Subj : Great Story on Chilli... To : All From : Dave Drum Date : Thu Oct 20 2022 05:22:00 Cook-Offs that I stumbled across whilst reading my morning mail/news/etc. Including the winner and second place recipes from the very first recorded chilli cook-off. "Chili is a largely a state of mind," wrote Bill Bridges in "The Great American Chili Book," and nowhere is that truer than in the spicy world of chilli cook-offs, where a champion’s mindset — along with the right recipe and some mad cooking skills - can lead to fame, glory and perhaps even some prize money. Since the first recorded chilli cook-off at the 1952 Texas State Fair (won by Mrs. F.G. Ventura of Dallas, whose recipe is here), major events like the World Championship chilli Cook-Off and the Terlingua International chilli Championship have grown in size and scope to attract competitors and attendees from all around the world. And while Texas is certainly the red-hot center of chilli passion and lore, there are now chilli cook-offs in every state, pretty much any time of year. If you're getting ready to compete in a chilli cook-off, no matter how small or low-key, it can be a good idea to learn from the champions. We talked to several recent winners, and even checked in with a judge, to learn about the easiest ways to emerge from the fray with a culinary victory. Here's the link to the rest of the article https://tinyurl.com/1ST-CHILLI And the recipes: MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Mrs. F.G. Ventura's First Place Chilli Categories: Beef, Herbs, Vegetables Yield: 6 servings 2 lb Ground beef 1 ts Shortening 2 ts Ground cumin seed 1 sm Bottle chilli powder * 4 tb Chopped garlic 1 tb Salt 3 c Water 2 tb A-P flour 1/4 ts Black pepper * The small Gebhardt's chilli powder bottle held one ounce, which would be about 4 to 4 1/4 tablespoons. Drop ground beef and garlic in hot grease: cook slowly 15 minutes, add chilli powder, flour and cumin seed, stir and add water, salt and pepper, cook for 35 minutes. RECIPE FROM: https://www.texascooking.com Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives MMMMM MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Julian Capers' Second Place Chilli Categories: Beef, Herbs, Chilies, Vegetables Yield: 6 servings 2 lb Lean beef; chuck, plate, - or round 1/2 c Suet 2 tb Gebhart's chilli powder 1 ts Oregano 1 lg Onion; chopped l lg Mexican dried chile peppers 3 lg Pods (cloves) garlic 1 tb Salt 2 tb Ground comino (cumin) Cut meat in 1/2" cubes with a knife, trimming out all fat, rind and gristle. DO NOT GRIND THE MEAT. Drop ground beef and garlic in hot grease: cook slowly 15 minutes, add chilli powder, flour and cumin seed, stir and add water, salt and pepper, cook for 35 minutes. Cut the suet into similar cubes. Put the suet into a heavy iron pot or kettle, and heat until you have 1 or 2 tablespoons of fat in the kettle. Remove the suet (solids) and discard it. Put the beef into the kettle, turn up the fire and cook until meat is browned, stirring frequently. Add the chilli powder, one tablespoon of comino, the oregano and enough water to cover the meat well. Simmer very slowly over an asbestos pad for two hours, adding a little water if necessary. Keep covered and stir well every half hour. MEANWHILE, prepare the chile peppers as follows: Open the pods, remove all seeds, fibers and stems; place in a saucepan, cover with water and cook over medium fire about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, saving the cooking water. Carefully strip off the thin, tough membrane that covers the peppers. This is easily done if you strip it off while the peppers are still warm from the cooking. Then take the pulp and either put it through a sieve or put into a food blender with the cooking water and turn on the blender for about one minute. If sieved, mix the sieved pulp with the cooking water. AT THE END of the first 3-hour cooking period, uncover and add the pepper pulp and cooking water, one large onion chopped fine; return to fire, cover and cook very slowly over the asbestos pad for another hour. Next, chop the garlic and grind it with a pestle into the tablespoonful of salt, until you have a paste. Add this garlic paste and the other tablespoonful of comino to the chilli. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes or more. If the juice is thin, add one or two tablespoons of flour shaken up with a little cold water in a tightly covered jar or bottle, to thicken. Serve very hot with or without beans. Never cook the beans with the chilli. This quantity will serve six or more. RECIPE FROM: https://www.texascooking.com Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives MMMMM .... "Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal options"C. Hightower --- MultiMail/Win v0.52 * Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12) .