Quick and Dirty Turkey Chili
Yes I know, turkey chili. It evokes images of intolerably tasteless, rubbery gruel that promises health and flavor, and delivers neither.
You can forget those hippy stereotypes. This is serious chili, and frankly, the turkey was only an afterthought as the ground meat of choice. You can substitute almost any meat and still result in a hearty, meaty tasting dish that can be healthy if you choose it to be so.
I start with two pounds of ground meat. Go crazy and mix your meats, like lamb, pork and turkey. For this chili I used two pounds of turkey meat. I rough chopped two shallots, two anaheim peppers and tomato.
I hate most beans. I know, I'm being a foodist. The thought of grainy kidney beans killing the texture of my chili is repellent. I substitute cubed portabello.
Brown the meat in one pan while you're sauteing the vegetables in another. Start with shallot, then throw in the peppers and finally the mushrooms.
Drain the meat, place it back in the pan and throw in 2 tablespoons of chili powder and paprika. Toss in a tablespoon of onion and garlic powder. Do an over the shoulder dunk of 1/2 tablespoon cumin. Salt to taste. Add hot pepper to taste.
Now that is something I am going to leave up to you. You can make it watery bland or enriched uranium hot. Cayenne delivers a nice burn in the throat, but you can half a jalapeno for a rough roasted tongue, or all out conflagration through your solar plexus with a diced habanero. I used to like molten chili, but lately I make a mild batch and let people season it to their taste.
Once you have liberally spiced the meat, add all the vegetables to the pan. Stir virgorously. Stir frantically. Stir like a maniac. Now, add enough chicken or beef broth to cover the ingredients. Splash a few glugs of wine or beer to cover another 1/4 inch of the ingredients. I likes beer, its all about campfire.
Simmer everything for 1 or 2 hours, the longer the better. Throw in a bay leaf, toss in some sage or thyme. Whatever! It's a chili, after all. Keep tasting as you go along, make sure it is salted properly. I cannot stress that enough.
About 15 minutes before it is done, sprinkle in some masa flour, or if you don't have that, regular flour. About a tablespoon. This will thicken it. You know what I did? I had some demi base and stirred in about two teaspoons. It attacked it with bold vealish flavor.
Once its done simmering, plop some in your bowl and shred a tangle of cheese and watch it melt into goo. This is rainy winter food!
You can forget those hippy stereotypes. This is serious chili, and frankly, the turkey was only an afterthought as the ground meat of choice. You can substitute almost any meat and still result in a hearty, meaty tasting dish that can be healthy if you choose it to be so.
I start with two pounds of ground meat. Go crazy and mix your meats, like lamb, pork and turkey. For this chili I used two pounds of turkey meat. I rough chopped two shallots, two anaheim peppers and tomato.
I hate most beans. I know, I'm being a foodist. The thought of grainy kidney beans killing the texture of my chili is repellent. I substitute cubed portabello.
Brown the meat in one pan while you're sauteing the vegetables in another. Start with shallot, then throw in the peppers and finally the mushrooms.
Drain the meat, place it back in the pan and throw in 2 tablespoons of chili powder and paprika. Toss in a tablespoon of onion and garlic powder. Do an over the shoulder dunk of 1/2 tablespoon cumin. Salt to taste. Add hot pepper to taste.
Now that is something I am going to leave up to you. You can make it watery bland or enriched uranium hot. Cayenne delivers a nice burn in the throat, but you can half a jalapeno for a rough roasted tongue, or all out conflagration through your solar plexus with a diced habanero. I used to like molten chili, but lately I make a mild batch and let people season it to their taste.
Once you have liberally spiced the meat, add all the vegetables to the pan. Stir virgorously. Stir frantically. Stir like a maniac. Now, add enough chicken or beef broth to cover the ingredients. Splash a few glugs of wine or beer to cover another 1/4 inch of the ingredients. I likes beer, its all about campfire.
Simmer everything for 1 or 2 hours, the longer the better. Throw in a bay leaf, toss in some sage or thyme. Whatever! It's a chili, after all. Keep tasting as you go along, make sure it is salted properly. I cannot stress that enough.
About 15 minutes before it is done, sprinkle in some masa flour, or if you don't have that, regular flour. About a tablespoon. This will thicken it. You know what I did? I had some demi base and stirred in about two teaspoons. It attacked it with bold vealish flavor.
Once its done simmering, plop some in your bowl and shred a tangle of cheese and watch it melt into goo. This is rainy winter food!
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