so does adding tablespoons of spices to thicken things up. Unless you want something massivly over spiced or as I said have crap flavourless powder in there

I don’t use one but if you must then as Mike says use cornflour or less wet ingredients.

I don’t use one

whoops, you seem to have wandered into the wrong thread then 😆

baked beans & an oxo cube are the key…

so does adding tablespoons of spices to thicken things up.

to be fair it’s not like I use kilos of the stuff, just 1 tablespoon of each thing whereas everyone else seems to be using 1 teaspoon. I also add as little liquid as possible when cooking anything in the slow cooker, ideally the sauce will be the correct consistency from the off

how exactly does it defeat the point of using the slow cooker….

the last thing you want is it drying out in the slow cooker.

worth having slightly too much liquid in and reducing it down by leaving it the last hour with the lid off.

cos I want to eat when I get it starving, not sod around for an hour first! 😆

depends why you use the slow cooker i guess , i use it to make good food , others use it to make easy food. different strokes innit

To be fair you did the sodding around before hand.

Noticed some people measure out spices in teaspoons… I always use tablespoons – makes for a really thick sauce. If you can’t stand a spoon up in it it ain’t done right

Going to get expensive with the tblspn of saffron. And a little salty with the tblspn of salt. But everything will be brought together with a tblspn of hot chilli powder as long as you ‘forget’ to add the tblspns of cinnamon and clove 😯

Tbh I do like the idea of thickening sauce with chilli though. Woof!

You haven’t tried a chilli until you’ve tried carne con chile rojo. You have to toast the chillis, soak and then blend the sauce but it’s worth it. Easily adaptable for a slow cooker.

https://pinaenlacocina.com/2015/07/08/carne-con-chile-rojo-beef-and-red-chile/

Why do they put all the words the wrong way round and spell ‘chilli’ wrong?

Because they are written by Soviet spies.

Fish as well, but best using Ling

Harsh but probably fair.

Stick some liquid smoke in your slow cooked chilli beef too.

My secret tip:
Don’t make the chilli itself too spicy. Let the flavours talk for themselves.

Instead, knock up a really quick salsa and add to taste:

Garlic
Tomatoes (deseeded)
Onions
Habanero peppers

Chop roughly, stick some neutral oil over the top (not olive), and roast in the oven until the tomatoes and habaneros start to blacken. (If you want, take the garlic out earlier to prevent it getting too bitter).

Stick in a blender with some lime juice and coriander leaf. Blitz.

Don’t make the chilli itself too spicy. Let the flavours talk for themselves.

Doesn’t that defeat the object of a chilli (within reason of course). Surely a chilli is, by definition, spicy? And what is mildly spicy for you or I might be insanely hot (or very weak) to another taster?

Just don’t dominate with chilli, the paprika and cumin are important flavours, like a good curry doesn’t need much chill in it too. It’s one of the reasons I prefer the smoked chill as it gives enough flavour but not outright chill

Not simple but here goes

1 large brisket joint 1 to 1.5kg
400 grams dried red kidney beans
2 large mild white onion chopped
2 cans tomatoes chopped
red and green bell peppers
2 beef oxo
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground chilli
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 to 4 squares good plain chocolate

remove the string from the brisket joint and unroll.
trim off all visible skin and fat

cut a diamond pattern in inside surface of the unrolled joint cutting about 3/4 the way through the meat.

mix the Oxo, salt pepper chilli paprika and mixed herbs into a dry rub, and rub into the meat.

roll the joint up again wrap in two layers of cling film and put in the fridge for at least 12 up to 48 hours.

soak the kidney beans in cold water overnight then boil rapidly for 10 minute.

Put the onion, garlic, beans sugar and tomatoes in the slow cooker season with more salt and pepper, add more chilli flakes if you like it hot.

Unroll the beaf and place on top of the other ingredients seasoned side down. cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the beaf and place in a bowl, shred pulling it apart with two fork, put it back in the slow cooker mix well and add the chocolate cook for a further hour.

serve with potato, wedges baked potato, or boiled rice

Or for maximum faff do it the Heston way… http://www.insearchofheston.com/2014/10/how-to-make-hestons-perfect-chilli-con-carne-recipe-from-in-search-of-perfection/

Not simple, but this is AMAZING

http://www.homesicktexan.com/2009/02/more-precise-texas-chili-recipe.html

Big bowl of this with a bit of cheese and fresh onion on top on a cold day is fantastic. I’m keenly awaiting the end of my veggie/vegan January to get it on the stove

Anarchy, I know, but I do like a veggie chillie heavy on beans – black,pinto and kidney. Stuff like carrots, courgettes and roasted squash for veggies. The important bit is making sure everything is chopped to the same size – ffs never have finely diced mixed with chunky, one or the other. And leave it at least a day to mature.

Oh, and fresh sweetcorn.

And for all those no mince people, one of the best I ever had was a proper beef mince chilli with some guys from arizona at the mega, been cooking for a long time

If you want to thicken a sauce you some cornflower

Lovely.

We pretty much live on M&S tinned chilli when we go on our Scottish west coast sailing holiday every summer.

Heat chilli, mix with boil in the bag rice, mayo and cheese.

Even the kids love it.

At home, Nigella’s chilli recipe FTW IMHO

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/cornbread-topped-chilli-con-carne

Love the brisket chilli though I added a mix of ancho/chipotle/mulato chillis.

Has anyone used liquid smoke? I’ve just bought some, not tested yet.

thecaptain – Member

Has anyone used liquid smoke?

In true STW style, my mate is the head chef of a BBQ restaurant that has their own smokehouse, so no. 😆

14hr smoked beef ribs FTW though. 8)

Has anyone used liquid smoke? I’ve just bought some, not tested yet.

Yes I use it in slow cooled pork recipes, also used it in last nights pork & buffalo sausage casserole.

Has anyone used liquid smoke? I’ve just bought some, not tested yet.

I used to. Mesquite in a bottle. It lasted years. I read some possible health risks about liquid smoke though which sort of put me off.

Now use El Avion smoked hot paprika which I much prefer. It’s an all-in one solution with smoke and heat. You can get multi-pack tins online, well worth the outlay as supermarket stuff is not a patch on it. Taco shells tonight!

*edit PS am not a stealth purveyor of pimento BTW.

Yes I guess smoked paprika or other spices would also work if you wanted the spices too (which to be fair I usually do). Cheers, I’ll certainly give it a go some time. Was worried it might be a bit crap like artificially smoked fish usually is.