By Ali Slagle
Tana Harter knows what she wants in her chili: creamy heartiness, a glisten and glow, melt-in-your-mouth meat and consistent spiciness. But half an hour before judging began at the 2018 International Chili Society World Championship Chili Cook-Off in St. Louis, her pot wasn’t meeting her personal criteria. She stirred in the one ingredient she knew would fix it.
Harter, a life coach from Leesburg, Virginia, won the traditional red category that year by adding two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. “It was a crutch for me for a while,” she said.
She has competed in six to 10 chili cook-offs a year for more than a decade, and can’t deny that vinegar is a winning secret ingredient. “I won $25,000 using apple cider vinegar. You got to look at the facts, and that is the fact.”
While adding a final dash of vinegar or another acidic ingredient isn’t especially common on the cook-off circuit, it’s a handy trick for home cooks. It enhances overall flavor and balances richness, making a good pot even better. If a batch is too sweet, salty or bitter, it evens everything out.
This trick also works for other hearty braises, like beef stew. Meat and other fatty ingredients have a tendency to muffle other flavors. Tasting chili after stirring in vinegar in is like taking off noise-canceling headphones. Only then can you fully experience the dish’s distinct heat, smoke and spices.
A final hit of acid can also make a speedy version taste like it simmered for hours. Lisa Fain, a seventh-generation Texan, adds two tablespoons of fresh lime juice to the one-hour Texas chili in her “Homesick Texan Cookbook” (Hachette, 2011). The idea came from her mother, who finishes every hearty or savory dish, including chili or a pot of beans, with a splash of brine from a jar of pickled jalapeños. (Brine is mostly vinegar.) Fain uses brine as well but likes the freshness of lime. “It just brightens up the dish,” she said.
Try it out by making a batch of your favorite chili (or one from New York Times Cooking) and giving it a taste. Then stir in a half teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or lime juice. (You can also use red wine vinegar, but it can be more discernible.) Taste again and repeat with another half teaspoon. If the flavors aren’t yet as intense as you want them, crank it up with another half teaspoon.
You don’t need much — enough to amplify but not enough to detect. Harter’s triumphant recipe included just two teaspoons for a batch using three pounds of diced tri-tip.
Chili classicists might consider this finishing touch unnecessary, but consider how garnishes of pickled jalapeños, pickled onions and hot sauce similarly contribute a jolt of acidity to rich bowls. Stirring vinegar into the pot guarantees that sharp contrast makes it into every bite.
When Fain published her lime-spiked chili, readers grumbled. Lime juice? In Texas chili? “It works,” Fain said. “I’ll defend it.”
Chili
This is a spicy, smoky and hearty pot of chili. It’s the kind of chili you need after a long day skiing — or hibernating. To create a rich and thick sauce, simmer aromatics, chili powder and cocoa powder with a small quantity of tomato sauce and a big quantity of ground beef. Use meat with ample fat (at least 20%), because it deepens the flavor of those aromatics. If you like the meat in your chili to be so soft it nearly crumbles, simmer your batch longer; if you prefer your chili without beans, just leave them out. Just don’t forget the toppings.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Total time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed
2 pounds ground beef, preferably 20% fat
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade chili powder, plus more if needed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo plus 1 teaspoon sauce (or 1 additional tablespoon chili powder)
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (15-ounce) cans beans (such as pinto, black or any bean you like in chili), with their liquid
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, plus more if needed
Grated sharp cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce, sliced scallions, chopped white onion, cilantro leaves, crushed tortilla or corn chips, for serving (optional)
Preparation:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pot, use your hands to break the beef into small chunks (about 2 inches each) and add a single layer to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, then cook, flipping once, until browned on two sides, 4 to 6 minutes. (Meat won’t be cooked through.) Transfer to a bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and chili powder, and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce, plus the beef and any juices in the bowl. Use a spoon or potato masher to break up the beef into small pieces. Stir in the tomato sauce and cocoa powder.
4. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently to avoid scorching, until the beef is tender and the sauce is flavorful, 25 to 30 minutes.
5. Add the beans, including their liquid, and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the liquid is slightly thickened and the beans are warm, 10 to 15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir in the apple cider vinegar. Taste and add salt until chili is rich and loudly spiced. Eat with desired toppings. Chili keeps for up to 3 days refrigerated; warm over low heat and adjust consistency and seasonings with water, salt, vinegar and chili powder. (Leftovers will keep for up to 4 months if frozen.)
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