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1.) Swamp Fox - 10/14/2013
I'm looking for one or two or three that are relatively easy to make 1) in a kitchen and 2) in a primitive or semi-primitive camp ...when I say relatively easy to make I mean something you could start in the few non-hunting hours of mid-day and come back to after dark, or start in the evening and crockpot overnight ...I expect I'd have to be too careful with my dutch ovens because of the acid to really want to use them, but I'll take any hints for campfire cooking with any type of pot.

Also, easy means not having to struggle to find ingredients that are common in Texas or the SW but which would be a miracle to find at the Piggly Wiggly up here...Though I do have some wiggle room on that since there are some granola grocers up in Chapel Hill if I want to make the trip and smuggle exotic contraband back down to Camp Swampy.

Thanks in advance, podners...
2.) billy b - 10/14/2013
What's the matter with N Carolina chili?????? Just wondering............
3.) Swamp Fox - 10/14/2013
Nothing wrong with it...It just has beans :p...
4.) billy b - 10/14/2013
Not very hard to leave em out:wink:tu:
5.) Swamp Fox - 10/14/2013
Yeah, but I bet y'all have some secret ingredients....:-)
6.) Swamp Fox - 10/14/2013
Maybe hold your mouth a certain way...
7.) billy b - 10/14/2013
Yes & we're gonna keep em:shh:
8.) DParker - 10/14/2013
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;11806]I'm looking for one or two or three that are relatively easy to make 1) in a kitchen and 2) in a primitive or semi-primitive camp ...when I say relatively easy to make I mean something you could start in the few non-hunting hours of mid-day and come back to after dark, or start in the evening and crockpot overnight ...I expect I'd have to be too careful with my dutch ovens because of the acid to really want to use them, but I'll take any hints for campfire cooking with any type of pot.

Also, easy means not having to struggle to find ingredients that are common in Texas or the SW but which would be a miracle to find at the Piggly Wiggly up here...Though I do have some wiggle room on that since there are some granola grocers up in Chapel Hill if I want to make the trip and smuggle exotic contraband back down to Camp Swampy.

Thanks in advance, podners...[/QUOTE]

Something relatively simple for N. Carolina?



:-)

OK, OK....maybe you didn't mean chili with training wheels for little Northeastern girls...

First off, unless you're using game or some other cut of meat that's extra tough and really needs the 6-12 hours of slow cookery (depending on which heat setting you use) I've found that chili doesn't really benefit from doing hard time in a crock-pot. The three hours of the recipe that I've posted here a couple of times (but can't seem to find now) is just about right when using properly cubed beef. If you're trying to keep the work down and are using ground beef instead you can get by with even less cooking time (maybe just a couple of hours). But you don't cut it too short because it takes some time for the complex layers of flavors from the spices to develop. So what I'll offer is the aforementioned recipe of mine as the basis for both your kitchen and camp needs. Using that you can make simple modifications (mostly just deletions of ingredients and/or steps...or pre-preparation beforhand in order to make the on-site cooking easier), with the extent and manner of those modifications depending solely on your own wants/needs. So let's start with the whole nine-yards:

[HR][/HR]
[B]Preparation Time[/B] : 25-30 minutes.
[B]Cooking Time[/B] : 3 hours (hey, you can't rush good chili.)

[B][U]Ingredients:[/U][/B]

[LIST][*]2 lbs chuck roast cut into small cubes (I like ½" cubes, but you can go smaller or larger if you prefer a different texture)
[*]8 oz tomato sauce
[*]2 cups beef stock
[*]1 cup chicken stock (yes, chicken stock...shut up)
[*]½ cup tequila (bourbon works well also, but this being a south western dish I think tequila is more appropriate)
[*]2 tsp garlic powder
[*]1 Tbsp onion powder
[*]3 tsp paprika (smoked is best, but regular will do)
[*]6 Tbsp chili powder (I use my own blend made from home grown chiles, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh ground cumin and Spanish smoked paprika…but store-bought will work just fine. If you want to try making your own, Alton Brown’s chili powder recipe makes for an excellent starting point: [url]http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/abs-chili-powder-recipe/index.html[/url])
[*]1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning
[*]½ tsp black pepper
[*]½ tsp powdered Cayenne pepper
[*]1½ Tbsp cumin powder
[*]2 Anchos (dried Poblano peppers)
[*]1 Chipotle (smoked and dried Jalapeño pepper)
[*]1 fresh Jalapeño pepper
[*]1 fresh Habañero pepper
[*]1 fresh Anaheim or New Mexico pepper
[*]2 fresh Guajillo peppers[/LIST]
[U][B]Preparation[/B] (do this about 25-30 minutes before cooking time):[/U]

