Instructions: Step 1: Sear meat in a heavy saucepan and drain. Add remaining ingredients in Step 1 and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.(Float the jalapenos on top of the chili for only an hour; then remove.) Step 2: add all the spices and simmer for about 35 minutes. Step 3: Stir in cumin. Taste and add salt and jalapeno juice as desired. Cook about ten more minutes.

Tolbert/Wick Fowler Memorial Championship Chili Cook-Off

Strei

HOT CHILI TIPS: Throw out any chili spices over a year old.(The Reeds, who believe fresh spices are the major secrets to their success, buy only three months worth of spices at a time. And they date their spice jars.) For a smoother chili gravy, grind the spices in a coffee mill to make them finer.

For a darker chili,add more paprika or chili powder. Combine chili powders,some dark,some medium. The Reeds order some of their chili powders and spices from Penderys in Dallas (800) 533-1870. But a lot of people cook with McCormicks chili powder, available at supermarkets, or bulk chili powders and peppers from Whole Foods. According to the Reeds, no one cooks competition chili in an iron pot anymore. Competitors tend to use other heavy saucepans, often Teflon lined to prevent burning. (The Reeds cook in Club Aluminum pots with a Siverstone lining.) If you are cooking chili outdoors, you have to take the elements into account. Wind will affect the amount of liquid in a pot of chili, as well as the cooking fire. Hot weather can affect a final recipe, because you generally need more salt to get a winning taste when the temperature is pushing 100. For cooking chili outdoors, cook over propane and use a heat distributor for even simmering.

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