How much in 5 gallons?

My town is having it’s first ever chili cook off and I have signed up. Does anyone know about how many pounds of burger and how many cans of beans it takes to make 5 gallons? I can fit 4 gallons in my Nesco, and one gallon in my crock pot. I will add extra spice to the crock pot version to please the pepper heads, it will have a little warning sign.

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

My town is having it’s first ever chili cook off and I have signed up. Does anyone know about how many pounds of burger and how many cans of beans it takes to make 5 gallons? I can fit 4 gallons in my Nesco, and one gallon in my crock pot. I will add extra spice to the crock pot version to please the pepper heads, it will have a little warning sign.

Here is a recipe that I found that makes 4 1/2 gallons. Hope it might help you.

http://lotsofinfo.tripod.com/recipe/xsf1cancanchili70.html

Beans I thought you were making chili?

Thanks Tiki!

And as for you chezkatie - I think what you meant to say is "you can't make good chili in Minnesota!" I suppose I could use SPAM.

You will need at least 12 # of cooked meat (consulting my old WOFH manual). Beans are optional, but I would say at least two (or similar measure) 64 oz. cans of red kidney/pinto beans. Be sure to drain & rinse beans in cold water before mixing with your tomato juice/sauce/crushed tomatoes, etc.

Here's an alternate recipe: Adjust accordingly.

"It Ain't Chili And It Ain't Beans"


8 (16oz.) cans pork & beans
4 (16 oz.) cans dark red kidney beans
2 large yellow onions
1 stalk celery
2 large bell peppers
4 oz. jalapeno relish
1 1/2 oz. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 oz. black pepper
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 oz. liquid smoke flavoring
2 lb. ground sirloin
2 lb. Hillshire Farms beef sausage
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb. Mozzarella cheese
2 pkg. McCormick chili mix

Open the cans of beans and pour contents into a three-gallon pot. Place pot on stove over low heat. Add chili mix, liquid smoke flavoring, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and jalapeno relish. Stir contents thoroughly. Coarse chop/cut all cheeses and add to pot. Coarse chop/cut onions, celery, and bell pepper; set aside.

Precook sausage for 4 minutes on HIGH setting in microwave (optional). Cut sausage into small bite-sized pieces, and then fry in skillet until done. Drain all grease and add sausage to pot. Fry ground sirloin; drain all grease and add to pot. Add onions, celery, and bell peppers to pot; stir thoroughly. Cover pot. Increase heat slightly to bring contents almost to a boil, then cook for 15-20 minutes while stirring contents often.

This recipe freezes well. Any leftovers can be placed in plastic containers and frozen for eating later.

Note: Beans tend to get hotter over a period of time.

BEANS in Chili? Oh God, don't anyone tell Lone Star or Bushie.

If you know beans about chili, you know that chili has no beans.

It will take 10 lbs. of lean ground beef and a total of 20 (15 oz.) cans of beans (half red kidney and half pinto) if you use this recipe from Cooks.com:

Best Bean Chili

Vegetable cooking spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can (15 ounces) Red Kidney beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged Red Kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (15 ounces) Pinto beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged Pinto beans, rinsed, drained
3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chili-seasoned diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
Spray large saucepan with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Cook ground beef until browned, 5 to 8 minutes, crumbling with a fork. Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 5 minutes longer.
Add remaining ingredients; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 20 to 30 minutes.
Makes 6 servings (about 1 1/3 cups each) times 10 equals 5 gallons.

quote:

Originally posted by Ralph Isbill

If you know beans about chili, you know that chili has no beans.

Here we go again!

Thank you for all of the replies, the event is on Saturday the 8th, I will let you know how it goes. This is their first time around, I don’t think sign up has been that great.

quote:

Originally posted by Ralph Isbill

If you know beans about chili, you know that chili has no beans.

I think it really depends on what part of the country you are in. New York chili always has beans, and I have grew up thinking that is what chili is.

Good luck in the contest edge. All I can suggest is if you have a current chili recipe you really like, just try multiplying the ingredients up to 5 gallons.

