It sounds to me that you like your chili simple. There are many ways to make chili. Allow me to give you some suggestions for substitutions for the recipe you are looking at. I will explain why the recipe calls for certain ingredients, and what you can substitute. I will also give you an alternative simple chili recipe.
Chili should have a certain amount of tartness. That's why ingredients like wine, vinegar, and beer and suggested. Also, alcohol enhances flavors, but you don't have to use it. If you don't like the idea of those ingredients, I suggest 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice. By the way, the vinegar odor and flavor will disappear as the chili cooks, so don't be afraid of using it--after your chili's cooked, it will only have a pleasant tartness, not the flavor of vinegar.
The red wine also has a special role to play in the recipe you reference. It adds not only tartness, but a mild bitterness that rounds out the flavor of the chili. A common trick that chili experts use to get this same flavor is either unsweetened cocoa or unsweetened chocolate. To substitute for the red wine, use 1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa, or 1/2 oz of chocolate. Again, if you don't have it, leave it out.
So, again, try substituting lemon or lime juice, and add the small amount of cocoa or chocolate suggested above. Following is a crockpot recipe that incorporates these ideas.
1 1/2 lbs ground meat of choice (substitute fresh kielbasa, removed from casings, for some of the meat if you want)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped, OR 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
5 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
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1 bell pepper (any color, your choice), seeded and diced
1 can/bottle tomato juice (4 cups or 1 qt), OR 1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce + 2 cans water
1 - 15 oz can tomatoes (can be stewed, diced, whole, or with chilis)
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice, or vinegar
1 or 2 (your choice, depends on how much you like them) - 14 to 16 oz cans of beans of your choice (kidney, chili beans, or pinto beans), drained of liquid (keep the liquid if you're using chili beans)
couple dashes worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa OR 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate
Couple grinds black pepper (1/4 tsp)
Put ground meat and onion in skillet with a Tbsp of oil. Cook meat on medium-high heat until cooked through, perhaps a bit browned. Do not drain meat unless it is very greasy. When meat is cooked (and drained if necessary), add chili powder, cumin and garlic to meat, and cook, stirring constantly, one minute. Put meat in crockpot.
Add all other ingredients to crockpot. Cover and cook High 4 to 6 hours, or Low 6 to 10 hours. Check to make sure liquid doesn't reduce too much.
If you are home, check the chili after 4 hours, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Chili is one of those recipes you have to make your own. Make a batch, and think about what you like or don't like about it. Maybe you like it thicker? Add less liquid (tomato juice). Soupier? Add water or other liquid. Maybe there's another flavor or ingredient you like that you can add. Be sure to write down your ideas on your recipe right after you think of them, so you know what to do next time you make it. Read recipes and incorporate ideas that you think sound good.
I am a professional chef and chili cookoff winner, but I bet my recipe would really gross you out--lol. The recipe above I think will give you a great start making your own crockpot chili.
2006-12-25 16:41:36
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answer #1
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answered by chuck 6
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2016-05-13 18:19:42
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answer #2
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answered by Casey 3
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Chili is so universal. You can make it reg or healthy whatever and all you gotta do is tweak the recipe a little. This is what I do. Ground beef or Ground chicken (both delicious) chili beans mild or medium. do hot if you like hot kidney beans (don't like kidney beans add black beans) onion chili powder tomatoe paste (small can) small can tomatoe sauce 1 can of water. use either can. salt pepper garlic powder cumin green pepper if you like Brown hamburger when still a little pink add chopped onion and pepper. Add seasonsings. When meat is completly brown add sauce and paste then water. Mix well add at least 3 cans of beans i usually do 3 chilli and 1 kidney . Simmer ofr at least 30 min but the longer you let it sit the better it taste. This chili recipe tends to be thicker if you like a thinner chili add a cup of water and maybe omit the tomatoe past. I serve this over rice with tortillas. With garlic toast and crackers. With crusty bread. So many ways you can serve it and so many ways to prepare it. (Like I said my recipe is thicker) There is really no exact amount if you are feeding alot of people add alot of indgredients. Good luck
2016-03-29 06:44:22
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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1 pound of seasoned browned turkey, whole onion finely chopped, several cloves chopped garlic. Now the fun part. 1 can diced tomatoes with chili, (Rotel) drained, save the juice, and 3 different kinds of canned beans, all drained (i like black, white and red). stir the beans, meat and rotel together in your crockpot. Mix all the liquids together, and add just enough to the crock pot to get the consistency you want. You can add some mcormick's chili or taco seasonings (saves time from mixing the right spices) or add your own. simmer on low all day. its great.
serve with baked potatoes or rice.
