'Heat from Down Under' Chili

This is the recipe we tried at the last company chili cook-off. It will take about 3 hours to cook - assuming all the prep (meat and veg) has been done beforehand. We made 20 gallons, the recipe below is for 5 to 6 gallons. You'll need an 8 gallon pot to cook it in.

It didn't win, but we got good feedback and had fun cooking it!

If ordering in bulk, have the butcher and produce departments do as much prep as possible. If you do have to prep the chilis, wear gloves. Or if you do (like me) end up with capsicum burns - washing hands with rubbing (Isopropyl) alcohol seems to work well.

Ingredients (5 to 6 gallons of chili)

• 5 lb Beef chuck roast (cubed)
• 10 lb Beef tri-tip (coarse/chili ground)
• 5 lb Turkey Breast (or Thigh) (coarse/chili ground)
• 5 lb Chicken Breast (coarsely chopped)
• 1 lb Pancetta (diced)
• 3 x 8oz Chorizo Picante (skin removed, diced)
• 1 bulb garlic - cloves removed, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 lb Onion (diced)
• 1 lb Celery (diced)
• 2 lb Carrots (peeled and sliced)
• 1 lb Jalapeno Peppers (stem & seeds removed, sliced in half lengthwise)
• Handful of Thai red peppers (stem & seeds removed, sliced in half lengthwise)
• Handful of Banana peppers (stem & seeds removed, coarsely chopped)
• 4 Habernero peppers (whole)
• 1/2 lb Serrano Peppers (stem & seeds removed, coarsely chopped)
• 1/2 lb Cherry Peppers (stem & seeds removed, try to leave whole)
• 2 x 5lb Tin Diced Tomatoes (drained, but reserve the tomato liquid)
• 1/2 Gallon Beer or Lager
• 3 QT Chicken Stock
• 2 cups Chili Powder
• 1 cup Chili Powder to season meat
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil for frying

Chili Powder (makes several cups)

1 lb Dried Ancho Chilis

1 lb Dried Cascabel Chilis

1 lb Dried Colorado Chilis

7 oz ground cumin

Instructions

• Remove stems from chilis, slice open and remove seeds. Chop coarsely.
• I put the chopped chilis through two different-sized food processors, ending with a hand-blender - each time breaking down the chilis into smaller and smaller pieces.
• Finally, use a spice-grinder (or coffee grinder) to get the mixture into a coarse powder.
• Then mix with the ground cumin and your chili powder is ready.
• The powder will be *hot* - so wear gloves or wash hands frequently.

Instructions for Chili (day of cookoff)

(assuming all prep work has been done, and you have two cooks..)

1. Get 2 burners fired up, one with a large wok/frying pan, the other with the chili pot.

2. In the chili pot, get the sauce started: add Olive Oil (say 1/2 cup), then add the pancetta. Cook for a few minutes, then when it starts to brown, add the onion and chorizo. Cook a few minutes, then add the remaining veg (including chilis) stirring well. Add the 2 cups of chili powder and mix well. Cook a few minutes more then the drained tomatoes, stirring well.

3. In the wok/frying-pan, add olive oil. Season 5 lb of chuck roast with tablespoon or so of chili powder, add pinch of salt and start frying. When browned, add to the chili pot, including the juices (tasty fat!) from the meat. Repeat this for the remaining meat, turkey and chicken. It'll take about 20-30 minutes to get all the meat browned and into the pot.

4. Meanwhile, in the pot, start adding some of the liquids: 1/4 gallon of beer, 2 QT chicken stock and a few cups of the tomato liquid - stirring well. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to a simmer.

5. This should have taken about an hour, now you just leave the chili simmering (uncovered), stir every 5 minutes and add more liquid as needed (chicken stoc, beer or reserved tomato liquid). Do remember to keep stirring, or you'll burn it like our neighboring team did!

6. After about two hours simmering, the chili should be ready to serve. At this point, you can cover with a lid and turn off the heat - it will keep warm! Serve with lime, cheese, chopped cilantro, bread and butter.

Healthy Chili Orange Garlic Butter

This is a healthier version of regular garlic butter.... because of the vitamin C in the chili and orange! Well, it proved successful at our last company chili cookoff, with several requests for the recipe - and here it is!

Just scale down the quantities if you don't want 4lb of the stuff....




















