Chili Powder?

[John Sand]

I have been making and improving my Mom's chili recipe for about 30 years. It's always a hit at Steve and Diane's Superbowl party. This year I ran short of chili powder. I thought of running to the store for more, or waiting until serving (I made it two days early). But looking at the jar, I saw that the ingredients in chili powder are powdered chilis, cumin, oregano, salt and garlic. I have that stuff. I tried mixing a little cayenne and cumin on a plate and tasted it. Just what I wanted. So I sprinkled some of those and salt in the pot until I got what I wanted. Which started me thinking about chili powder, and ended in buying chipotle powder, ancho chili powder and more cumin.
What do you use in your chili? Premixed powder or separate spices? Suggestions? Discussion?

[berryman]

What do you use in your chili? Premixed powder or separate spices? Suggestions? Discussion?

To start with and nothing to do with your OP question... I like to make a 3 meat Chili. I Use ground beef, ground pork and venison. I brown them up separate. just brown with salt and pepper. I really got so I like this the http://www.carrollshelbyschili.com/products and what I use most of the time and it is good. My wife makes her chili a little different from when I make it and uses more brown sugar in it, takes some of the bite out of it but is good...............There are so many ways to make chili and all is good in my book. Chili is my favorite thing to eat, but only can do it for about 3 days in a row................We like mixing kidney beans and white beans also..............

[John Sand]

Hey Berry. I'm glad to discuss chili in general. Mine started with ground beef, changed to meatloaf mix (pork, veal, beef) and went back to beef. I use red and black beans, also a shot of tequila and the juice of one lime. I'm thinking of hints of cinnamon or cocoa too. Last year I added a scotch ale. Then there is the white chicken chili....

[mashani]

I make mixed bean chili since I'm pretty much vegetarian, but your spice blend sounds good. I like to use Mexican oregano, and pretty much always add a bit of cinnamon and a bit of the darkest chocolate I have around, which is usually 80-100% cacao. Not so much that it screams of either of them, it's just a bit of extra 'yum' in the background.

FWIW, also, if anyone wants to make some awesome curry powder, I can give a recipe for that, made from whole roasted spices and then ground.

[bpgreen]

I make mixed bean chili since I'm pretty much vegetarian, but your spice blend sounds good. I like to use Mexican oregano, and pretty much always add a bit of cinnamon and a bit of the darkest chocolate I have around, which is usually 80-100% cacao. Not so much that it screams of either of them, it's just a bit of extra 'yum' in the background.

FWIW, also, if anyone wants to make some awesome curry powder, I can give a recipe for that, made from whole roasted spices and then ground.

I'd like your curry powder recipe. I usually use the base ingredients, but sometimes, using curry powder is an easy shortcut.

I'm not really vegetarian, but I don't eat meat very often any more. I also ran a homeless shelter for a few years a long time ago and used a lot of beans as a cheap protein source.

These days, I mostly cook from scratch, so I might use chili powder if it's in the cupboard, but I'd probably mostly use jalapeños because they've got a fair amount of flavor, not just heat.

[John Sand]

I use jalapenos too, and cayenne, and various hot sauces. My chili is not very hot, I want to taste all of the flavors.