Posted: 10/8/2011 2:18:47 PM EDT
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Hi All,
Was really wanting to make chili this week for the first time this year. I was at Costco looking for the ground beef or turkey and saw their usually huge packages of meat. Ended up getting a pack of "stew meat." Cubed with little to no visible fat. Anyway, I shredded it in a food processor and cooked everything in a slowcooker. Not thrilled about the texture. Is there any way to make it less dry or should I stick with hamburger? Thanks, -Coop |
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Quoted: Hi All, Was really wanting to make chili this week for the first time this year. I was at Costco looking for the ground beef or turkey and saw their usually huge packages of meat. Ended up getting a pack of "stew meat." Cubed with little to no visible fat. Anyway, I shredded it in a food processor and cooked everything in a slowcooker. Not thrilled about the texture. Is there any way to make it less dry or should I stick with hamburger? Thanks, -Coop Here's your problem. |
| Unfortunately from a healthy eating perspective, lean meat is lousy for long, low temperature cooking like stewing , braising, smoking etc. The fat in beef chuck not only helps the meat not seem dry, it adds much flavor to things like chili and stew. One thing I do with stews and chili and stuff is to cook it then refrigerate overnight. The next day, skim the grease off the top, then heat it up for dinner. |
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I love real chili. I think I'll just indulge infrequently in the real thing.... I've tried too many variations and all have been lacking.
So, what is the meat of choice for the real thing? eta- I love beans in my chili, but I've been eating quasi paleo so beans are out....... |
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Honestly, I have not been able to make a palatable batch from anything but burger, I might not be able to select the right cuts, but anything with the right amount of fat turns to flavorless mush, and anything with that does not have fat does not turn out right.
This has more to do with the meat available here I imagine. Most places sell ground meat in either a 7% or 11% fat mix. The 7% is too lean and flavorless and the 11% is too fatty even for me, and I like to eat a pat of butter from time to time. I want a 9%, I think that would be perfect. But we really need to know what else went into your slow cooker and for how long to figure out what happened. Tomato goes to fuck after a few hours in a slow cooker. My chili is a fast chili while usually done in 15-20 minutes or so. |
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My good hand has been in a cast for the past month and for another 4 to 6 weeks to go. I tried one handed cutting but that turned out to be pointless. I pulsed it in a food processor briefly to get it down to 1/2" shreds. Added chopped red bell and a bunch of yellow onion. Couple cans of stewed tomatoes. And the usual various spices. A little water...
Too bland (needed more spice). Really dry beef and a watery stock.... really more like a soup. Slow cooked on low for 8 hours or so (overnight). |
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Quoted:
My good hand has been in a cast for the past month and for another 4 to 6 weeks to go. I tried one handed cutting but that turned out to be pointless. I pulsed it in a food processor briefly to get it down to 1/2" shreds. Added chopped red bell and a bunch of yellow onion. Couple cans of stewed tomatoes. And the usual various spices. A little water... Too bland (needed more spice). Really dry beef and a watery stock.... really more like a soup. Slow cooked on low for 8 hours or so (overnight). Too much liquid for too much time over too much heat. I have been practicing by starting with the basics. My theory is that Chili was a dish to make less palatable meats edible using only dry ingredients, namely chili peppers. Brown meat, let simmer down, douse with ground chilies or chili powder, add liquid, let cook down, salt to taste. Usually salt, garlic powder and some cumin round it out. Get that down then start adding extras. Browning the meat gives a better texture than just stuffing it all in a pot and hoping for the best. I'll run 2 pans and the dutch oven to brown 3-4 pounds of meat so things don't get crowded. My stove does not crank the heat as much as I'd like so I have to do small amounts. On the fire pit I can brown 4 pounds in the dutch oven. I am not much of a chili guru, but the stuff i have been making lately is tons better than the bean soup with chili powder my mom used to make. |
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Quoted:
Chili meat should have a coarse texture. Personally, I like to use a mixture of coarse ground sirloin and cubed chuck. Some people leave the beef in big chunks like in a beef stew, I like mine a little smaller - maybe 1/2-3/4" cubes. This is what I prefer too, browning the cubed chuck roast first, before I add in the other ingredients. |
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One of the main purposes of a slow cooker is to let you simmer the meat gently to tenderize it. If you have shredded your beef you really have nothing to tenderize. You are also lacking texture in the chili since you just have the shredded beef.
You would have been better off just using the cubed beef. If you had simmered the beef in the same pot, but kept everything else the same you would have had a superior product. If you use cubed meat, lightly brown the meat in bacon grease before making it into chili. If you use ground beef, try this - make the ground beef into hamburgers. Grill them to medium rare. Chop up the grilled burgers and use those burger chunks as your meat. You get the grilled, smoky flavor, plus you get the texture of the chunks of hamburger. You want to try something else great, try this: start your chili pot with 2 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add your chili powder and cumin to the hot oil, along with your other aromatic seasonings and spices. Brown the spices in the hot oil/butter, then add your chilis, tomatoes and everything else. If you need to thicken your chili, use Masa. It thickens, and adds a deeper, rich flavor that compliments the spices well. |
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I use stew meat (4-5#'s) sometimes but I cut it into smaller pieces and rub it with garlic. oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper. Let it set a couple hours.
