Food Blog

I didn’t win

I don’t usually expect to win these things, since the winner is usually the most unique tasting chili more than anything else. All three winners were extremely sweet versions.

I asked one of the judges, a friend who is a chef at another restaurant, if there was any entry that really stood out. He answered ” Honestly? My professional opinion? None of them.” I asked him what he looked for in a chili and he said sirloin, and proper use of salt and pepper. At least I had the sirlion.

I’ll post my pic of my chili, and the recipe soon. I think my entry wasn’t very unique, and I kind of went conservative when I should made a batch of a very thick mole based chili that I thought succeeded when I made it earlier in the week. I had made it with anchos and chiplotles, like my entry, but with a heavier hand on the mole and Raz el Hanout, and much more of a smokier background provided by some Kolozsvari Hungarian bacon drippings.

When making 2 gallons of chili it’s quite hard to judge just how much stuff you need to change its taste without going overboard. I think I stopped short with some of the ingredients that would have made it unique.