Ground meat chili or chunk beef chili?

I had entered a chili cook off in my town and made chili with small cubed beef. I lost-they said that they did not consider that chili. They were not used that type of chili. I asked if they liked it and they said it was one of the best tasting "chili" at the event. Bogus dude-I like a hearty beefy chili.

quote:

Originally posted by mikez629

I had entered a chili cook off in my town and made chili with small cubed beef. I lost-they said that they did not consider that chili. They were not used that type of chili. I asked if they liked it and they said it was one of the best tasting "chili" at the event. Bogus dude-I like a hearty beefy chili.

I don't get it. If they said it was the Best Chili there, they should have given you a prize. If this was not a "Sanctioned" event, it should be an anything goes event. Most competitors at sanctioned events use cubed meat not ground meat. I DECLARE YOU THE WINNER!! (inabsentia)
I just saw you're in NJ. That explains it! People in NJ wouldn't have any idea what GOOD chili is all about. You could have fed them Beenie Weenies and they wouldn't know the difference!

I'll eat it either way, but I prefer cubed!

Bet they gave the award to something with beans in it, but that's another point of argument. I do both, but consider the cubed to be more authentic.

Cubed, no beans

quote:

Originally posted by Lexi

Cubed, no beans

AMEN to that...this is what it should look like

quote:

Originally posted by divefl

Bet they gave the award to something with beans in it, but that's another point of argument. I do both, but consider the cubed to be more authentic.

You are correct!-I could have put hormel chili in the competition if it had beens/ground beef.

They're nuts. Authentic chili is made with chunks of meat.

FWIW, my Texas friends tell me that one can get "chili grind" beef in the markets there. Evidently it is run just once through a grinder with a 1/2" plate, and is a convenient compromise.

quote:

Originally posted by MiamiDon

They're nuts. The original authentic chili is made with chunks of meat.

FWIW, my Texas friends tell me that one can get "chili grind" beef in the markets there. Evidently it is run just once through a grinder with a 1/2" plate, and is a convenient compromise.

really? If one believes chili was invented in Texas, then one would have to subscribe to the idea that dried beef, probably pulled into shreded pieces, would likelyt be the "original authentic chili," not cubed or chunked meat. Even chili in Texas today doesn't commonly use dried beef.

Chili, today in the US, has cast such a wide net of styles, that it's difficult to believe that all chili dishes owe their origins to Texans. Especially of one does a little research. Meat sauces are so common among ethnicities, one could even argue that those lonesome cowboys in Texans were merely making a meat sauce using the ingeedients they had access to: dried beef, peppers, water.

As per beans in chili, even sactioned events have an entire category of chili that must include either beans or pasta. That catagory is rated and a winner is selected. And, as I've said before, the only reason sanctioned events have such limiting factors on the ingredients isn't because their competition defines chili, rather the rules are in place in order to produce chilis that can actually be compared to each other. If the ingredient list was wide, it would be very difficult to judge the varying styles. In addition, competition chili, in general, is much hotter than any chili actually served from a restaurant. Chili parlors would go out of business if they only served competition style chili. Which brings the whole idea that competition chili is any more "authentic" than other chilis into suspicion.

Anyway, as per the topic, the judges should've selected the best tasting, rather than best of the style they were most comfortable with, since there doesn't seem to have been a limitation on style. Therefore, I agree with Foodbme, that you, mikez629, are the winner!
Take a bow sir! your chili looks mighty fine.

Every halloween our church has a chili cook off one guy made a ground meet/hot dog combo and ironically my brother in law won using CANNED chili ........ not my idea of a good chili cook off I sampled a few from up there and most were bland with no flavor :(

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by MiamiDon

They're nuts. The original authentic chili is made with chunks of meat.

FWIW, my Texas friends tell me that one can get "chili grind" beef in the markets there. Evidently it is run just once through a grinder with a 1/2" plate, and is a convenient compromise.

really? If one believes chili was invented in Texas, then one would have to subscribe to the idea that dried beef, probably pulled into shreded pieces, would likelyt be the "original authentic chili," not cubed or chunked meat. Even chili in Texas today doesn't commonly use dried beef.

Chili, today in the US, has cast such a wide net of styles, that it's difficult to believe that all chili dishes owe their origins to Texans. Especially of one does a little research. Meat sauces are so common among ethnicities, one could even argue that those lonesome cowboys in Texans were merely making a meat sauce using the ingeedients they had access to: dried beef, peppers, water.

As per beans in chili, even sactioned events have an entire category of chili that must include either beans or pasta. That catagory is rated and a winner is selected. And, as I've said before, the only reason sanctioned events have such limiting factors on the ingredients isn't because their competition defines chili, rather the rules are in place in order to produce chilis that can actually be compared to each other. If the ingredient list was wide, it would be very difficult to judge the varying styles. In addition, competition chili, in general, is much hotter than any chili actually served from a restaurant. Chili parlors would go out of business if they only served competition style chili. Which brings the whole idea that competition chili is any more "authentic" than other chilis into suspicion.

