Great Lakes Regional Chili Cookoff

On Sunday we'll be heading to Plymouth, MI to compete in the Great Lakes Regional Chili Cookoff. It's our first attempt at a chili cookoff. I'm not expecting to win, but it's an opportunity to dip my toe into the competitive chili arena. I've attended the event many times and see some similarities with bbq contests sanctioned by FBA and KCBS.

The weather today was raining and cold, but the forecast for tomorrow looks a little warmer with a chance of rain in the morning.

Here's a picture from last year taken while I was sampling some verde chili.

I'm entered in ICS red and ICS verde. My personal tastes gravitate a little more toward the verde than the red, but as a bbq enthusiast I'm used to eating a lot of pork :-)

If you're in Plymouth, or near it, stop by and say hello.

Chili Verde

Green chili sans beans

Looking for ideas to use my current abundant supply of jalapenos I decided to make some "green" chili today. ChiliCookOff.com is the home page for the International Chili Society's (ICS) competition information. In ICS competition, beans are not allowed so my chili would be something a little different than the typical "home-style" chili I'm used to eating this time of year.


My attempt at chili verde was loosely based on Gambler's Chili as published on the ICS website.

1. I started with 2 lbs of pork loin chops purchased at Meijer that I cut up into small 3/8 inch sized pieces. I browned it in skillet with a small amount of olive oil for 10 minutes and then drained the liquid.

2. I added 1/2 a jar of Green Salsa, 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of finely chopped onion, and 1 cup of finely diced green pepper to the pork and continued cooking for 1 hour.

3. I added the spice mix (see below) and continued simmering.


Spice Mix

1 medium sized clove of minced garlic
2 ½ Tbsp Watkins chicken base
1 tsp celery salt
1 Tsp Arrowroot
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp jalapeno pepper - diced
1 Tbsp dried cilantro


4. Then I added 14 oz of canned chopped green chili's and simmered for another 30 minutes.

For my personal tastes, the results were pretty good. The pork was very tender. Some might like a little more heat or salt, but that's easy to regulate by adding a dash here and there for your preferences. Beans can also be added, if you like your chili "homestyle".

One option for adding some heat using jalapenos is to cut them lengthwise and drying them on the lowest heat setting in the oven. When they are dried out, they can be ground up using a coffee grinder and used as a powder.

Red Chili Practice Cook



Red chili aka chili without beans


This was my second weekend spent working to develop a contest-worthy-chili recipe. Last week left me a little disappointed, but this week's result turned out closer to my expectations.

I have searched and searched on Google images for what ICS contest chili is supposed to look like with very few results, so I am still unsure whether I am getting closer (or farther) from competitive quality.

Last week I tried to some inexpensive sirloin cuts labeled as "stew meat" on the package. This week I purchased a $15 package labeled as Top Sirloin and the texture and tenderness of the chili was much better.

I feel much more comfortable with the level of heat in the chili too, but that is the area I most unsure about. If a judge is just eating a one bite sample the chili can stand to be a little hotter than if eating an entire bowl (i.e. cup).

Next week I'll be working on a green chili recipe.

A Trip to the Spice Store

As I prepare for my first chili cook-off in a few weeks, I made a trip to the local Penzey's spices store this morning. Here's some of the chili specific spices that I purchased:

I have never cooked a chili contest sanctioned by the International Chili Society (ICS). To help promote chili cooking, contests, and in support of prospective new contestants like me, the ICS publishes winning recipes on ChiliCookoff.com. Last weekend I cooked Jim Weller's Macktown Chili recipe to establish a base to build from. The plan is to make adjustments here and there to eventually develop my own recipe.

I'm a chili novice and I'm a little fearful of making my entry too hot, if that is possible. Most of the past winning recipes look pretty hot to me, so I am sticking to a recipe that is on the milder side of things. I chose some ground chipotle, some guajillo chili peppers, and ancho chili powder for my recipe. All three are the on milder side of the Scoville heat scale.

Chipotle: 5,000 - 10,000 Scoville heat units
Guajillo: 2,500 - 5,000 Scoville heat units
Ancho: 1,000 - 2,000 Scoville heat units

For a comparison, Cayenne pepper is 30,000 - 50,000 Scoville heat units; and a Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper yield between 100,000 - 350,000 Scoville heat units.

I plan to enter the "red" and "green" chili categories. From what I've seen on the web, sometimes the green chili recipes are even a little hotter than the red ones.

