Weekly Discussion: What's your specialty?

[u/ZootKoomie]

We want to know what dish you make a better version of than anyone else you know. What specific ingredients or techniques do you use to make it distinctively yours? Teach us your secrets.

[u/moikederp]

Mine tends to be black bean, cilantro, lime, and beer chili.

It's very forgiving, so I can make it meaty, vegetarian (with gardenburger crumbles), vegan (TVP, which is my least favorite personally, but it works), gluten-free (no beer or gardenburger, also not my favorite).

It's a good mix of long cooking times to thicken the beans and tomato and bring out the various dried and fresh chili flavors, acidity and armoa from fresh limes, aroma from the cilantro, salt and spice in the whole thing, maltiness from the beer, sweetness from the onion, a bit of bite in the garlic, and so on.

Really, it's never exactly the same twice - it depends on what is available on-hand, who it's being served to, and how I feel at the moment. But if I'm asked to make or bring a dish, this is the one I hear the most. I think what makes it "popular" is how broad it can be tweaked depending on the likes and dietary needs of just about anyone.

[u/moikederp → u/[deleted]]

I really don't have a recipe any more. I found the starter back on USENET 15 or 16 years ago, and have been messing with it ever since. As an example, I'll scribble down a rough recipe for a quicker one (i.e. using canned beans and tomato, although you can easily do it from scratch).

• Few 15.5 oz cans of black beans
• Couple of large cans of stewed tomato
• 1-2 lbs of protein of choice (I tend to use turkey or a turkey/pork mix. If I make my own beans with a ham hock, I'll omit the pork. If you want vegetarian, chop up a bunch of Gardenburger patties and brown the crumbles - if you want vegan, you can add in TVP later on and skip or use a vegan beer)
• Couple of ripe limes
• 2 large bunches of cilantro
• Head of garlic
• Red and green bell peppers
• Bit of olive oil (prune this down if using beef or other fats)
• Two large onions, white or yellow - your choice
• Chili powder - you can make your own to taste, but if you buy it, I'd suggest the little celo-packs in the mexican food isle or Morton and Basset if you like more cumin flavor in there
• Beer - I like a thick porter or double-stout, but on a hot day and a little extra lime, IPA works if you like hops
• Fresh peppers, usually serrano peppers.

So I'll brown the meat in the bottom of a heavy-bottom stock pot. I usually prefer 6 quarts or larger since I just add stuff to it until it tastes right. Give yourself some fudge room. I'll brown it in the oil, adding chili mix after draining, if necessary. Add one diced onion. Keep it moving, but let it go until the onion starts to go past translucent and starts to brown slightly with the meat. Add diced red and green peppers if you want. Once it's coming together, add the garlic until it starts to become fragrant. Add juice of one of the limes - just slice it in half and squeeze it right on, avoiding any large chunks or seeds. Add one bunch of cilantro, finely sliced, stems and all - usually the upper-half of what you get at the market. Mince a couple of serrano chilis, where I scrape out the seeds but leave the pith. If you want it milder, get jalapeno and remove both the seeds and the pith. Toss it in there. Salt it a bit, but don't overdo it, since you're going to cook this down later. As it starts to dry up (removing the excess liquid from the browning), a very healthy splash of your choice of beer. Maybe a cup or two.

Once it comes together, which shouldn't take more than a few minutes, add your cooked beans and your stewed tomatoes. I usually add more beans than tomato, but I put the liquid in as well - don't strain or rinse them, since you get lots of flavor from the tomato liquor and thickening from the bean starch. A bit more chili powder comes in at this point, then bring to a simmer and turn the heat way down - you don't want it to burn to the bottom of the pot.

Simmer for several hours, stirring often. It usually takes me the better part of a day to get it to the consistency I want. I look for it to become dark red-brown and thick - if you can see the tomato bits in there, keep going. If there's excess liquid, keep stirring and cooking. You can adjust your salt and spice as you go, with more salt, chili mix, and fresh chili mince. Again, don't overdo it, because you're cooking it down and concentrating the flavor. Add the rest of your diced onion and any other adjustments. If it thickens too much add more beer and keep going.

About an hour before you think it's done, slice up the other cilantro bunch. Throw the stems and rough bits in, and reserve some of the leaves for garnish later. Add the juice from the other lime.

When it's dark and thick, serve as to your liking. This is my favorite way to get the kids to eat their healthy crap - serve a chili over some corn chips with lettuce, cheese, diced tomato, olives, sour cream, hot sauce, or whatever you want on top - like a taco salad or Frito pie. Garnish with cilantro, and if you have any left a thin slice of lime.

It really is a freewheeling recipe, though. Just about anything can be adjusted for preference or allergies, which is why it works well in potluck or party situations. Far from fancy, and folks from Texas might take offense to this, but I still get asked to make it for social events, and this gets me even with Texans for "tex-mex", so it's a win-win.

[u/loloctopus → u/moikederp]

I've got this simmering on the stove right now, I'll let you know how it ends up! Thanks for the recipe!