Chili is easy to make; put all your ingredients into a big pot on your burner and cook. But if you want really good chili, prep requires more subtlety. Great flavor occurs when each ingredient you use is allowed to develop and release all its bouquet.
The following 6 steps both explain what not to do and what you need to do to maximize the flavor of your chili.
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Jan. 8th - 4 pm EST - $10
1. Check your spices. Replace any that are old and stale. You can’t get flavor without using fresh ingredients.
2. Add your seasonings toward the beginning of the cooking process. If you wait until the end, they won’t have time to release their weight.
3. Take the time to precook your onions, celery, and carrots (mirepoix) slowly in fat to liberate all their essence.
4. If you are using meat, precook it, giving it time to brown. That process caramelizes the sugars and intensifies the flavor. Make sure to remove the excess fat so you do not add it to your stew.
5. Don’t deprive your chili of time. Ingredients need the opportunity to simmer and mingle so their essences can meld together to become something unique—in this case, chili.
6. The taste of chili should be strong and complex enough to stand alone. Adding garnishes, such as cheese and sour cream, should only be done to vary the taste, not to finish it. The same is true with spiciness. Do not use it to make up for the lack of taste.
Are you vegetarian? No problem,
I’ll show you how to make it without meat.
Jan. 8th - 4 pm EST - $10
I had the privilege to represent Albano’s Appliance store in Pound Ridge NY, at the Holloweenfest 2022. Along with local restaurants and chefs from the area, we made chili or ribs. It was a lot of fun and delicious!
I was thrilled by everyone’s reaction to my chili. It was a huge success!
“Thanks for coming out, your chili was DELICIOUS!🙏”–Chris Boey
“Your chili was by far the best!”
“I heard this is the best chili here. Let me be the judge. . . really good! They’re right, this is so good!”
“Wow, I love this, it is really good”
“I have to say, the flavor of your chili is really, really good. It has spice but it isn’t overwhelming. Thank you.”
“I have to say, the flavor of your chili is really, really good. It has spice but it isn’t overwhelming. Thank you.”
Join us on January 8, for the live interactive chili class FIND OUT MORE
Le Kitchen Cookbook
A Workbook
Everything you need to know to be a good cook.
by Adeline M. Olmer
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