It’s hard to find good chilli con carne that is readily available in Australia, so your may want to consider making it yourself at home. Whether you like your chilli con carne with beans or without, these secret ingredients can take your favourite chilli recipe to the next level.
Photo by Danielle Scott.
There are a lot of chilli con carne variations out there, but they all stick to the same main ingredients for the most part. For some extra flavour that will make your chilli stand out, Emma Christensen at Food52 recommends you add some cinnamon, strong coffee, or a little dark chocolate:
Pick any of the following: 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 whole cinnamon stick, a shot of espresso, a small cup of strong coffee, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, or a few squares of good-quality dark chocolate. Except for dark chocolate, add any of these along with the spices; add the chocolate along with the tomatoes and let it melt slowly into the chilli.
All three of these ingredients will help boost the meaty flavour in your preferred chilli recipe without being overpowering. You can find more great chilli tips at the link below.
10 Ways to Make Your Favourite Chilli Recipe Even Better [Food52]
Comments
7 responses to “Upgrade A Batch Of Chilli Con Carne With One Of These Surprising Secret Ingredients”
I’ve never used coffee, but dark chocolate and cinnamon are 2 of my staple ingredients for chilli.
Even though I’ve enjoyed savoury dishes that use chocolate, I still can’t wrap my head around the whole idea of it. I’m terrified of cooking with chocolate. Baking is a different story.
I actually don’t use a “sweet” chocolate most of the time. The darker, the better. Green & Black’s 85% Dark has lots of cocoa, and a little added vanilla. That’s my go-to.
Sweetcorn? Surely not?
Believe it or not but substitute salt for vegemite! Same quantities apply so substitute a teaspoon of salt for a teaspoon of vegemite instead
You’re blowing my mind here.
You add highly umami flavoured items to bump the meatiness, I do this with a lot of meaty dishes: vegemite, fish sauce, soy sauce, tomato paste, certain mushrooms, anchovies.
Serious eats also did a thing about how to make the best chili ever, makes it amazing:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/01/how-to-make-the-best-chili-ever-recipe-super-bowl.html