I'm not expecting spectacular results in my first event, but I do expect to have a lot of fun preparing and competing. Perhaps best of all...the event I'm cooking is in it's 17th year. The event typically raises a lot of money for local charities. The grand total over the lifespan of the event is more than $265,000 in donations.

Look for a new post tomorrow when I put these new spices to use.

The BBQ Guy Tries ICS Chili Cooking

As the weather here in Michigan makes the gentle turn toward fall with shorter days and longer nights, my thoughts turn toward football, and naturally, toward foods that accompany the changes.



Plymouth, Michigan, near our home in Belleville, hosts the Great Lakes Chili Cookoff. The event is scheduled for October 14th this year. I've toyed with the idea of competing in the event, but knowing very little about competition chili cooking other than visiting a few events in Florida and here in Michigan through the years, I've never progressed much past the "thinking about it" stage.



3 lbs of lean beef



Today I decided to give chili-cookoff-style chili cooking another try. For any seasoned chili competitors who might come across this bbq blog post about competition chili cooking, I want to apologize just in case I've violated any cardinal rules of ICS chili.

I've cooked Jim Weller's Macktown Chili recipe as pubished on the International Chili Society (ICS) website a couple of times. Admitting that I know little about cooking chili sans beans and hamburger, Mr. Weller's world championship winning recipe from the year 2000 looked like a good starting point to develop my own novice version of ICS chili.

I did not cook the recipe exactly because I did not have the exact ingredients on hand, but being a bbq cook who likes to tinker with different ingredients and amounts, I cooked the version below this afternoon.

Brian's Chili Recipe

3 lbs of stew meat from the local big box store

14 oz of beef broth (Watkins mix)

14 oz of chicken broth (Watkins mix)

8 oz can of Hunt's tomato sauce

1 C of water

1/2 tsp of hot sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce brand)

8 Tbsp chili powder

2 Tbsp chipotle chili powder

3 Tbsp cumin

1 Tbsp garlic granules

1 Tbsp onion granules

1 Tbsp arrow root

I combined the liquids into a sauce pan and heated it for 15 minutes. I cut the beef into small 3/8 inch sized cubes and browned it in a skillet. I combined the liquids and beef into a pot and added 1/2 the spice mixture. I simmered the meat and liquids for 90 minutes, added the remaining spice mix and cooked another 30 minutes on medium-low heat (a slow boil).

I cut the beef into bite sized pieces. I was aiming for 3/8" or "pecan sized".

Beef after browing and draining




Hot sauce

 

In case you're like me and don't know what arrow root is I'll try to explain. It is used to thicken things similar to flour. Unlike flour, a little arrowroot goes a long way.

I have no way of knowing for sure what I need to add to this recipe in order to meet expectations at a chili cook off, but here are a few things I'm going to try based on samples I've purchased at a few events.

• Add 1/4 cup of chopped onions.
• Add 1/4 cup of chopped green peppers
• Add another 8 oz can of Hunt's tomato sauce
• Instead of 1 C water, use 1 C of beef broth/chicken broth mixture
• Use Tabasco sauce instead of Louisiana brand.

Any other suggestions?

Great Lakes Regional Chili Cookoff

Linda and I attended the Great Lakes Regional Chili Cookoff today in Plymouth, MI.  It's been a long standing tradition in downtown Plymouth for more than a decade.

From the GLRC website:

Winners of the Great Lakes Regional Chili, Inc cook-offs qualify to compete at the International Chili Society (ICS) World's Championship Chili Cook-off.  The ICS is the largest food contest, festival organization in the world.

We sampled five different samples from various cooks. We tried a mild chili with ground beef and beans that was obviously made for sampling only since it didn't follow the rules for ICS. It was similar to what we make at home.  There was a medium hot traditional red chili with tri tip and a relatively hot (for me anyway) traditional red chili with tri tip. We also sampled two chili verde offerings with a lot of green peppers and chicken for meat.

My favorite chili from a contest perspective was the traditional red sample of hot chili, but if I was going to eat a big bowl for supper, I would lean toward the chili verde with chicken.  A contest sample isn't the kind of thing you can sit down and eat a bowl of.

For People's Choice I voted for MM Chili.

And if you want to try your hand at contest chili, Chili.org has a listing of recipes from the winners of the last several Terlingua International Chili Championship events.

HIGH SPRINGS CASI CHILI COOKOFF

I received a notice today regarding a CASI chili contest in High Springs, FL and wanted to share it for anyone that might be interested.

WHEN: Saturday March 28th 2009
WHERE: O’Leno State Park, High Springs, FL
The park is located 6 miles north of High Springs on Hwy 41.