Then it goes on a hot BBQ grill until browned good. A little grilling bark on it is OK too, adds flavor. Then it goes into the CP with a (1) beer to braise for a few hours. It really breaks down to tender well. Then I add my red chile sauce and let simmer on low until supper time. Break out the tortillas. I prefer big beef or pork roasts, but often go cheaper and do the stew meat. |
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Quoted: Chili meat should have a coarse texture. Personally, I like to use a mixture of coarse ground sirloin and cubed chuck. Some people leave the beef in big chunks like in a beef stew, I like mine a little smaller - maybe 1/2-3/4" cubes. Something we do during the winter is use about 70-30 deer to pork (pork for the fat) and it makes a damn fine chili. Winter's best as the hogs in TX are generally fatter thus giving you a better product. We'll then make a very large batch or three, fill quart ziplocks, flatten and freeze. Nothing like on demand chili for the rest of the year. |
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Quoted:
Honestly, I have not been able to make a palatable batch from anything but burger, I might not be able to select the right cuts, but anything with the right amount of fat turns to flavorless mush, and anything with that does not have fat does not turn out right. This has more to do with the meat available here I imagine. Most places sell ground meat in either a 7% or 11% fat mix. The 7% is too lean and flavorless and the 11% is too fatty even for me, and I like to eat a pat of butter from time to time. I want a 9%, I think that would be perfect. But we really need to know what else went into your slow cooker and for how long to figure out what happened. Tomato goes to fuck after a few hours in a slow cooker. My chili is a fast chili while usually done in 15-20 minutes or so. Take one 7% package and one 11% package, combine. Result is 2 packages worth of 9%. There you go. 
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Honestly, I have not been able to make a palatable batch from anything but burger, I might not be able to select the right cuts, but anything with the right amount of fat turns to flavorless mush, and anything with that does not have fat does not turn out right. This has more to do with the meat available here I imagine. Most places sell ground meat in either a 7% or 11% fat mix. The 7% is too lean and flavorless and the 11% is too fatty even for me, and I like to eat a pat of butter from time to time. I want a 9%, I think that would be perfect. But we really need to know what else went into your slow cooker and for how long to figure out what happened. Tomato goes to fuck after a few hours in a slow cooker. My chili is a fast chili while usually done in 15-20 minutes or so. Take one 7% package and one 11% package, combine. Result is 2 packages worth of 9%. There you go.
 Are you a wizard?
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Ok, this is my go to chili. It isn't fancy and it isn't "gourmet", but I have had many people tell me it is the best chili they have ever had. These people are not chili aficionados, and neither am I, so take it for what it is worth.
2 cans of Cannellini beans 2 cans of diced tomatoes 2 jalapenos diced ground chuck ground sirloin about 1 cup red wine (pinot noir) chili powder a couple of fresh tomatoes dices caramelized onions green pepper maybe 10 cloves of garlic chopped extra virgin olive oil sale and pepper That is it. I can't provide amounts because I always just do it by taste and site. I do this on the stove. Good luck in your chili adventures. bluesticky |
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Quoted:
Ok, this is my go to chili. It isn't fancy and it isn't "gourmet", but I have had many people tell me it is the best chili they have ever had. These people are not chili aficionados, and neither am I, so take it for what it is worth. 2 cans of Cannellini beans 2 cans of diced tomatoes 2 jalapenos diced ground chuck ground sirloin about 1 cup red wine (pinot noir) chili powder a couple of fresh tomatoes dices caramelized onions green pepper maybe 10 cloves of garlic chopped extra virgin olive oil sale and pepper That is it. I can't provide amounts because I always just do it by taste and site. I do this on the stove. Good luck in your chili adventures. bluesticky Blue, Try beer instead of wine, it will make the flavor a little deeper and musky. and try a sweet orange or yellow bell pepper instead of the green pepper, you will lose a little grassy flavor and it will make it just a little bit sweeter Add about 1/2 as much cumin as you do chili powder. Trust me. |
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If I want chili, stew, or stroganoff and don't have time to crock the cubed beef, I use a pressure cooker. Sounds like OP overprocessed his meat and then overcooked it and dried it out.
I start the meat in the pressure cooker and then do the rest of my veggies, etc and get them up to temperature. I add the meat after it is done doing its thing in the pressure cooker. |
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I always use the cubed stew meat for my chili. I just cut it into 3/4" cubes. Then throw in some Pork Sausage that I browned, and throw in some ground chuck. So..
Cubed stew beef Pork sausage Ground Chuck can diced tomatoes (drained) 2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed) Can tomato paste 2 cans rotel drained 4 cans green chilis onion diced Cayenne pepper to taste new mexican red chili powder to taste El Yucateco Habanero sauce to taste |