2006-12-25 16:30:37
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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Brown and drain your meat and chopped onions if you are using them. Put into crockpot and add seasonings that you like, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, etc. Add tomato juice for the liquid. I do not like beans in my chili, but I do add a can of refried beans. It thickens it and adds bean flavor without the gross texture of chili beans.
2006-12-25 15:50:57
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answer #5
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answered by classic 6
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Alright, first off, as you're cooking the chili, those recipes you're looking at that call for vinegar, wine, beer, etc... All those flavors are going to cook down or cook out in the process. It'll actually help out with the flavor. However, if you feel that it's going to make your chili too tart, feel free to throw in a handful of sugar, or a half of one. HOWEVER, if you want a recipe for chili, I can hook you up with one, but the only things are:
1. It's not going to be a crock pot recipe.
2. I don't measure ANYTHING when I cook. I cook by sight, taste, and consistency. I just seem to do better that way.
First things first. You're going to need your meat for the chili. To keep it simple, we'll just assume regular ground beef. Now obviously, you want to cook it until the pink is almost gone, breaking it up as you stir. I find it's easiest to do this with a decent quality wire whisk.
When the meat is almost cooked, throw in some chopped onions, bell peppers (throw in different colors for the visual appeal), and minced garlic, and sauté them in the fat until the onions are transparent. Add a little bit of salt and pepper, too. At this time, the meat should be fully cooked, so you can go ahead and drain the fat at this time.
-- I just normally throw it all in a colander/strainer, and return it to the pot that I'm using to cook.
Afterwards, add some canned diced tomatoes, and tomato paste, and a little bit of water. As it cooks, the thickness of the tomato paste is going to reveal itself, so you'll have to add water and/or tomato paste until you reach the desired consistency. Hopefully you'll be paying attention to the consistency of your chili at this time.
Now, one thing I've learned about chili, is that it's pretty much the same thing as spaghetti/marinara sauce, except for the following differences:
Spaghetti/marinara sauce uses herbs such as thyme, basil, oregano, laurel/bay leaves, etc. (depending on how you like it)
Chili uses chili powder and cumin.
At this point, you will somewhat want to add your chili powder and cumin to taste, but one method that has worked for me, is that I add enough chili powder until it starts to change color, and I use roughly half as much cumin as I did chili powder. I then let the flavors cook into it, and season it to taste with the salt, chili powder, and cumin.
Sometimes when I'm feeling froggy, I'll throw in a little bit of curry powder as well ;)
Other than that, one thing I've noticed that sets off the flavor of chili, is jalapeños. You don't have to throw in a whole bunch to where it's too spicy, but just enough to get the flavor of it in there. You can use fresh chopped jalapeños, or chop up the ones that come in a jar, while pouring in some of the juice from the jar. Remember, you're doing this to YOUR desired taste! You may want to start out with just a little, because the more jalapeños cook, the flavor (along with the spiciness) is going to blend into the chili, so just start little by little.
Now, if you still want to use canned kidney beans, but are grossed out by the juice, just rinse it off in a strainer. Either way you go, it's not going to make a HUGE difference on the taste of the chili.
Other than that, don't forget to keep checking the consistency of your chili. If you feel it's too thick, add water. If you feel it's too thin, add tomato paste.
At this point, you're pretty much done, just keep seasoning to taste until you've reached a desired result. There's a lot of ways to make chili, but this one is one of the easiest. Since there's no measurements, you basically have full control over how the chili comes out. All you have to do is pay attention to what you're doing.
I hope this helps.
Austin
2006-12-25 17:40:57
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answer #6
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answered by Austin C 1
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Log onto recipelink.com and simply type in your question. You'll recieve an answer in seconds with many recipes to choose from.
They also have a place where you can chat with others, ask advice, and share recipes and ideas, etc.
It's the best site on the net and I'm sure you'll love it.
2006-12-26 00:18:33
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answer #7
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answered by nova30180 4
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