Ingredients (makes 4lb)

• 4 x 1lb Organic Unsalted Butter
• 1 bulb (yes, a bulb) of garlic
• 2 dried Ancho chilis
• 2 dried Cascabel (or similar) chilis
• 2 clementines
• chili salt to taste (or regular salt)

Instructions
1. Put the dried chilis in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and let it steep for 30 minutes so that the chilis rehydrate.

2. Meanwhile, remove garlic cloves from the bulb, peel and place in a saucepan with cold water. Bring to the boil, then drain and replace with cold water. Repeat three times. This helps take the edge of the garlic - giving a smoother taste.

3. Drain chilis and remove stem. slice in half and gently remove and discard the seeds. Using a knife carefully scrape away the rehydrated "flesh" from the skin and put into a large mixing bowl, discarding the skin. Don't worry too much if you can't remove all the skin - just dice finely and put into the mixing bowl.

4. Zest the clementines and add to the bowl. Squeeze juice from one of the clementines into the bowl (not two, or it might get too runny). Use a garlic press to press the blanched garlic and add to the bowl. Add a pinch or two of chili salt to taste.

5. Coarsely chop the butter and heat gently in a microwave to soften.

6. Add the butter to the chili-orange-garlic mixture and mix well.

7. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature on good bread.

Cordero Asado - Castilian Roast Lamb

If you're travelling in the Castilla-Leon region of Spain be sure to try "Lechazo Asado" - roast lamb cooked in wooden stoves.

Here's an attempt to create the same flavour at home - the trick is to cook it slowly and simply; with only salt, water and wine for about 3 hours at a low temp.
















Ingredients

• 3-4lb leg of lamb
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white wine
• salt (or chili-salt)

• Potatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

• Salad

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375 F. Place lamb in a roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and add water and wine. Prepare potatoes - place in another pan with the oil and vinegar, add dash of salt and mix well.





















2. Put lamb and potatoes in the oven and cook for 60 minutes, then reduce temperature to 275 F and cook for 60 minutes more. Add a little more water and wine if needed to the lamb.

3. Then reduce temperature to 225 F and cook for a further 90 minutes. Add a little more water and wine if needed to the lamb. Use a meat thermometer if needed to see if it is done. Remove lamb from the oven to rest 5 minutes.

4. Turn on the convection function (or grill/broiler) and increase heat to 425 F to crisp up the potatoes whilst the lamb rests.

5. Serve lamb with sauce from the pan, along with roast potatoes and salad, and of course a good Rioja.

Chili-Rosemary Turkey Meatballs

Looking for a new take on meatballs? Try turkey as a healthy alternative to beef. Turkey by itself is a bit bland, so it needs some help: here from chili and rosemary.

Ingredients

For meatballs:

• 2 red chilis
• 1 shallot
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1.25 lb minced turkey
• Handful of breadcrumbs
• Bunch of fresh rosemary
• 1 egg
• Dash of Jerez (or other sherry/white wine)s
• Salt and pepper

For sauce:

• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 shallot
• 2 red chilis
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• large tin (28oz/800g) canned tomatoes

Serve with pasta, freshly grated parmesan and zucchini sauteed in olive oil, butter and garlic.

Instructions

1. Make the meatballs: finely dice the chilis, shallots and garlic and gently saute in olive oil for five minutes until softened. Remove and put in a mixing bowl to cool.

2. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, rosemary, egg and Jerez and mix well.

3. Add the turkey, mix well and shape into a large ball. Start making the sauce by gently sauteing the shallots, garlic, carrot, chili and celery in olive oil.

4. Use a teaspoon to make small meatballs (1 inch/3 cm diameter). Check the sauteing vegetables, after they are softened (5 mins) add and stir-in a 1/4 cup of white wine and let it reduce. After the wine has reduced (2 mins) add the tinned tomatoes and stir well. Bring to a simmer.

5. Heat a frying pan, add olive oil and start browning the meatballs in batches (2-3 mins) adding to the simmering sauce once browned.

6. Cover the meatballs in the sauce and turn heat to low; let it simmer for an hour.

7. If making ahead, let the meatballs cool and store in the fridge. They're actually better reheated the next day!

8. To serve: cook pasta until just about al-dente, heat the amount of meatballs you need and mix well with the pasta. The pasta will absorb a lot of the tomato sauce, then top with fresh-grated parmesan and serve with a zucchini sauteed with olive, butter and garlic.s

Chili Salt

Why pay $$ for off-the-shelf 'gourmet' flavored salt when its so easy to make your own?