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

My town is having it’s first ever chili cook off and I have signed up. Does anyone know about how many pounds of burger and how many cans of beans it takes to make 5 gallons? I can fit 4 gallons in my Nesco, and one gallon in my crock pot. I will add extra spice to the crock pot version to please the pepper heads, it will have a little warning sign.

Burger? Beans? In chili?

I’ve had chili with all varieties cuts of beef, I prefer hamburger. Also, there are some time constraints, I’d hate to end up with tough chunks of meat in my chili.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

My town is having it’s first ever chili cook off and I have signed up. Does anyone know about how many pounds of burger and how many cans of beans it takes to make 5 gallons? I can fit 4 gallons in my Nesco, and one gallon in my crock pot. I will add extra spice to the crock pot version to please the pepper heads, it will have a little warning sign.

Burger? Beans? In chili?

The only thing which seems to cause as much dissention on Roadfood.com as posts about chain restaurants is the ingredients of chili.

Other than the posts from those primarily in the southwest, I would never have known chili had chunks of meat and no beans. The only chili I have every had, be it at restaurants or friends houses (home made) contained ground beef and kidney beans.

I feel like my chili dining experiences have been sadly neglected.

Where are you cooking? It must not be a CASI or ICS sanctioned event if they are allowing beans. However sometimes ICS cookoffs require cooks to bring along a certain amount of chili for public tasting while your preparing your beanless competition recipe. Both organizations raise money for charities through donations for those samples, and some cooks will throw in just about anything to beef up their pot.

TICC Qualified #349

Wow, no sooner did I begin to scroll down to reply to the bean comments, did I notice that others had quickly done so...talk about a hair trigger response! Many of my fellow Texas nationals have strong feelings on this issue, as do I, but I think we should educate our errant brethren in a positive and constructive manner. Roadfooders are pretty good at approaching it in this way. After all, I would want someone to tell ME if I started to blindly put ketchup on a Chicago style dog.

Sorry I ever asked.

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

Sorry I ever asked.

Sorry Edge---didnt mean to denigrate you chili!! You go on -- enjoy the day, feed a bunch of folks and have good time---beans or no beans!Hope the event works out well and all have a splendid time>

Good Luck, Theedge! Know that a bean-loving fellow Minnesotan is rooting for ya!

I use 10-12lbs of ground meat cooked in batches with peppers. onions and various seasonings and drained, depending on how much the meat cooks down. A couple large cans of crushed tomatoes(drained), 6-8 cans of hot rotelle,2 large cans sliced jalapeno's(drained), 1 large can spicey V-8, 2 cups or dark muscadine wine, a couple drops of pure capsian depending on desired heat level. Sometimes I leave out the beans altogether other times a couple cans of kidney beans or black beans, each making a subtle difference in the finished taste. The whole concoction simmered till desired consistancy

Theedge,
Don't be sorry for asking. The regional variations for chili are as many as the BBQ debates and pizza and ...and..

Imagine if the chili-heads had a "Lutefisk Cook-off" Most of the Texans would Bread it and Deep Fry it and serve it with gravy all over it. The Carolina folks (North and South) would Smoke it, chop it up real fine, and dump a scoop of Slaw over the top! The SoCal people would run it thru a 'Juicer' and drink it with Guava chasers. And here in Hoosier country we would make it '5 WAY' with cheese, onions, Beans and Noodles!! Ya just can't please everyone!

I will never forget the first bowl of "Cincinnati-style" chili that I consummed here on my first vist to Indiana. When I got a bunch of spaghetti with my second or third spoonful I thought I had been given a 'dirty' dish! YUCK!! But the stuff grows on you (no pun intended). Take the recipes given, and chuckle over the regional preference comments.

I will comment that I have learned to appreciate using stew-beef type chunks cooked tender rather than ground beef in my preferred chili.

We just did a cookoff in Colorado, no beans in our chili, 5 gallons of "Flashover" red and we used 14-15 pounds of cubed SIRLOIN......80 cooks at this so we used the good stuff.