1) Cut the dried peppers in half and remove the seeds. Kitchen sheers work very well for this.
2) Place the dried pepper halves in some warm water for about 20 minutes to partially rehydrate.
3) If your meat isn't already cubed doing so while the dried peppers are rehydrating would be good timing.
4) Slice all of the fresh peppers in half, length-wise. Deseed them and remove the pith (the white ribs inside, which are bitter). Wear gloves during this part, especially with the Habañero. If you don't, and you later touch your eyes or other part of your face you won't feel manly...just stupid.
5) When the dried peppers are finished soaking put them and the deseeded fresh peppers into a food processor (a blender might work too) and process until you have a fairly smooth puree. I actually prefer little tiny bits of pepper for texture, but since this is a competition chili recipe, and judges frown on any solid vegetable matter in the bowl, I do the puree.
6) Set the puree aside.

[U][B]Let's Cook!:[/B][/U]

1) On medium-high heat, brown the cubed meat directly in the stock pot (I like at least a 5 qt pot...larger if you scale the recipe up) you're going to make the chili in. I like to use a couple of tablespoons of bacon fat that I reserve and keep in the fridge whenever I make bacon, but healthier alternatives like vegetable oil or whatever are fine too.
2) Add the tomato sauce, beef stock and tequila and increase the heat to high and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes.
3) Reduce heat to simmer.
4) After 25 minutes of simmering it's time for the first spice dump, where you'll stir in:[LIST]
[*]All (2 tsp) of the garlic powder
[*]All (1 Tbsp) of the onion powder
[*]2 tsp of the paprika
[*]1 Tbsp of the chili powder
[*]The packet of Sazon Goya powder
[*]All (½ tsp) of the black pepper
[*]½ of the chili pepper puree[/LIST]5) 1 hour later it's time for spice dump #2. Stir in:[LIST]
[*]4.5 Tbsp chili powder
[*]½ tsp powdered Cayenne pepper
[*]1 tsp cumin powder
[*]The remaining ½ of the chili pepper puree[/LIST]6) 45 minutes later do the 3rd (and last) spice dump. Stir in:[LIST]
[*]½ Tbsp chili powder
[*]1 tsp paprika
[*]1 Tbsp cumin powder[/LIST]7) Simmer for another 20 minutes before serving with cornbread. You DID make cornbread...didn't you?

[HR][/HR]

Note that I never explicitly call for salt. Between the Sazon Goya and the stock there's generally already enough. But if there's not enough salt to your taste at the end you can always add a pinch or two. Also, don't get lazy and dump all of your ingredients in at one time. Spacing things out like this will give you far more complex flavors as some of the spices cook for different amounts of time.

{to be cont'd}
9.) Swamp Fox - 10/14/2013
Excellent!

:tu:


Thank you!
10.) CHRIS - 10/14/2013
Here ya go Swampy.

The "She Devil's Chile".
Sorry but it has beans.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. salt pork cubed\t 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil\t 1 lg. green pepper, diced
1 ½ lbs. boneless pork ribs (½” cubes)\t3 T. parsley, minced
2 lbs. beef chuck or venison (½” cubes)\t3 T. paprika (Hungarian hot)
1 ½ lb. hot sausage sliced (game or reg)\t3 T. chile powder
2 cans of “sacrificial” beer\t 1 T. cayenne
2 cups V-8 vegetable juice\t 1 T. cumin
1 bay leaf\t 1 cup water
2 tsp. rosemary (dried)\t 1 can black beans
1 cup diced celery\t 1 can red kidney beans
2 cups diced onions\t 1 can roman beans
1 cup salsa (hot)\t ½ cup jalapeno peppers, sliced
1 8oz. sour crème\t 1 bottle hot sauce (your choice)
1 cup shreaded cheese (cheddar)\t

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large skillet, slowly cook salt pork until the fat is rendered.
In a large roaster pan coated with olive oil add pork cubes, beef cubes, sausage, beer, V-8 juice, bay leaf and rosemary. Cook uncovered in a pre-heated 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally. Place into the skillet with salt pork, celery, onions, garlic, pepper and parsley. Sauté mixture until onions are tender and translucent. Add paprika, chile powder, cayenne and cumin, stirring constantly so peppers do not burn (about 2 minutes).
Add 1 cup of water, mix and add to meat in roaster. Cook until meat is well done, about 1 ½ hrs. Then add the 3 beans and salsa and cook for another 1 ½ hr. Just prior to completion stir in jalapeno peppers.

