Cocoachili Recipes

COCOA CHILI

Steps:

• Cook beef, onion and garlic in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.
• Stir in remaining ingredients except beans, breaking up tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness.

CHIARELLO CHOCOLATE CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Cut the chuck into ¾-inch pieces, or, to save time, have your butcher do this for you. Place the chuck in a large bowl. Season liberally with pepper (about 20 turns of the pepper grinder) and grey salt to taste- remember half of this will come off in the pan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, and 2 tablespoons of the chili powder. Mix this well and coat the meat with the masa harina (this is a ground hominy flour common to Mexican cuisine and easily found in the Mexican food sections of many grocery stores). The flour will thicken the sauce and give it a specific, Mexican taste.
• Preheat a cast iron Dutch oven on the stove over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and then the coated meat, spreading it evenly so it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven in 1 layer. Leave it alone, without turning it, so the meat will brown and caramelize. Meanwhile, add the lard. The meat has a lot of moisture in it, so a good amount of steam will come from the pan before it is caramelized. As it browns, slowly turn each piece with tongs. Once all sides are caramelized, remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a cookie sheet to cool, leaving juices in the Dutch oven to saute vegetables. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat until they start to caramelize and get soft. Add the jalapenos and allow to cook for 2 more minutes until soft. Add the tomato paste. Some of the same spices as were used on the meat will be used in the sauce. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, the oregano, and 2 heaping tablespoons of the chili powder. Add beer. Stir to incorporate everything. Add diced tomatoes, and stir. Then add the reserved meat. Add chicken stock. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours until meat is wonderfully tender. Strain juice from the black beans, add the beans to the chili pot and bring up to simmer. Then add chunks of bittersweet chocolate. Stir until it melts. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

COCOA-CHILI-RUBBED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add almost all of the 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with remaining oil.
• Generously rub chicken with the cocoa-chili rub until evenly coated on all sides. Place chicken into skillet and sear on both sides. Remove skillet from heat and bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

ED'S CHICAGO COCOA CHILI

Steps:

• Assemble the spice mix into an airtight container ahead of time. Most of these ingredients are approximate. Seasonings must be to taste; you're shooting for the perfect SWEET,SALTY,SPICY combo.
• CHOP ALL THE VEGGIES UP BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING ELSE. (If you want to save some time: instead of the onion and bell pepper, you can use a bag of frozen "seasoning mix", which includes onions, bell peppers and sometimes small amounts of carrots and celery. you can find this in most frozen veggie aisles.).
• Inside a BIG, DEEP, REALLY DEEP cast iron pot (about 7 qt), on HIGH HEAT, BROWN THE GROUND MEAT to about medium rare (You do not need to completely brown the meat, because it will continue to cook in the pot).
• Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Drain off or use the ladle to take out the excess fat, but leave some of it in the pot to fry the vegetables.
• Push the meat to one side to make space to fry the vegetables.
• Reduce the heat to MEDIUM/HIGH.
• On the empty side of the skillet, add the onions, garlic, and jalapenos, then add all the rest of the vegetables.
• SAUTEE/FRY the veggies for a few minutes.
• Season the veggies lightly with salt and pepper. Try to get the veggies on the bottom of the pan, and the meat on top of the veggies. This way the meat doesn't burn and the veggies get cooked. (If you're freaking out about this, just take the meat out first (put it in a bowl), add the veggies to the bottom of the skillet, then add the meat back on top. I'm just trying to keep this a ONE-POT cooking experience.).
• Make a little space on the bottom of the pan and.
• Add the tomato paste (don't worry if you can't get the entire contents of the can out).
• Cook the paste for a minute, then mix everything in the pot together.
• Add the crushed tomatoes.
• Season the tomatoes with a little salt.
• Stir in the KILLER COCOA CHILI SPICE MIX.
• Keep stirring, keep a very slow boil or a simmer.
• Add Lemon juice, Lime juice and Orange juice.
• Also add the dark chocolate pieces. Let the heat from the chili melt the chocolate and then.
• STIR STIR STIR.
• Taste it. Something not right? Fix it! If it's too hot or sour, add a little more brown sugar. If it's not salty enough, add a little more salt. Not hot enough for ya? Add more hot peppers, or a splash of tabasco hot sauce. Chili is more of an art than a science. Do what tastes good to you!
• Set the heat to LOW.
• Partially cover and simmer for about 5-10 minutes. TURN OFF THE HEAT.
• Congratulations! You now have the best chili on the planet.
• You can keep this chili covered in the pot for a few hours. Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and fritos corn chips or cornbread.
• STORING THE CHILI - I like to put the chili in those Ziploc disposable/reusable containers. You can refrigerate or freeze the chili in them really easy. The chili reheats very well in the microwave. Refrigerated chili is probably good for a week. Frozen chili is probably good for months. The chili defrosts in about 2 days if moved from freezer to refrigerator.
• AWESOME CHILI DOGS! - Use all-beef hot dogs like Vienna Beef, Klement's or Nathan's. Other hot dogs do not deserve this chili.
• NO BEANS? WHAT GIVES?. As a big fan of chili, I've discovered that it's origins do not include beans. "Anyone who knows beans about chili, knows that chili ain't got no beans!". Beans were added later, probably because beans are cheaper than meat or out of sheer confusion between chili and baked beans. -- but BEANS ARE FREAKIN GASSY! I don't like gassy chili, and I'd hope you don't either. If you REALLY MUST HAVE BEANS, you can add a can of them to this recipe, it won't hurt the chili.
• You can also substitute those soybean crumbles for the meat, which works very well with this recipe, but then remember to make sure you add some type of oil to fry the veggies.