Anyway, as per the topic, the judges should've selected the best tasting, rather than best of the style they were most comfortable with, since there doesn't seem to have been a limitation on style. Therefore, I agree with Foodbme, that you, mikez629, are the winner!
Take a bow sir! your chili looks mighty fine.

That pic is of Big g's chili-can't take credit for that!

Apparently, the judges have never tasted authentic Texas Red!

I'll eat it ground or chunked, but I prefer nice big chunks!

(And preferably without tomatoes.)

I think you were robbed of a title you deserved.

Big chunks, little chunks, fine ground, coarse ground, cubed, chopped, hey I love it all! I used to get whole serlion slabs coarse "chili" ground with the fat left in. That makes some good chili. A slow cooked chuck roast, chopped up, is different but good also. Some folks love smoked brisket for chili. Oh, so do I but I seldom make it because I eat all the smoked brisket first.

The origional chili was made by letting cows soak their hoolves in hot water. Well??? I heard that hear at Roadfood.
Joe

Papa Joe - I think they call that "Hoof to Mouth Disease Chili"

Big__g, Nice lookin pot of ChiliHow 'bout givin' us the recipe!

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

Big__g, Nice lookin pot of ChiliHow 'bout givin' us the recipe!

Yeah!-I'll enter yours next year!

Whoops sorry I noticed I misspelled meat lol I didn't have my glasses on

Hey Leania, kinda like allot of my posts, if they can sound it out and know what I meen, then it's OK. Do you know about the little "edit" pincle??? And oh, what brand of canned chili was that... that your brother used?

Hey Foodb, I like that name!
Joe

My preference is the small chunks.

A new phenom has reared it's ugly head in the largely liberal, granola eating, loft living, SUV driving, tree hugging communities of Austin....meatless chili. Gimmie a break. Ever since we began importing these airheads from California, crap like this has become the norm. Whole Foods wont sell lobsters because that vegan ceo thinks cooking them is inhumane. Soybeans have feelings too. Oh yeah, cubes and no beans..sorry.

Header, my favorite way to do small chunk chili is to boil some ground chuck, no browning. It seperates better that way and still tasts good. Do you cook small chunk, and if so, how?
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

Big__g, Nice lookin pot of ChiliHow 'bout givin' us the recipe!

This is the Base of it....
Texas "Bowl of Red."

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 to 2 1/2 pounds lean boneless beef, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons Gebhardt chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon crushed dried hot peppers
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons Masa Harina

In a large Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until very lightly browned.

Add the beef cubes in several batches and brown on all sides. When all the beef is browned, add all remaining ingredients except the Masa Harina. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over low heat for 3 to 4 hours until the meat is very tender. If too much of the liquid cooks away, add some more hot water during the cooking. Adjust salt and chili powder, adding more to taste if desired.

To thicken the chili, mix the Masa Harina with a little cold water, then add this to the chili while it is still simmering. Cook the chili 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Serve the chili in bowls with saltines and cooked pinto beans on the side.

Depending on the mood it may get a pound of hot country sausage mixed in and more or less spice. I also toss the meat in seasoned flour before I brown it...helps it thicken up.

ground beef only if i want stew ill make stew

quote:

Originally posted by brisketboy

A new phenom has reared it's ugly head in the largely liberal, granola eating, loft living, SUV driving, tree hugging communities of Austin....meatless chili. Gimmie a break. Ever since we began importing these airheads from California, crap like this has become the norm. Whole Foods wont sell lobsters because that vegan ceo thinks cooking them is inhumane. Soybeans have feelings too. Oh yeah, cubes and no beans..sorry.

Sounds like the Austin deterioration is enough to make a Chili lovin' purest move to El Paso!

My chili ruling is that beef should be cut into pieces the size of your little finger nail.Its a lot of work,therefore I dont make chili too often.But it's darn well worth the effort if you have the time.I get aggravated with chili where you you get big stringy chunks because they dont integrate well with the liquid "sauce" part.As somebody said above,that makes it too much like "stew".And as far as using ground beef,that just takes it into the realm of "soup".It was a Texan who taught me the fingernail rule,and labor intensity not withstanding,I cannot argue with him.

quote:

Originally posted by Billfish

My chili ruling is that beef should be cut into pieces the size of your little finger nail.Its a lot of work,therefore I dont make chili too often.But it's darn well worth the effort if you have the time.I get aggravated with chili where you you get big stringy chunks because they dont integrate well with the liquid "sauce" part.As somebody said above,that makes it too much like "stew".And as far as using ground beef,that just takes it into the realm of "soup".It was a Texan who taught me the fingernail rule,and labor intensity not withstanding,I cannot argue with him.

Most serious competitors use this method/rule.

You know what my definition of authentic chili is? "Whatever tastes good to me." I don't care if it has ground or cubed yak a**holes in it as long as it tastes good.

Same here...Ground or chunks...love them both...It's what else is in there....I like it HOT!!!!

My fiance makes his with ground beef, chicken, smoked sausage and ground italian sausage............... Delish! Meat lover rejoice!!!!