Friday, November 19, 2010

SIMPLE TURKEY CHILI WITH KIDNEY BEANS - Cook's Illustrated

I made another chili recipe. Yep. I think that makes five chili recipes I've posted and I love them all.  But apparently I like to try new variations of chili so I keep adding to my collection. Enjoy this one which includes special instructions from  Cook's Illustrated to make the turkey chunkier.


INGREDIENTS

2tablespoons vegetable oil or corn oil
2medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups)
1red bell pepper , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4cup chili powder
1tablespoon ground cumin
2teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 - 1teaspoon red pepper flakes
1teaspoon dried oregano
1/4-1/2teaspoon cayenne pepper
2pounds 93 percent lean ground turkey
2(15.5-ounce) cans dark red kidney beans , drained and rinsed (as you can see, I used pinto beans)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes , with juice
(28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2cups low-sodium chicken broth
Table salt
2limes , cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. 1. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed nonreactive Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add half the turkey; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. 2. Add beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Pat remaining 1 pound turkey together into ball, then pinch off teaspoon-sized pieces of meat and stir into chili. Continue to simmer about 40 minutes longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until turkey is tender and chili is dark and slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning with additional salt. Serve with lime wedges and condiments if desired.

    Perfect Ground Turkey:  Since the key to this recipe is its long simmering process, we avoided extra-lean ground turkey, which we knew would turn mealy and flavorless with prolonged cooking. We used 93 percent lean instead. Nevertheless, after two hours of simmering, the turkey had disintegrated and the chili resembled Bolognese sauce. We solved this problem by dividing the meat in half and adding one installment at the beginning of cooking and the second an hour later, pinching off teaspoon-sized lumps of turkey for chunkier texture. Our final adjustment was to reduce the total cooking time by 20 minutes.

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