We used 12 pounds of pork in our "Backdraft Green" as our green has more "other" ingredients (Chilis, celery, tomatoes, onion) than does our red (It is almost all beef with a home blended chili powder mix with just enough onio and garlic)

Our green took 2nd place. Looks like we use prime rib in next years Red recipe......

www.bigchili.org

Looks like we use prime rib in next years Red recipe......

www.bigchili.org

I suggest using chuck or chuck shoulder rather than such premium cuts. Save'em for the grill. They won't hold up to stewing. You'll end up with mushy meat or dried out chalky tasting chunks. Try a small batch of each to compare. I'll bet you go with the cheaper cut.

The only time I eat chili with out beans is if it's on a hot dog. If it's in a bowl it has beans.

MacDaddy--i too enjoy a bowl of New England style chili with beans---and 5way and calif stylw with beans ---but please---dont pass up the opportunity to try a bowl of ral "Texas Red"!! No beans---so what--ITS GOOD!!! Now that i LIVE in Oklahoma---if i put beans in the pot and burgermeat---its called Chili beans"! But a great pot of texas red with diced up chuck thats simmered with all that spice and plopped over rice is "Chili". I learned to like it served over a bowl of stewed vegies---Red top stew.

Tiki. I wish you could get it like that up here. Maybe I will cook my own. I have never seen chili w/o beans, or with out ground beef in Montana or Washington. My boss is from Austin, and he says I'm crazy. Maybe I can talk him into making some "real" Texas chili for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Macdaddy

Tiki. I wish you could get it like that up here. Maybe I will cook my own. I have never seen chili w/o beans, or with out ground beef in Montana or Washington. My boss is from Austin, and he says I'm crazy. Maybe I can talk him into making some "real" Texas chili for me.

Macdaddy---try making this and invite HIM over!

Texas Red!
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 pounds lean boneless beef, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 to 2 1/2)
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 tablespoon Masa Harina (1 to 2)

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

I am a purist for comp cooking,but also cook for my audience.

I agree with the purists above,but midwest and northern midwest palates have a certain expectation.

I think that is what you are trying to accomplish.

We also do serving from Nesco's,and they will handle right at five gallons-if you push it.

Upper midwesterners seem comfortable with lots of tomato products,bell peppers,kidney beans, minimal spices & heat and ground meat.

It might also be "soupier" than in the south/spothwest.

This is a Minnesota recipe scaled up for 80 one cup servings.


Minnesota Golf Course Chili
This is the best and easiest chili I have ever had. I
make it often and if there are any leftovers I freeze some
to pull out for a cold winter day. Prep Time: approx. 30
Minutes. Cook Time: approx. 1 Hour . Ready in: approx. 1 Hour
30 Minutes. Original recipe makes 8 servings. Recipe
has been scaled to make 80 servings.
Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by Judi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 pounds ground beef
30 stalks celery, chopped
10 green bell pepper, chopped
10 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon
crushed garlic
10 (28 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
10 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons
white sugar
10 cups water, or as needed
20 (15 ounce) cans kidney
beans, undrained
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons
chili powder
salt and pepper to taste


Directions
1 In a large pot over medium heat, cook beef until brown.
Stir in celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes,
tomato paste, sugar, water and beans. Season with chili
powder, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.





Hope this helps a little.

Tom

We used the same recipe the year before on our red chili but did not place in the top 3 but we used round steak and chuck so we upgraded to sirloin this year and the chili improved, still didn't get a top 3 on it though.

From the way I understand it, Chili originated out of neccesity as meat was precooked in spices and some ground pepper, onion and garlic, then formed into little blocks and dried to support the cowboys on long cattle drives out west. THe meat would preserve well this way and the load of spices would kill any off taste. This concuction would be reconstituted by the trail "cookies" in large pots with water and maybe some other additions when the cattle drive would settle before night fall and the chuckwagon would take care of the crew. Western tradion is no beans, no tomatoes, but what one hears is that beans (Cooked up in a pot from died beans) may be served seperately on the plate to the hungry cattle drivers. Probably by the time chili recipes migrated back east and began to become more popular Beans became a standard part of the dish.

