Chilli

I find chipotle paste adds depth.

Chipotle chilli paste will give it a smoky, spicy depth

A good splash of worcester sauce too

Oxo cube in when browning the mince and onions. Dark chocolate at the finish.

Cumin seeds

To add to the above I also add some coffee, jist a teaspoon of instant.

Something smoky, preferably chipotle but a bit of paprika can work.  Always ground cumin but that should be a given. A teeny amount of cinnamon and a couple of cloves gives a subtle background note. And a pinch of MSG always helps.

I wouldn't have thought to add any of the above tbh save for the dark chocolate. Always good to get new ideas👌

We stopped using meat and replaced it with lentils when some veggie friends came to stay. We much preferred it, and now use lentils all the time! Out of choice!

Only big one that I can see that's not already mentioned is frying off some cubed chorizo with the beef.

Other stuff I add (mainly mentioned already); smoked paprika, worcester sauce, beer, chocolate, squeeze of ketchup and brown sauce, oregano

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-chili-recipe

This is a helpful site, explains the different chilis. I go with a mix of a few different ones, New Mexico, Ancho, Chipotle, toast them lightly first, then blend, usually with a few sun-dried toms too. I also use Ox cheek in there as it's nice any tasty when slow cooking

Bovril and Worcester Sauce.

Poor man's beef bouillon and anchovies.

Also, use kidney beans in chilli sauce rather than just normal kidney beans.

And I like to use one tin of kidney beans, one of chickpeas and one of baked beans, gives a nice selection of shapes and textures

Best quality mince you can get your hands on and really, really brown it. Not to the point of burning, obvs, but you want it really caramelised. It'll rehydrate as it slow cooks in the sauce and give you great texture and depth of flavour. Echo the sentiments on dark chocolate above (go 80% cocoa or more). Only other suggestion would be some good quality home-made stock (unless you can get a shop-bought one without all the salt that's usually added).

Have heard of others using cuts like shin of beef or brisket instead of mince. These would do a lot of the work of the aforementioned stock I'd guess.

Yeah, mince is  the least-best meat to cook it with, TBH. You really want a tough old stewing cut, like brisket, shin etc, and cook it in a slow cooker.

I'm an absolute carnivore, but if you can't get a decent bit of stewing steak and let it just fall apart, then kidney beans, white beans, brown beans, and quinoa. Smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, beef stock, and chipotle to taste as well. Slow cook for as long as you can stand it, but at least four hours.

Look up 'over the top chilli' on you tube - cook on a smoker/kettle bbq- awesome flavour

I also follow the serious eats recipe linked above (I have Kenji’s book with it in). It’s immense. I find even just following his instructions to make chilli paste (freeze in ice cube trays) and then using them in a generic chilli instead of spices makes a difference.

get the Hot smoked paprika for some zing. Let it gently bubble on the hob for a day, or in the oven, to allow the flavours to develop and gain some proper depth

I make a really strong birria sauce from ancho and guajillo chillies, onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled bell peppers, spice mix (usually cinnamon, cloves and coriander), cider vinegar, honey and the water I rehydrated the chillies in, then add it to a standard beef chilli to taste. The birria lasts a week or so in the fridge and it's also good underneath the cheese bit of cheese on toast.

Add some Naga chilli for depth.

Add the cream of sum Yung gi.

I am a simple man, I add smoked paprika, it makes everything taste better (ie, more like smoked paprika)

But chilli's a fun one, because no matter how badly you do it there'll always be someone for whom it's the best chilli the've ever tasted.

When I was growing up chilli was a regular staple, but with baked beans. I'd probably hate it now, but loved it as a kid!

A good splash of red wine when browning the beef and some tomato purée for richness. Some dark chocolate right at the end to finish. I put mushrooms in mine as well.

Bin the mince and use diced beef instead, cooked so it's tender and falls apart then add your beans etc.

Bin the mince get thee to a butchers and get spaull or back vein.

