Okay, Bean Lovers

[meadow]

Beer might be a good idea for my tastes. I'm not so sure about a hoppy flavor. It wouldn't be a Porter ...

I dislike beer intensely, so have to rely on DH & kids for information. I'm assured that dark beers would not typically have a hoppy flavor. The beer is chosen for the way it compliments and enhances the chili rather than drinkability. But the chili is outstanding with the Stout too. A hoppy beer would not be recommended (in DH's opinion).

The oatmeal stout I mentioned is one of DH's favorites. When I went to purchase some for the chili (at a local produce stand owned by an orchardist/wine maker, which also has a wine-tasting room and wide selection of micro-brewery beers), the owner recommended that particular Porter when we were chatting about using beer in chili. When I say "recommended" that is an understatement. It was like being pulled aside for secret insider information being whispered into your ear ...and she was right! It is outrageously good in the chili, even for someone that hates beer.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

interesting comment there about beans as red beans and chili beans are just small kidney beans, but those are a different flavor and sometimes texture than the larger commonly used dark or light red kidney beans. i've always loved kidney beans for the unique flavor they do have, i almost think of it as more like a red pepper taste. does DS like red peppers at all? or hot peppers? it's a different taste for sure, but i love it. when i shell out freshly grown large kidney beans before they've dried down all the way that small is right there too and i really enjoy it.


He will eat peppers on pizza and he will eat chili hotter if somebody makes it, but he just prefers this. He is really strange about beans. He will eat navy but no way Great Northern or lima. He will eat pinto, but prefers small red beans. He has tried different kinds of pickles and he just does not like any and he hate cabbage. I have tired to get him to eat it different ways, but he can't stand it. He will eat collards. I will show him a recipe and if it has kidney beans, he will say I am changing the kidney beans and use red. lol

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I dislike beer intensely, so have to rely on DH & kids for information. I'm assured that dark beers would not typically have a hoppy flavor. The beer is chosen for the way it compliments and enhances the chili rather than drinkability. But the chili is outstanding with the Stout too. A hoppy beer would not be recommended (in DH's opinion).

The oatmeal stout I mentioned is one of DH's favorites. When I went to purchase some for the chili (at a local produce stand owned by an orchardist/wine maker, which also has a wine-tasting room and wide selection of micro-brewery beers), the owner recommended that particular Porter when we were chatting about using beer in chili. When I say "recommended" that is an understatement. It was like being pulled aside for secret insider information being whispered into your ear ...and she was right! It is outrageously good in the chili, even for someone that hates beer.

Sounds like how I when asked about beer battered fish, always plump for Kelpie, despite the fact that its almost impossible to obtain (I's a beer brewed in the Orkney Islands using sea water.)

And technically, there ARE such things as unhopped beers, they are, again, just hard to find. A lot of "ancient ales" don't have hops, or have very little (US law requires a certain amount of hops to be labeled as "beer"). Midas Touch, Chateau Jinghau, Ta-Henket (if you find that one, let me know, it's been off the market for over a decade). Ninkasi, King Cnut and many more. (I'd happily send you a bottle of the four I have of Etrusca, but you know how the mail is about shipping alcohol or glass bottles through the mail.)

On thing I would say is definitely DON'T use a German beer, since German beer laws allow malt, hops, water, yeast......and nothing else. So German beers tend to be VERY hoppy (well, some of the Dopplebocks might not be but those are also really heavy and really bitter).

 

[flowerbug]

Things are not working well here tonight for some reason but @Gardening with Rabbits wrote:
"He will eat peppers on pizza and he will eat chili hotter if somebody makes it, but he just prefers this. He is really strange about beans. He will eat navy but no way Great Northern or lima. He will eat pinto, but prefers small red beans. He has tried different kinds of pickles and he just does not like any and he hate cabbage. I have tired to get him to eat it different ways, but he can't stand it. He will eat collards. I will show him a recipe and if it has kidney beans, he will say I am changing the kidney beans and use red. lol"

Lima beans are quite different from Great Northern or Navy. of the three i much prefer Lima beans for their flavor and besides the fact that i grew up eating Navy beans and Great Northern beans and both of those are edible but i find them utterly uninteresting because i've eaten so many of them. personal tastes and preferences are always interesting. sometimes it can just come down to a bad association with a past person or event or a meal where you had a bit of food poisoning or something. never know...

to me the idea that anyone who will eat collards will be picky about cabbage is rather funny. i like about anything. someone once said they could not stand canned spinach. i happen to find it edible even if it might not be my favorite food, it can still work for me. sometimes i just put a little apple cider vinegar on it, other times plain, etc.

for pickles i did not like dill pickles as a kid, i did like sweet pickles and i still do like those even now. i also like dill pickles now. tastes can change.

red beans, i wonder if he's ever tried lentils or adzuki beans. both of those are small and have quite a different texture and taste compared to regular red beans. i love a good lentil soup or stew. it's been too long since i've had some of those so perhaps i'll cook up some adzuki beans tomorrow.

 

[Phaedra]

I am pickier about beans, but I love the leaves of peas and broad beans.

This March's weather is pretty cold; we have continuous intense frost for two weeks, at least till the end of the second week. Besides those being transplanted earlier, the rest of the young plants will be transplanted in the second half of March.

