle stout beer
⢠2 tbls chopped garlic
⢠1 tbls chili powder
⢠2 tbls cumin
⢠1 tsp cayenne
⢠Salt

Simmer the tomatoes and onions for about 30 minutes, add honey, beer, lime juice, ground beef (I donâÂÂt brown my GB, I like the taste and texture that it adds). Simmer 30 minutes. Add beans and spices, simmer 15 minutes.

bunnyman....what wonderful wisdom you have shared! Thanks for all the helpful hints. I definitely learned a lot by reading your post.

mustangs... what a very interesting mix for a chili recipe. Certainly has that "caribbean vibe" to it. It sounds very straight forward... and for the limited amount of time that I have to do my cooking, I may have to use this recipe.

This is my favourite. Served with homemade flour tortillas and topped with cheese and homemade salsa.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Chili - Tex- Mex Seven Pepper Chili
===================================

3 lbs. lean stew meat-beef, , ground coarse or in 1/2-inch cubes
1 lb. pork loin, ground coarse or cubed
2 tbsp. pure lard or shortening
3 large yellow onions, chopped fine
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. ground cumin
7 cloves garlic
1 to 3 Tablespoons( or more to taste) of ground chilis. Use a variety of different ones, i.e Chiles pasillas, equines, chile anchos, dried New Mexico Chilis, etc..
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 tsp. salt
5 jalapenos, fresh, seeded
3 cans tomatoes,
1 can beer (Mexican if you have it)
L-oz. square unsweetened chocolate (Or Mexican chocolate)
2 cups Beef Broth
Dried Pinto, black beans or kidney beans

Or canned.
. . Brown meat in fat until no longer pink. Add onions and and celery and
cook until clear. Combine in
food processor or blender the cumin, garlic, and all of the different
chilies., Tabasco, salt, jalapenos, and I can of tomatoes. Blend and
set
aside to steep. Add this mixture to the meat along with the two cans of
tomatoes, the beer, broth and chocolate. Turn fire down real low and
simmer
least 2 hours. If using dried beans add them now. Stir occasionally to
keep it from
sticking. If the meat you have used is lean, you will probably have no
fat
to skim off, but if there is fat floating on the top, skim. Once the
chili
has cooled, you can remove any congealed fat. This keeps well and
freezes well.

TEx-Mex Cookbook