I'm in a chili cookoff!

[JoitheArtist]

It's just a friendly one at my church, but still, it's the first time I've done this. I'm using a Guinness Chipotle Chili recipe from my favorite chef's cookbook, with some alterations to suit my taste.

So far this morning, I've discovered that the juice of two heads of garlic can give sensitive skin some incredibly painful burns. fortunately, I also learned that honey soothes those burns.

Wish me luck!!

[ArcticChicken]

Good luck!

[dalesys]

... the juice of two heads of garlic can give sensitive skin some incredibly painful burns...

So... You'll want to stay at least one whole stateline away from Jester's roosterpiece "Devil's Ass Chili".

[JoitheArtist]

So... You'll want to stay at least one whole stateline away from Jester's roosterpiece "Devil's Ass Chili".

YES.

I'm not a huge fan of super-spicy chili anyway. Mine's on the mild end of medium. So good though.

[artcurmudgeon]

Speaking of chili, the late great Miles Davis used to make a chili that some thought was amazing...

I have eaten this before and must say it is an amazing chili...

Don't know if it is a mid western thing or just a St Louis thing...

http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/101...-davis-s-chili

[Jester]

If you have sensitive skin, use gloves with hot peppers, onions, and/or garlic. I only use gloves with the peppers (I'm not that sensitive), but I can understand the irritation garlic can cause.

HELPFUL HINT: You can usually boxes of latex gloves at hardware stores, getting more gloves for less money than you would at the grocery store. Check in the paint section.

Good luck, Joi! Kick some chili butt!

[Bella_Vixen]

I'm using a Guinness Chipotle Chili recipe from my favorite chef's cookbook.

I want! *pout*

[JoitheArtist]

*sigh* My chili didn't even place. But several of the judges were kids, and my chili was a bit spicy for them, so....that's my excuse, anyway.

[Jester]

You can't please everyone, especially in chili cookoffs. I have often placed lower or not at all because I am a Westerner cooking spicy Western chili for predominantly Eastern palates, and too often, they think it is too spicy. And I am not even talking about my Devil's Ass Chili, either, but my regular, signature, awesomeness-in-a-bowl chili. So don't lose heart....keep right on chili-ing.

[Andara Bledin]

Cook off chili should have flavor, not excessive heat; if the judge has to take a drink immediately after tasting it, it's getting marked down.

The ideal is to get a nice heat that hits the tongue, then travels back until it hits the throat, then fades out. I've gotten one like that once at an ICS qualifier cook off; it was amazing, and way more interesting than just something trying to burn your taste buds off. We get a few people who confuse heat for flavor every show - they never get to the final table.

^-.-^

[AccountingDrone]

Sorry to hear, but there will be more cook-offs. This gives you the chance to work on the recipe and fine tuning it milder, perhaps.

[Jester]

Cook off chili should have flavor, not excessive heat; if the judge has to take a drink immediately after tasting it, it's getting marked down.

I both agree and disagree. I agree that chili should have flavor, but in certain places, heat IS important. Obviously you can't get away with making a wussy chili in a place like Texas, for example. But I have also been in chili cookoffs where they had a specific category for "hot." Which means, of course, you need to bring the heat.

The problem is that judging is, by definition, subjective. I have been told by a few people (but not everyone) that I would win more if I toned my chili down. But I don't find my chili all that hot. I think it has an nice balance of heat, sweet, and smokiness. But as I've mentioned before, I am a Southwesterner cooking for predominantly Eastern palates. And that costs me from time to time. But if I were to tone it down, I would be compromising my personal (culinary) ethics, and I would also be pissing off a lot of people; while some think it's too hot, many others agree with me that it is a good balance.

So should chili have excessive heat? No. But the problem is, what is excessive? To some people, my regular signature chili is too hot. But to others, even my scorching Devil's Ass Chili is not hot enough. (Of course, those latter people are clearly disturbed.)

Again, it's a subjective thing, and thus hard to quantify.

[AccountingDrone]

I get into discussions like that with out roomie frequently. She doesn't understand why I can't just wham something like Boeuf Bourguinon with tabasco or something to 'zest it up' - I was trained that recipes have a known flavor profile, and if I make beef burgundy it will always taste a certain way because that is the recipe I was trained with. if she wants to dope up her portion with tabasco, it is up to her to do it.

[ArcticChicken]

But the problem is, what is excessive?

I know someone who finds bell peppers too hot to eat, and someone else (white dude raised in the northeast) who orders Indian food "like you make it at home."

[Jester]

I get into discussions like that with out roomie frequently. She doesn't understand why I can't just wham something like Boeuf Bourguinon with tabasco or something to 'zest it up' - I was trained that recipes have a known flavor profile, and if I make beef burgundy it will always taste a certain way because that is the recipe I was trained with. if she wants to dope up her portion with tabasco, it is up to her to do it.

While I agree with you, it goes beyond even that. There are myriad ways to "zest up" something. While there is nothing inherently wrong with doing so, I take a bit of pride in the fact that I don't use hot sauces or liquid capsacin or liquid smoke in my chili. All of the smoky flavor comes from the way I cook the meat and some of the ingredients I use, such as chipotle peppers, while all of the heat comes from either fresh ingredients, such as onions, garlics, or various chile peppers, or from various dry spices, such as cumin, crushed red pepper, etc. No hot sauces. Ever.

Back to your original example, if you wanted to zest up that dish, you could use Tabasco, or white pepper, or chipotles....and all will bring a different type of heat to the dish. Not all heat tastes the same, after all, something your roommate is clearly not getting.