http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x49190Oh my.
I never heard of this.
Maybe one uses white meat, rather than hamburger, in it?
Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 08:13 PM
Original message
I need some suggestions, please, on making white chili.
I jumbled a few recipes together this weekend and made a pot of white chile. It tasted really good, but it was quite thin, more like soup. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to thicken a white chili without making it look or taste like gravy?
eleny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 08:26 PM
Response to Original message
1. If you keep simmering it, it should thicken on its own
I've thickened my green chili by adding the flour/water mixture. But if there's time I let it just cook down by itself.
Oh no.
Now there's green chili too? Never heard of it.
Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 08:59 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. I had thought about that, but I was afraid that the beans would cook to a mush or that it would curdle the cheese. Maybe if I added the beans and the cheese at the end that would work.
Damn. One puts cheese in chili? Never heard of it.
A great way to ruin good cheese, by the way.
Phoebe Loosinhouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 08:49 PM
Response to Original message
2. I've always added the beans undrained and I think this helps thicken the stock.
Other than that, just add a little roux if you must or a cornstarch and water slurry.
Roux is always equal parts flour and fat, cooked in a pan. Make a little, make a lot. A little goes a long way.
For cornstarch , I always just put about a tablespoon in a little dish and add enough water to make it runny. The stock has to be boiling for it to have it's thickening effect.
Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 09:01 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. That's a thought. I drained and rinsed the beans before I added them. The extra starch in their liquid might be a good thickener.
grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 08:51 PM
Response to Original message
3. I might have the solution
I always add a big handful of masa harina or cornmeal to my chili -- not only does it thicken beautifully, but I believe the flavor is enhanced by it. Just sprinkle it over the top while stirring the bubbling pot. Any lumps will go away. I think you'll like it.
I dunno; this all seems like a lot of work.
It seems easier, cheaper, and cleaner just to go get a can of chili at the grocery store.
Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 09:02 PM
Response to Reply #3
6. You know, I've done that before with regular chili and I did like it. I don't know why I didn't think of doing that with with recipe.
grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-06-08 12:48 AM
Response to Reply #6
9. I do the same when I make tortilla soup
...and I never felt like I had captured the flavor I wanted for tortilla soup until I started adding that handful of meal.
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-05-08 11:20 PM
Response to Reply #3
8. That's how I learned how to make it out on one of the Pueblos and I especially liked the blue cornmeal they used and keep a little jar of it in the fridge for just that purpose.
White cornmeal or even corn flour should do the trick for "white chile," whatever the hell that is.
Bravo, the warped primitive (bolded phrase above).
But there's blue cornmeal too?
Primitive dinners must look like Technicolor productions.
Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-06-08 12:08 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. White chili is really more of a soup. I had eaten it at a local restaurant and started looking for recipes online. I kind of combined a few of them, but this one is the closest to what I made:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cooked, boneless chicken breast half, chopped
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 (4 ounce) cans canned green chile peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
5 (14.5 ounce) cans great Northern beans, undrained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add the chicken, chicken broth, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and add the beans. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated thoroughly. Pour into individual bowls and top with the cheese.
I also added ground pork to mine and substituted process swiss cheese for the Monterey Jack and melted it into the chili before serving. Other recipes called for the addition of white shoepeg corn or white hominy which I will probably try in another batch. Mine turned out more like a soup, but the flavor was very good.
Whoa. Chicken in chili? Peppers in chili? Cheese in chili? What is this, a recipe for chili from Mars?
Damn, what a way to ruin chili.
Tangerine LaBamba Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-06-08 01:21 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. I got this one from one of our favorite restaurants here in the DC area. It's never let me down, and, as I noted at the bottom of the recipe, it freezes really well.
WHITE TURKEY CHILI BISTRO BISTRO
http://www.bistro-bistro.com /
1 cup chopped onion
2 tbs. minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tb. ground cumin, or to taste
1 lb. ground turkey (
2 lbs. skinless, boneless turkey breasts, cut in ¾†cubes
2/3 cup pearl barley
2 1-lb. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 Tb. minced bottled jalapeno peppers (wear rubber gloves), or to taste
6 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. dried marjoram
½ tsp. dried savory, crumbled
1-1/2 tbs. arrowroot, dissolved in ½ cup water
4 cups coarsely grated Monterey Jack (about 1 pound)
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
In a large kettle, cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened. Add the cumin, and cook the mixture, stirring for 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey and the cubed turkey and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the turkey is no longer pink. Add the barley, the chickpeas, the jalapeno pepper, the broth, the marjoram, and the savory, and simmer the mixture, covered stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Stir the arrowroot mixture, add it to the chili, and simmer the chili, uncovered, stirring, for 15 minutes. Season the chili with salt and pepper, ladle it into heated bowls, and sprinkle it with the Monterey Jack and the scallions. Freezes great.
No comment; am rendered speechless.
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-06-08 02:46 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. Thanks, Granny
It's sort of a green posole without the posole and tomatillos and with beans.
Recipes are only suggestions, but you already knew that.
It looks pretty good. My suggestion about the yellow or white cornmeal stands, though. It would probably thicken it nicely and add extra flavor.
Phentex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-07-08 07:33 AM
Response to Reply #10
16. That's pretty much my recipe except mine calls for adding a bit of flour just after the onions and garlic, and adding the green chilis to that. It makes a sort of paste to start. Then, like the others have said, I don't drain the beans. That makes for a very thick chili!
I planned to make this last week since we were supposed to get a touch of cooler weather. It didn't happen! But now I'm wanting it again.
htuttle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-06-08 06:49 PM
Response to Original message
14. It's not in the 'chili' genre, but arrowroot powder is the best sauce thickener I know
Though it's usually used in Thai food, I find that it doesn't have any taste at all. It dissolves much better than cornstarch, so it never clumps and works really well. Just add a teaspoon or so to a small pot of sauce-like food, and it thickens up within a few minutes of low simmering.
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-06-08 07:30 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. Unfortunately, it doesn't reheat well which limits its use in soups and stews.
Cornstarch is flavor neutral and does reheat better. The same goes for rice flour, although it's harder to find.
Damn.
Just damn.
Doesn't anybody know chili is one of the simplest things to make (if one doesn't go to the store and buy a can, which is cheaper)? Ground beef, beef broth, some sort of red beans but not too many, maybe a full can of tomato soup or tomato sauce, copious salt and pepper.
That's all.
Damn.
Just damn.