I don't subscribe to the purist chili snobbery, no recipe is set in stone and things evolve especcially by region. I grew up in the northeast and chili there always had beans and tomatoes. I suppose tomatoes beganto be substituted in populace areas as a substitute "red" ingredient for the more spicy dried-ground chilis used in the original traditional dish. Cincinatti chil 5 ways with cheese and onions on top is another nice variation, most all are, the origianl chili and it's history is great but one doesn't have to stop there.

Our Flashover Red Recipe originated with Sante Fe Trail cooks in the 1880's, teh recipe migrated to the conductors and brakeman of the ATSF railroad who commonly made it in pots on iron stoves in the caboose. I used to work for the railroad and got my mits on the recipe, we modified it a bit to suit the tastes of the public and chili contest judges and added a little liquid smoke which adds a nice flavor and jsut cause we're firfighters.

We just got our first "cold front" in north Texas yesterday. Wed. it was 102...today a balmy 79! Time for chili? Perhaps, BUT how many of you bean lovers out there like just the pot liquor? Steaming hot bean juice and cornbread with buttermilk on the side...breakfast of champions!!!

I don’t suppose this would be kosher in a big time contest. But beings it’s for charity. I decided the first 20 people who could handle a cup of my “kicked up” chili would get a t-shirt. I just have to figure out how many times I’ll have to taste it to get the heat right…ouch.

You go edge. Sounds like a great event!

Hope you do well. I have wanted to enter for a long time, let me know how it went.

Edge,

It is a little late to worry about ingredient proportions or whether you have a "purist" chili. Don't let your detractors get you down. I am solidly in the purist camp but I do recognize regional differences. Go with what you feel comfortable with and what is recognized as "chili" in your region.

My advice at this point is to use varied ground chilis, paprika for color, molido for depth of flavor and cayenne for heat. Don't forget to use plenty of cumin for deep down flavor. Do your onions and garlic in beef tallow, it will add greatly to the flavor. Don't worry about it being too hot, the bite of cayenne pepper is greatly reduced by long slow cooking, which you should be doing.

An aside to my fellow "purists": Sirloin in chili? That ain't chili, that's a wretched mess! Sirloin is not chili meat, it is far too tender. Proper chili should be made with the leanest toughest meat you can find. I find flank steak the best. Use sirloin tallow for flavor but not the meat, save that for the grill. As far as "ain't no beans in chili" it really depends on the time period you are talking about. During the Great Depression even in Texas, the greatest Chili Queen Parlors featured more beans than meat in their chili, it was a matter of economics. This is also the same time period that crackers, pasta and rice were added to chili as stretchers.

Anyway Edge, I wish you the very best of luck and hope you win.

I think Greyghost sums it up quite well. While I personally would not choose to use flank steak, I think his other summations/conclusions quite clearly point to the varied options & "opinions" of what true chili "should" be.

Well, I lost by 3 votes to an old schoolmate! It kind of sucks though as he had a three person team (you could vote for your own), and I was a single. Plus my own mother and nephew didn't pick up a ballet! It was cool though, a lot of the people went back and forth between are two tables not being able to choose. All in all a good day!

Sounds to me like you did just fine!! Congrats!!!

quote:

Originally posted by forestfirefighter

We just did a cookoff in Colorado, no beans in our chili, 5 gallons of "Flashover" red and we used 14-15 pounds of cubed SIRLOIN......80 cooks at this so we used the good stuff.

We used 12 pounds of pork in our "Backdraft Green" as our green has more "other" ingredients (Chilis, celery, tomatoes, onion) than does our red (It is almost all beef with a home blended chili powder mix with just enough onio and garlic)

Our green took 2nd place. Looks like we use prime rib in next years Red recipe......

www.bigchili.org

That sounds good..I a copying it to make it...Did you ever had the green chili at dans burger haven?..or something like that.. in Thornton...?.. its really good for a burger joint...