Mince has no place in chilli

You will need to use the slow cooker for 12-24 hrs mins but can't beat it

I slow cook a shoulder of pork all day in BBQ sauce then 'pull' it. I then fry off onions with lots of garlic then add the pork with a sachet of Old El Paso Chilli mix plus lots of chilli powder, turmeric, smoked paprika, lemon juice, Worcester Sauce then add the tinned tomatoes, and eventually kidney beans (with chilli sauce as mentioned above) and a load of sweetcorn. I usually end up adding a splash of whatever chilli sauce I have in the cupboard and other odds and ends. My wife likes hers quite spicy but I like mine hotter so I then add a couple of drops of 'Dave's Insanity Sauce' to mine.

I occasionally do it with mince (I just fry the raw mince with the onions and skip the slow cook phase).

Dried smoked chilli’s, anchovies & give it plenty of time at the start.

The problem with 'chilli-con-carne'...I presume that's what we are talking about here, when you say 'chilli' ?

...is if you use really cheap crappy mince meat as the base.

If you start with bad ingredients, your setting yourself up to fail before you even start.

I use diced venison for my chillis. The stronger flavour works really well, even after it's been marinading in a chilli paste overnight.

(Lower food miles and a sustainable meat too - eat chilli to save the planet!)

OK, let's all take a moment to un-ring this bell.

Chilli is not a dish, it's a chilli pepper. The clue is in the name.

I'm going to go out on a wing, and suggest the dish you are are thinking of is a combo of mince, tomato, with a teeny tiny bit of actual chilli in it?

Or as I would call it, spicy bolognese.

My secret ingredient is pedantry as well.

Anyone adding a little honey too ? Brings out the flavour a bit more. Especially in spicy Bolognese.

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A smoky whisky such as Laphroaig is a good addition. If using mince it gets browned in oven whilst preparing everything else.

If an individual’s opinion is that chilli is just spicy Bolognaise, their opinion can be quickly discounted and don’t accept any invitations to dinner at their’s.

Anyway… Chilli

Ground cumin and ground coriander we also go heavy-ish on bay, oregano and basil and a well heaped teaspoon of cocoa powder. Authentic, almost certainly not, rich and spicy yes.

Plenty of mild chilli powder is better than a small amount of hot in my experience.  It just seems to spread the flavour.

Chipotle or habanero sauce also good as a depth/heat additive.  We used to have a fairly ridiculous chocolate habanero sauce and just a half teaspoon added to a normal mix added a welcome depth and kick.

My recipe.  Note this is an intentionally mild base, I add actual chillies and/or pain to taste depending on target audience.  I've no idea about meat, I chuck a pack of Quorn mince in 15 minutes before the end.  I'll typically double up the quantities here and freeze half of it in individual portions.

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2 onions, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

400g tin chopped tomatoes

400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

300ml stock

1/4 tsp cayenne

1tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp mild chilli

1/2 tsp coriander leaf

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tbsp Marmite

Pinch of salt

Chunk dark chocolate

Star anise (remove after 10 mins)

1 tsp mild chilli

I'm sorry but you can't call that a chilli dish, that's like, Nigel Farage levels of dissociation.

What you've cooked, is beans and tomatoes, with a bit of onion.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

What you’ve cooked, is beans and tomatoes, with a bit of onion.

Note this is an intentionally mild base, I add actual chillies and/or pain to taste depending on target audience.

Best quality mince you can get your hands on and really, really brown it.

If you can get kangaroo mince, give that a go. It's superb.

My recipe. Note this is an intentionally mild base, I add actual chillies and/or pain to taste depending on target audience

That's all stuff I'd regularly include in a chilli (maybe not the star anise) but did you put tsp where you mean tbs? It looks a bit under spiced to my jaded palate - I mean, what use is 1/2 tsp of coriander leaf in what looks like 2kg-ish of chilli. That's not even a garnish!

Remember, don’t overdo the Carolina Reapers… 😉🥵😱

 did you put tsp where you mean tbs? It looks a bit under spiced

Personal preference to an extent, I'm not a huge fan of coriander but I appreciate it adds a flavour note even in small amounts.  I didn't say but these are all dried herbs, using fresh yes I'd switch tbsp for tsp.

As I said, that's my baseline recipe, I build that first then tweak / iterate from there.  You can always add more stuff, it's harder to take it out.  It's easy to end up with one dominant flavour, eg smoked paprika is a key spice in many chillies but go in too large with it and you wind up with taco filling.

You should try the star anise, it really lifts it.  Just don't leave it in there for two hours!

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