Therefore, I harvested the tops of some peas and broad beans. They will be potted on and stay in the greenhouse for another two weeks.

They became one of the ingredients to make an improvised meal.

I will sow the next batch today. Peas and broad beans are my champions regarding beans - they are so multi-functional.

 

[jbosmith]

What are the Secrets for the Best Chili?

Here is a question or two:

• Ratio of meat to beans?
• Cooking time?
• Does black pepper or anything besides Capsicum play a role in spiciness?

I would appreciate your help.

Steve

Do I remember correctly that you're a canner? If so I used to love this recipe when I still ate meat. I would make a big 5 gallon pot of this, have two canners running at a time, and eat it for lunch every day at work without ever getting sick of it. If you don't want to can this I don't see any reason why you couldn't just simmer it for a couple of hours instead of canning it.

A lot of the flavor for this depends on the meat being good, strong, and wild tasting. If you use most grocery store ground beef it won't be nearly as good. Venison was my favorite for this.

There's no reason you can't brown the meat, etc. while the beans are cooking for 30 minutes. It doesn't matter if the timing is perfect, but try not to burn the meat even if it means it gets a little cooler til the beans are ready. The simmering step takes care of that.

4.5 cups dried beans
5 lbs ground venison (or beef, preferably something lean and flavorful like grass fed)
2 cups chopped onions
1.5 cups peppers, some mix of bell and hot depending on your taste
4 tsp salt (I usually left this out and I dont think it mattered)
1.5 tsp black pepper
6 tsp chili powder - I liked a mix of regular every day stuff and an Aleppo blend
3 quarts crushed/chopped/whatever tomatoes - just make sure there are no skins

Soak the beans overnight, drain, add fresh water, boil 30 minutes, just like you were going to can them regularly.
Brown the meat and onions and peppers on low to medium heat in a skillet
Drain off the fat if there's any (mostly with beef)
Add the rest of the pile and stir it all up
Simmer 5 minutes

Hot pack into pint jars with an inch of head space and process for 75 minutes at 10psi (adjusting for elevation).

 

[digitS']

No, I'm NOT a canner. Two freezers but the only thing that I've ever canned and put on a shelf was jam, a few times.

Looks like a good recipe, @jbosmith ! Thank you. I can understand why venison might work well. A little aside: My uncle was a logger and had no trouble bringing home a deer. My aunt would turn it into mincemeat - yes, some would end up in pies but there was such a plenty that it would just showed up on the plate with everything else for dinner .

I was motivated to search out the pepper involved in the Aleppo spice. Restoration Seed says that the pepper has "an almost smoky flavor." Trade Winds Fruit sells the seed and describes the pepper "Flavor is moderately hot, with fruity and sometimes raisin-like overtones."

Sounds like some of that layering of complex flavors FlowerBug suggests, just in the mix of peppers

Steve

 

[jbosmith]

No, I'm NOT a canner. Two freezers but the only thing that I've ever canned and put on a shelf was jam, a few times.

Looks like a good recipe, @jbosmith ! Thank you. I can understand why venison might work well. A little aside: My uncle was a logger and had no trouble bringing home a deer. My aunt would turn it into mincemeat - yes, some would end up in pies but there was such a plenty that it would just showed up on the plate with everything else for dinner .

I was motivated to search out the pepper involved in the Aleppo spice. Restoration Seed says that the pepper has "an almost smoky flavor." Trade Winds Fruit sells the seed and describes the pepper "Flavor is moderately hot, with fruity and sometimes raisin-like overtones."

Sounds like some of that layering of complex flavors FlowerBug suggests, just in the mix of peppers

Steve

Ahh I can't keep all the names straight. For the chili - it'll be just as good if you just simmer it for a couple of hours instead of canning it. It also freezes well.

I went down a real rabbit hole with Aleppo type peppers years ago when Syria first started falling apart. Reading up on the culture and the markets in that city and finding the pictures of the huge bazaars made my mouth water. I've always loved Syrian food.

I ordered a bunch of peppers from ARS-GRIN as none were available commercially at the time. The ones that were actually most likely to be 'Aleppo peppers' were good, but super long season and I never got them past green. Another pepper, which has since been commercially available, was called Urfa Biber. It's commonly referred to as Turkish online but, unless I'm mis-remembering, the one i had was collected in Aleppo. The fruits were HUGE and SO GOOD! I regret not saving that variety even though they too were tough to ripen here.

 

[Jack Holloway]

Hmmm. Well, the ratio of meat to beans, according to the International Chili Society is 1:0. Yes, beans and pasta are not allowed in chili. Now, they do have a Homestyle Chili competition. that says "the cook's favorite combination of ingredients resulting in a dish seasoned with chili peppers and spices." So beans are allowed in that competition. And while Texas may claim chili as theirs, it comes from South America, from "chili con carne". Which is Spanish for "chilies with meat". Read more about it here: https://www.southernliving.com/food/dish/chili/chili-recipe-debate-with-or-no-beans

Edited 3/15/2022 to correct spelling.

 

[flowerbug]

... And while Texas may claim chili as theirs, it comes from South America, from "chili con carne". Which is Spanish for "chilies with meat". Read more about it here: https://www.southernliving.com/food/dish/chili/chili-recipe-debate-with-or-no-beans

that always confuses me as i think it should be chili pro carne...