I can live with the beans, but that corn has got to go. We use leftover steak, pot roast, or pork chops in chili, just as you would for a stew, and throw the gravy into the mix. Smoky grilled meat seems to work best. You can even use chicken, turkey, or sausages (there were no cattle in the Aztec empire). Try a Vietnamese, Thai, or Chinese grocer for dried chili peppers and just crush them yourself (the chili originated in central America, so your spices don't need a passport). The heat is in the internal membranes and the seeds, so don't lose them. You also need cumin (cominos) as a spice. Coriander leaves (cilantro) are very good, too, and the plant is easy and quick to grow. It will push weeds aside and grow in a vacant lot or in the cracks in a sidewalk. Tomatillos (husk tomatoes) are difficult to find, but they are the essential base of the green chili sauce, just as tomatoes are to the red sauce. Good chili uses several peppers, from the mild vegetable taste of the poblano (called ancho when dried and pulverized) to the downright nasty habanero. My favorite is the jalapeño, which is so easy to adjust for heat that it might as well have a thermostat. When fully ripened and smoked, it is called the chipotle and is the "secret" ingredient for many prize-winning chilis.
I can live with the beans, but that corn has got to go. We use leftover steak, pot roast, or pork chops in chili, just as you would for a stew, and throw the gravy into the mix. Smoky grilled meat seems to work best. You can even use chicken, turkey, or sausages (there were no cattle in the Aztec empire). Try a Vietnamese, Thai, or Chinese grocer for dried chili peppers and just crush them yourself (the chili originated in central America, so your spices don't need a passport). The heat is in the internal membranes and the seeds, so don't lose them. You also need cumin (cominos) as a spice. Coriander leaves (cilantro) are very good, too, and the plant is easy and quick to grow. It will push weeds aside and grow in a vacant lot or in the cracks in a sidewalk. Tomatillos (husk tomatoes) are difficult to find, but they are the essential base of the green chili sauce, just as tomatoes are to the red sauce. Good chili uses several peppers, from the mild vegetable taste of the poblano (called ancho when dried and pulverized) to the downright nasty habanero. My favorite is the jalapeño, which is so easy to adjust for heat that it might as well have a thermostat. When fully ripened and smoked, it is called the chipotle and is the "secret" ingredient for many prize-winning chilis.