Reigning Champion

I am pleased to report that James has held his title as 11th Ward Chili Cook-off Champion for two years in a row. The competition was tighter this year--more contestants, better chili--but he still pulled it off.

He was originally banned from this year's competition--he does set the bar pretty high--but at the last minute he was asked/invited to compete. His standard is hard to beat because he gets really involved in the process. He doesn't like to eat chili as much as he likes the process of making it.

He makes his own chili powder. He buys several varieties of dried chilies, roasts them, then grinds them to powder. He toasts and grinds whole cumin. He uses premium beef roast, never hamburger. He cooks it slowly for hours, then makes sure to give it time for the flavors to blend.

As the judge put it last year, all the chilies were good, but in all the other chilies you would take a bite and taste tomato or beef or beans or peppers. In James's chili, however, you couldn't necessarily distinguish the different ingredients, but you knew there was a lot going on in there.

If you're interested, the recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. We have The Best Recipe cookbook, but Albertsons is currently selling a checkstand booklet of Cook's Soups and Stews, and the chili recipe is in there. (If anyone wants a copy, email me and I'll send you a PDF.) James made a couple modifications, most notably the addition of red kidney beans, but it's mostly the same.