SERVING:
Serve chile in a large bowl, sprinkle shredded cheese on top, add a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce followed by a tablespoon of sour cream topped with a few sliced jalapeno peppers and your good to go!
I recommend serving my famous chile with a nice thick slice of bread and a cold beer to wash it all down.
This recipe will serve 5 hungry people or 8-10 sissies.
11.) CHRIS - 10/14/2013
sorry my bullet points on ingredients messed up
12.) DParker - 10/14/2013
{cont'd from previous post}

So now you're saying to yourself, "Self, that looks like a lot of time and work." Well of course it is. The sublime requires some investment. But the beauty of a chili recipe is that once the bare essentials are satisfied (beef, basic dried spices and some liquid as a base for the "gravy") everything else is negotiable. The recipe above can be tweaked, pared down and simplified as much or as little as need be and you'll still come out with something that is at least superior to canned/most restaurant chili. Can't find all/most/any of the fresh/dried peppers? No problem. Just eliminate from the recipe whatever you can't find, or substitute something else that you [I]can[/I] find (for instance, canned jalapenos in adobo sauce should be easy to find in any major grocery store's hispanic foods section). At the extreme end of the simplicity scale you could substitute ground beef for the cubed meat and pare the ingredients list down to nothing more than that and 3 cups water + a premixed blend of the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder and cumin powder. You could toss everything on top of the browned meat and let it simmer for an hour and you'll have a fair camp chili. Gradually add in the extra ingredients and steps as your time/effort budget allows and you'll increase the overall complexity and quality of the flavor with each addition.

You can also streamline things a bit by mixing all of the powdered ingredients in the listed proportions ahead of time and just toss it in on-site, either all at once or in multiple "dumps" per the original recipe. If you want to step up to cubed beef your effort in camp can be kept just as low by cubing the meat at home the day before. Want to step it up some more? Just make (or just buy) the beef and/or chicken stock ahead of time and take that with you if you don't mind toting the extra weight (or don't have a good water supply on-site and have to bring your own liquid anyway).

It's like culinary Legos. :grin:
13.) billy b - 10/14/2013
Swampy, for you it's Wick Fowler:wink:tu::grin::hb::ach::beer::lol::clap::buds:
14.) BULLZ-i - 10/14/2013
[QUOTE=billy b;11814]Not very hard to leave em out:wink:tu:[/QUOTE]

THATS CALLED SOUP
15.) DParker - 10/14/2013
By the way, I must correct an error from my 2nd post....

I said "canned jalepeños in adobo sauce", but you won't see it labeled that way. What you'll find is canned "chipotles" in adobo (or "[I]chipotles en adobo[/I]"). As you probably already know, in Mexico the same peppers are referred to by different names depending on their conditions. For instance, when poblanos are dried they're referred to as "anchos"...and jalepeños become "chipotles" when they're smoke-dried.

But if there happens to be a pretty little señorita in the aisle at the time you should probably just forget what I told you and feign confusion so you can ask for some help. :wink
16.) DParker - 10/14/2013
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;11806]Also, easy means not having to struggle to find ingredients that are common in Texas or the SW but which would be a miracle to find at the Piggly Wiggly up here...[/QUOTE]

Here, I've even done some of your grocery scouting at L'Épicier du Porc Agitant ....

[URL="http://grocery.thepig.net/pd/Embasa/Chipotle-Peppers-in-Adobo-Sauce/7-oz/075386048588/"]http://grocery.thepig.net/pd/Embasa/Chipotle-Peppers-in-Adobo-Sauce/7-oz/075386048588/[/URL]

And hey, looky here....even a fresh produce section. Man, you guys are downright cosmopolitan...

[URL="http://grocery.thepig.net/pd/Fresh-Produce/Jalapeno-Pepper/1-lb/000000046930/"]Jalapenos[/URL]

[URL="http://grocery.thepig.net/pd/Pepper/Habanero/1-lb/000000031257/"]Habaneros[/URL]

[URL="http://grocery.thepig.net/pd/Pepper/Poblano/1-lb/000000047050/"]Poblanos[/URL]

[URL="http://grocery.thepig.net/pd/Pepper/Serrano/1-lb/000000047098/"]Serranos[/URL]
17.) Swamp Fox - 10/15/2013
[QUOTE=DParker;11836]...But if there happens to be a pretty little señorita in the aisle at the time you should probably just forget what I told you and feign confusion so you can ask for some help. :wink[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=DParker;11837]Here, I've even done some of your grocery scouting at L'Épicier du Porc Agitant ....

[/QUOTE]



LMAO....

Feigning confusion is one of my skills...


:wink
18.) Swamp Fox - 10/16/2013
Thank you also, Chris!

I'm gonna try both of these recipes soon.
19.) DParker - 10/16/2013
By the way, if you'd like to include the tomato flavor (a real controversy among chili purists, but I like it) but want to save a little (and I do mean a [I]little[/I]) cargo weight and/or want to reduce the initial amount of liquid so that you can reduce the simmering time required for thickening the gravy...substitute a 6 oz can of tomato paste for the 8 oz can of tomato sauce. In fact I commonly do that even with my kitchen-made batches for the latter reason.