Entry fee is $20 per team.
CASI rules apply.
You can find the rules at WWW.CHILI.ORG

I've been threatening to compete in a chili contest for a few years, but for some reason I've never made it a priority. Who knows, maybe this is THE year to do it. It sounds like fun.

Florida Chili Cookoffs

For all the chili heads that read the bbq blog, I'm going to pass along some information that was passed along to me today regarding CASI chili events in Florida.

The Florida State Open Chili Championship will be held October 4th this year. So get your recipes ready.

Oct. 4, 2008 - DeLand, FLA. CASI. Florida State Open Chili Championship, 7th Annual Great Bowls of Fire Chili Cookoff. Visit their website: www.greatbowlsofchilicookoff.com. Contact Sally Bohon at SalBohon@AOL.com or Candace Knight Arevalo at candikisseschili@gmail.com for more information.

Oct 11, 2008 - Homosassa FL CASI. Southeast Chili Cookoff. Held at Natures RV Resort on the waterfront. Contact Candace Knight-Arevalo farevelo@bellsouth.net for more information.

Oct 12, 2008 - Homosassa FL CASI. Sunshine State Chili Pod Cookoff. Contact Candace Knight-Arevalo 561-795- 5888, farevelo@bellsouth.net. Visit their website: www.naturesresortfla.com

Nov 1, 2008- Terlingua TX CASI. Terlingua International Chili Champ Cookoff. Held at Rancho CASI De Los Chisos. Contact Alan Dean pepperdean@ctesc.net for more information.

You can find out more about chili cook-offs in Florida at the Sunshine State Chili Pod website.

Old Town Chili Cookoff - Kissimmee Florida

I received the following e-mail from the organizer of the Old Town Chili Cookoff being held 12/2/07 in Kissimmee, FL. I thought I would share it for any chili fanatics that might be reading.

If you have a cooking contest event that you'd like to see posted here, please let me know.

December 2, 2007

Old Town Truck N’ For Toys
Chili Cook-Off
5770 W. U.S. Highway
Kissimmee, FL
www.old-town.com

Name: _____________________________________________
Chili Name: __________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________
Phone#: ____________________________________________
E-Mail: ____________________________________________

Turn in for judging: 1:00P.M. Entry Fee: $20.00

Make checks payable to: Devereux of Florida (Charity of the day)

Mail entry form and check to: Candace Knight Arevalo
1385 Pinetta Circle
Wellington, FL 33414

CASI Sanctioned - CASI Rules. Chili Appreciation Society International – Top ten winners receive points towards going to the World Championship in Terlingua, Texas in November 2008. You do not have to be a member of CASI to participate in the chili cook-off. To learn more about CASI and CASI rules go to www.chili.org

This will be a fun event. Radio Disney and Entertainment until 6 PM the day of the chili cookoff. Old Town looks like an old town with bars, restaurants, and shops all down each row. There are rides for the kids at the end of the town. All the hotels listed below are walking distance from Old Town. Everyone stay at one of the hotels across the street. Cooks party Saturday night at The Blue Max in Old Town.

All Disney parks are right down the road so maybe you can plan a little vacation at one of the parks while your there.

Hotel accommodations walking distance from Old Town:

www.tropicalpalmsrv.com/lodging_profile.asp
TROPICAL PALMS (Cabins and RV’s)

www.suitesatoldtown.com
SUITES AT OLD TOWN

Hope to see you there,
Candi Knight-Arevalo

Sunshine State Chili Pod

I received an e-mail this afternoon announcing the Sunshine State Chili Pod. I thought I'd include some contact information here for anyone interested. It's chili contest information, but I consider chili cook-offs close cousins of bbq cook-offs.

Here's some history of the organization from the website:

"The Sunshine State Pod was seeded in 2001 by a vote of the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) Great Peppers. We are the sponsoring body for CASI cook-offs within the state of Florida. The pod was started up by Bill Garbutt, Tom Ince, Myrna Ince, and Ken Rodd. The Pod's mission is to promote chili and raise money for charitable organizations thru chili cook-offs."

For information contact Candi at farevelo@bellsouth.net. The website provides more information and pictures about chili cook-offs in Florida with pictures and a membership form.

Link to membership form.

Florida Chili Cookoffs

FloridaChili.com is a website providing online links and contact information for Florida chili contests. International Chili Society ( ICS ) and Chili Appreciation Society International ( CASI ) sanctioned contests are listed.

Florida Chili Pod also provides additional specific information about Florida CASI chili competitions.

If you like bbq contests then you should try a chili cookoff.