Chili con carne ahumado

[DParker]

Did you use all 4 pounds at one time in one batch of chili? I'm guessing no.

Say you're feeding 4 hombres at one time. What's your meat poundage and multiplication of the recipe?

The recipe I linked calls for only 2 lbs of meat (cubed chuck), not 4. And it should result in enough chili for 3-4 servings, or slightly more/less depending on the presence/absencebof a side (cornbread, for instance) and how hungry you are.

[Swamp Fox]

Thank you, Senor ...

[Swamp Fox]

That's a lot of air freshener.

You should have been at Battle Mountain.

Records were set ...

[Swamp Fox]

I'm leaning towards ground beef vs. stew meat. I can't see getting the stew meat tender enough for pilgrims.

Any tips for smoking it? I'm thinking roll it into small balls and lay them on the rack.

[DParker]

I'm leaning towards ground beef vs. stew meat. I can't see getting the stew meat tender enough for pilgrims.

Any tips for smoking it? I'm thinking roll it into small balls and lay them on the rack.

I've never had any trouble getting cubed stew meat falling-apart tender with 3 hours of braising. But I'm thinking that the perfect answer to both would be to find yourself a small brisket flat, smoke it like you would any other brisket, chop it up and into the pot with it. Smoked brisket makes a damned fine chili meat.

[Swamp Fox]

Swampy balls ... Not Schweddy balls ...

[Swamp Fox]

I've never had any trouble getting cubed stew meat falling-apart tender with 3 hours of braising. But I'm thinking that the perfect answer to both would be to find yourself a small brisket flat, smoke it like you would any other brisket, chop it up and into the pot with it. Smoked brisket makes a damned fine chili meat.

Okay. Good answer. I'm in the midst of a smoking emergency and may not be able to pull this off right now, but have entered this into the data base.

[bluecat]

There is a thin layer of oxygen close to floor.

[Swamp Fox]

I did this the other day with 4 lbs. of lean burger. I smoked half with mesquite and browned the other half in bacon fat. I couldn't find the last pepper on the list (was a little short on search time, though).

I used tequila, and the peppers were just diced, not pureed. I added the chicken stock a little late when I realized that it was probably supposed to be added when the recipe called for the beef stock.

There was also a 45-60 minute interruption in the simmering process when someone had to run to Walmart for Camel Blues, white wine and Irish butter on sale. I was required to ride shotgun. I believe it was between Spice Dumps 1 and 2.

All in all, not bad. My hair sweats like a fat kid in gym class with every bowl, but it doesn't last long.

I'm gonna give it another try without the distractions and with all the peppers and see what happens.

[DParker]

My hair sweats like a fat kid in gym class...

That's how you know you're doing it right. If it gets to be a bit much just have a glass of milk with it.

And guajillos, being one of the lesser-known (but tastier) peppers in Gringoland can be hard to find if you don't have any Hispanic markets. But, as with all things, there's always BezosMart...

https://www.amazon.com/Guajillo-Drie...3967023&sr=8-4