This recipe takes, oh, all of 15 minutes and the results are superb!



















Ingredients

• 1-2 handfuls (ie "a bunch") of red chili peppers. I used a mix of Thai and Jalapeno
• 1 cup coarse salt

Instructions
1. Rinse chilis in water and remove the stems.











2. Slice in half length-wise and remove the membranes and seeds. Or leave them in if you want to "kick it up a notch". (Reminder to wash hands after handling chilis!)











3. Put salt and chilis in a food processor and whizz for a minute or so until chilis have disintegrated.




















4. Remove salt and place on a clean baking tray.











5. Put salt in an oven (cold) and leave overnight to dry out. Or heat at 190F for an hour if you need to dry-out sooner. If the salt is too "clumpy", just put it back into the food processor and whizz a couple of times.











6. Remove salt from baking tray and place in a sterilized jar. It will keep for ages - I'm still using mine after 5 months without adverse effects!


7. Use in place of regular salt for seasoning - before cooking or for finishing and in salad dressings.

15 Minute Broccoli Soup

This is an incredibly easy, fast and tasty soup.. should only take 15 mins from fridge to table.



















Ingredients

• 2 large heads of broccoli
• Handful of baby carrots (optional)
• 1.5 liter water (7 cups)
• Salt and pepper
• Freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese

Instructions
1. Rinse and coarsely chop the broccoli removing the bottom of the stems. Put in a pan with baby carrots and water. Add salt and pepper.










2. Bring to the boil and cook for about 7 minutes, avoid over-cooking - so check the broccoli every now and then. It should be slightly firm when ready.










3. Drain the broccoli - reserving the cooking water!










4. Return broccoli to the pan and add about 1 liter of the cooking water.










5. Use a hand-held food process to mix well.











6. Serve with grated cheese. And good crusty bread if you have it..

Butterflied Tuscan Chicken

Want a change from roast chicken? Try it "butterflied" - remove the spine and breast bone, open up like a book and grill it - with or without a weight (traditionally a brick is used...).

With a good, sharp knife removing the bones isn't too difficult - and they can be used to make a decent soup stock - two meals out of one chicken!



















Ingredients

• 1 large chicken
• 2 leaves fresh sage
• 1 red chili
• 1 tsp chili salt (or regular)
• pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 lemon
• To garnish: chopped parsley and lemon halves

Sides:

• Fresh asparagus
• 2 knobs butter
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
• salt and pepper
• Roast-potatoes
  

Instructions
1. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry. Make an incision to the right of the back bone and carefully cut all the way down. You'll need to cut through a few small bones, and when finished you should be able to "open" up the chicken as below.











2. This time make an incision to the left of the back bone and carefully cut all the way down and remove.










3. Find the breast bone, make an incision at the end and slowly remove from the breast meat.











4. Congrats - you've now butterflied the chicken! And now for the marinade.











5. Finely dice the chili and chop the sage leaves and place in a mixing bowl. Add the chili salt, freshly ground pepper, olive oil and lemon juice.




















6. Mix well and pour over the chicken, coat all over. Leave an hour or so in the fridge to marinade.










7. Prepare the asparagus: remove the woody stems by holding a both ends and gently bending; the woody stem will break off naturally. Place asparagus on a large piece of double-folded aluminium foil. Add knobs of butter, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and fold up the foil to make a package.











8. About 45 minutes before your target serving time, pre-heat the grill and remove chicken from the fridge to bring to room temperature. The chicken will take approx 25-30 minutes to cook. If you're serving roast potatoes as a side, now's the time to put them in the oven.










9. When the grill is medium-hot, remove the chicken from the marinade, shake gently to remove excess and prevent flare-up. Put chicken on the grill and cover with a grill-press (or clean brick!) if you have one. Cover and leave to cook for about 25-30 minutes, turning once.
When you turn the chicken, add the asparagus foil package.




















10. When the chicken is done (use a thermometer or prick the thigh - juices should be clear), remove and prepare for serving, but cutting into pieces, and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon pieces.










11. Serve chicken with asparagus and potatoes.