Mom's Chili 2.0

Okay, so I've been craving chili lately. Not just any chili - my mom's chili. I LOVED her chili when I was a child. It was one of the only things that she cooked that took longer than 10 minutes and couldn't just be heated up in the microwave! Don't get me wrong - this chili wasn't fancy. The seasoning was pre-packaged and the rest came in cans. However, it took her all day to cook and our house smelled great!

Last year, when it came time to make chili, I researched the pre-packaged seasoning that she used and discovered, to my surprise, that it was gluten free! Yay! But I used it and discovered that it just didn't taste the same. I did a bit of research and discovered that it had been sold to a different company several years ago. The new company changed the formulation! So, my mother's chili was gone forever. The only thing left for me to do was experiment with flavor profiles over time to find the chili closest to my mom's.

I've been dreading this - experimenting to find a close match. Her's always had a depth of flavor (I guess that's why the pre-packaged seasoning mix is one of the most-purchased this time of year) that I just don't know if I can match. I don't want to over-season or have it be overly spicy. However, I don't want it to be bland or too heavy on one spice in particular, either! A dilemma for sure.

I will probably make chili three or four times over the next couple of months. I will try different flavor profiles. Today, I'm sticking to a basic chili. I should mention, this is chili with beans and ground beef. I know that some people don't add beans. I just don't think that is chili! I guess it depends on your location during childhood!

To begin my chili adventure, I had to research chili powders. Many chili powders used to have wheat in them. All chili powder is made from multiple types of chili, so it is essentially a mix. McCormick's writes that all of their products will say if they contain wheat. They also wrote that their mixes were the only ones that could have gluten. Their chili powder did at one point. I still react to their chili powder, even though wheat is not an ingredient. Why? I don't know, possibly cc'd I suppose! So I stay away! The ONLY gluten-free chili powder that I have found that I don't react to is Spice Island's Gourmet Blend Chili Powder. Since I use quite a bit, I hope that I don't react. The best way to make sure that you don't react is to make your own. However, this is time consuming! Alton Brown has a great recipe for chili powder. If I could've found the peppers that it calls for, I would have opted for this! I use Spice Island for all of the seasoning in this recipe.

Two of the three spices used in today's meal

The next undertaking was to determine the gluten-free status of of beans, canned tomatoes, etc! I needed to make sure that EVERYTHING I included was gluten-free at the time of purchase. I called Hunt's (owned by Con-Agra so they should always include allergy information on their label) and was told that yes, all of their tomato products should be gluten-free. Since I've used them before, I do trust the brand. I also found that Goya's blue-labeled beans are all gluten-free! This was a great find because I can buy them at BJ's for a lot cheaper (about $0.75 per can) than I can in the grocery store. If you look for them at the grocery store, you will have the best luck in the Hispanic Foods aisle!

Hunt's is gluten-free... It's Con-Agra and will always label allergens.

The ingredients...

Everything was ready, except my final ingredient list! My mom always included red kidney beans, pinto beans, whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and ground beef along with her seasoning packet. I need more flavor since I don't have that seasoning packet. I planned to add fresh crushed garlic and diced onions. I had thought about bell peppers, as well, because I like their flavor. When I asked Marc his opinion, he told me about their truck driver making chili at the track one weekend. Apparently, Marc loved it. In addition to what I was going to add, he added mushrooms, bell peppers, celery, and jalapeños. Since I'm not a fan of mushrooms in my chili, I decided that bell peppers and jalapeños sounded good.

Next step: COOK!

I began by adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil to my dutch oven over medium heat. I diced the onions (1.5 c - about 2 small onions) and one large green bell pepper (1.5 c), then sweated them in the pot. After about five minutes (when the onions were translucent), I added the diced jalapeño (seeded because Marc doesn't like too much heat) and chopped garlic (I smashed it with 1/2 tsp of coarse Kosher salt, then chopped) and let it cook about one additional minute.

Bell pepper, onion, jalapeños and crushed garlic - the house smells great!

After the vegetables softened, I added the ground beef to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.

Browning the ground beef.

Once browned, I added one can of water. This allowed the chunks of beef to break apart a little better. I reduced the liquid by about a third over medium-high heat! I also mixed in 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin (for smoking flavor), and a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

The chili powder gives it a dark hue!

The next step was to incorporate the beans. I rinsed them well in a strainer (3 times per can, actually). Total, I used 4 cups of beans. For me, this was two cans of red kidney beans and one can of pinto beans. You can use any mix you'd like. Some people only use kidneys, some use a combination of kidneys, pintos, and black beans. My mother only used these two types, so I'm going for traditional here! I added the beans, cans of tomatoes, and tomato paste. Note: When you add the whole tomatoes, it is a good idea to break them in half with the spoon. It cooks down quite nicely, but it's easier with them in half!

4 cups of Pinto and Red Kidney Beans (Goya)

The beans are incorporated into the beef and veg mixture.

Break the whole tomatoes in half as you add them!

Bring the mixture up to a slow boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, partially covered for 2 hours. 

Just place the lid to the side of the pot to let some of the steam escape!

The longer it sits, the more the flavor develops and the better it tastes! In fact, chili is usually better the second day! I just couldn't wait though, so I tried some for lunch! :) Keep an eye on the chili. Stir it occasionally, and taste to make sure the seasonings are right for you! Also, you may need to add a bit more water to it if it looks like it is dry. 

After it's been simmering for about an hour...

I just couldn't resist a cup. My favorite part of my mom cooking
chili was being able to eat a cup when I got home from school!

It's actually really good! Very similar to my mom's, but it still doesn't have the depth of flavor that her chili did! Maybe next time I'll try the celery! Who knows - maybe I'll grate a few stalks into it before dinner tonight! 

Chili with sour cream, cheese, and cilantro!

The house smells great and the chili tasted wonderful! It's not quite what I was looking for, but it isn't a bad chili. I did add some grated celery (just two stalks) about an hour before I served it. It did give it some depth. Next time, I'll make my own spice blend to add, as well as add a few stalks of celery. I hope that you enjoy this chili. I also made a gluten-free cornbread (Bob's Red Mill with sugar added - I've always had sweet cornbread with chili) and serve the chili topped with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and cilantro! Yum!!!

A bowl of chili and some cornbread on a cold night - YUM!!!

For anyone interested in the cornbread recipe, it's really simple! All you need is a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread. It calls for 2 eggs, 1-1/2 cups milk, and 1/3 cup butter or oil. The only change that I made was to add 1 cup of sugar and increase the milk by 1/4 cup! I used a whisk to mix it instead of a hand-held mixer. I couldn't find the paddles for mine (I didn't do the dishes over Christmas, thanks to my wonderful family, but I think someone put them in a place that made sense to them, not to me)! Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean and it is golden brown.

Disclaimer: Make sure that you are not allergic to plants in the nightshade family. A lot of people react similarly with tomatoes! There are ingredients that can have other allergens in them. I did not react to gluten and I am super-sensitive! 
Also, please note that as of today, January 18, 2012, these ingredients were confirmed gluten-free. They can change at any time!
Please let me know if you have a gluten-type reaction! This will help me to change ingredients the next time I make it! :)