Okay...contest chili is made and it's TOO SALTY. Drat. Friggle Frat. &#$(*#&%

M

marilynfl

Moderator
Okay. I feel better now.

Not only did I use a 4 C box of beef broth (I'm not one of those smart cooks who keeps home-made broth in the freezer. No...I'm more the "park the car, run into the store and grab a box of broth" kind of gal), but then I added salt before tasting it (ignoring the Cardinal Rule of Seasoning learned at age 5!) and then added half a quart of Tijuana Flats black bean mixture, seasoned, of course.

I'm going to drain/save all the liquid because I think that's where the majority of salt is, roast another 2 lbs of meat (the 2.5 lb brisket cut into 1/2" dice hardly seems visible) with more onions and more chili seasoning in 2 cups of Silver Palate's Tomato Soup base (unseasoned and without the cream and basil). After that has roasted for a few hours, I'll add some of the salty liquid back in.

Do you think that will work?

Oh, and it seems a bit thin, so I'm hoping removing about half of the liquid will take care of that problem too. I'll also degrease it.

And I threw in a large, cut-up potato last night, tapping into the culinary wisdom that it would leech some of the salt out.

 
Did Lar taste it also. Sometimes I think things are over salted, and dh thinks its fine.

I think your plan is a good one. What is your thought process re: the SP tomato soup base vs. canned cut up tomato?? It may have less salt in it, and add more dimension vs. another liquid.

I am sure it will work out perfectly! When are you serving it?

Good luck!

Best,

Barb

 
Hi barb...oh no...Larry has started to eliminate a lot of salt from his diet

so if this is salty to ME, I know he would spit it out.

I love the SP tomato soup and since it has carrots, onions, tomatoes and garlic (all that I was going to put in the chili), I mixed up a large batch using a #10 can of plum tomatoes and refrigerated it unpuree'd (still chunky) to use as the tomato base for the chili. Whatever isn't used will get puree'd with the basil, seasoning and cream. I really like that recipe.

Contest isn't until next Thursday, but I have to turn in the list of ingredients by this Friday. That's why I wanted to cook it all up and taste/test it before then.

 
I thicken my chili with dry masa flour (a couple of heaping tablespoons for a ...

...4-quart batch is sufficient) stirred into a slurry with water.

Or, in a pinch, I've pulverized a couple of raw corn tortillas in the food processor until they reach a fine texture and added a few tablespoons of that.

It gives the chili a nice corny taste and thickens beautifully.

I think your desalinization plan is a good one.

Michael

 
Now I get the SP tom soup. (One of my favorites), I thought it was pulverized; salted, etc,

and was a lil confused about the texture. WOW! This is going to be one great chili! Seriously! I think removing some of the liquid, (keep on hand and dilute if needed); plus the addition of additional meat (Can't hurt?....Unfortunately adds to the $$). It will be wonderful!

I recall this is for a worthy cause, they are so lucky to have you...

Your passion is infectious....SO.... are you doing a GB House for Christmas?? : ) ((Ducking and hiding from my computer screen as I write this! : ) ))

 
What recipe did you settle on? I have chili cookoff next Friday

I finally placed last year by giving up trying to do a nice, real chili. I used the cheapest ground beef from Kroger, PBR beer, and Tabasco chili mix. The person that has won the most told me she uses the cheapest dry mix and doesn't really tweak it - she's not much of a cook. So I hate to go to the trouble.

I used Pat's recipe (I think that is the one that I love), I've done skyline style chili several ways, venison chili, you name it and never won. I actually think I might want to do something COMPLETELY off the wall like 'Great Balls of Fire Chili' using, yep, you guessed it, Rocky Mountain Oysters.

Any recipes, suggestions, names, or strange twists are welcome.

 
Ha! I used YOUR idea of McCormick's packaged chili spice to

marinate the meat!

I did spice up the entire batch with "Fort Worth Light Chili Blend" and "San Antonio Chili Blend" both sent to me by Pat in Bastrop.

Our contest isn't until next Thursday so I can't give you any ideas of what might win. A coworker had a chili cook-off in her area yesterday, so I'll ask her which one won and why.

Last night I drained off the liquid and saved it (about 3 cups), sauteed another 1.5 lbs of meat, two more onions and a large can of Muir whole tomatoes with 2 more TBL of the Fort Worth mix. Then I added one cup of the uber-salty liquid back in and baked it for 1.5 hours. When that was done I stirred in the drained mixture and now it looks fine (thick and chunks of beef in every spoonful) and tastes fine...still on the slightly salty side, but I'm DONE!

And guess how much it made...after THREE FRIGGING DAYS of cooking/dicing/sauteing?

It made EXACTLY ONE GALLON, just enough for the contest, so not even a meal for Larry and I! I assumed I'd be storing excess quarts of this stuff in the freezer for us.

Well...you know what they say when you use the word "assume"...

 
M, here is the one that won at my coworker's team "chili contest"

From Beth:

"chili that won had ground turkey, corn, black beans (i think), red/green bell peppers, and not sure what else."

 
I think the McCormick's Chili spice is the villain!

My friend has a favorite chili recipe using McCormick's packaged spice, and I find it way too salty every time she makes it.

 
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