PICCALILLI

Steps:

• Dissolve the salt in the water, and add the cucumber, onions and cauliflower. Cover and leave for 24 hours. Drain the vegetables.
• In a large pan, blend the sugar, mustard and ginger with 5 cups of vinegar. Stir in salt and vegetable mixture, bring to the boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Blend the flour and turmeric with the remaining 1 cup of vinegar and stir into the cooked vegetables. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into sterilized canning jars.
• In a large stock pot, pour water half way to top with boiling water. Using a holder, carefully lower jars into pot. Leave a 2-inch space between jars. Add more boiling water to cover them, about 2 inches above the tops. Bring to a boil and cover, processing for 15 minutes. Remove jars from pot. Put jars on a wood or cloth surface, several inches apart and allow to cool. Jars will be sealed.

EASY PICCALILLI

Steps:

• Put the veg in a bowl and toss with 2 tbsp sea salt. Leave, covered at room temperature, for 4 hrs. Drain the veg and wash well under cold water. Drain well.
• Put 100ml of the vinegar in a bowl with the mustard powder, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric and flour. Mix well to make a paste.
• Heat the remaining 500ml vinegar, sugar, bay leaves and a pinch of salt until the sugar dissolves, then pour in the mustard vinegar mix, simmering and stirring for 5 mins until the mixture thickens. Fold in the drained veg, heat for 1 min taking the edge off the veg, but still retaining a bite, then remove from the heat, and pack into three 500ml warm sterilised jars. Seal and leave in a cool dark spot for six weeks or up to three months before opening. Once open, keep in the fridge and use within four weeks.

AUTHENTIC CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Place the ground beef in a large pan, cover with about 1 quart of cold water, and bring to a boil, stirring and breaking up the beef with a fork to a fine texture. Slowly boil until the meat is thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes, then remove from heat and refrigerate in the pan overnight.
• The next day, skim the solid fat from the top of the pan, and discard the fat. Place the beef mixture over medium heat, and stir in the onions, tomato sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chocolate, chili powder, salt, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cloves, allspice berries, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours. Add water if necessary to prevent the chili from burning.

CHORIZO CHILI

Steps:

• Combine first 9 ingredients in a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 5-6 hours or until flavors are blended. Serve with avocado, sour cream and cilantro.