My brother Bruce's Chili

[LaurieAnn]

In the "Dehydrating Beans" thread there was a request for the chili recipe I use on the trail. To make it easier to find later on, I figured a separate thread might be a good idea. I generally double the recipe and we have it for dinner at home and then I dry the leftovers. This was usually one of the first meat-based recipes that I would teach my wilderness cooking classes.

I'm not sure how traditional the recipe is but it is a special one for me. You see, Bruce passed away when I was a child. It was about 7 months after his last backpacking trip from Ontario to BC. He'd hitch-hike, campground camp and wilderness backpack all the way and most often he'd choose walking over hitching. Although I was very young, I still have strong memories of Bruce and it was the camping experiences we shared that are at the foundation of my life outdoors... this recipe always brings me back to that. Anyway, enough of the sentimental stuff (I'm a big sap)... here's the recipe.


http://www.outdooradventurecanada.com/laurie/chili.jpg

Bruce’s Chili con Carne

courtesy A Fork in the Trail ©2008

Dehydration Time: 7–10 hours
Makes 3–4 servings

My brother Bruce was an avid backpacker and loved to play around in the camp kitchen. This was his favorite chili recipe, and he would cook it over the campfire on the late fall camping trips that we shared when I was a kid. I’ve modified it to make it backpacker friendly. This chili is delicious served with cornbread, biscuits, or toasted tortillas.


1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups canned diced tomatoes
5 ounces or 1/2 can condensed tomato soup
2 cups canned dark red kidney beans
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste

At Home
Cook the meat in a large pot over medium-high heat until browned. Drain the fat, rinse the meat with boiling water, and return it to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste, and simmer for an hour or more.

Remove the chili from the heat and allow to cool. Measure the chili and write this measurement on a sticky note. Place on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 7 to 10 hours. Place the dried chili in a ziplock freezer bag along with the sticky note.

At Camp
Add enough boiling water to the chili mix in a pot to equal the measurement on your sticky note. Do not add the water first or you will have too much liquid. Once rehydrated you might have to reheat the chili.

[Old Grouse]

Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try it.

[YoungMoose]

im holding onto this recipe until i get a dehydrator.

[mikec]

You have some great memories and a great chili recipe to remember your brother by. I will print it out and try to make it.

[Rowdy Yates]

THANKS LaurieAnn,
I just printed this recipe and plan to use it on one of my backpacking trips.

[Hikes in Rain]

I will most definitely use it, both dehydrated (assuming I ever hike again!), and here at home. I love chili, and I'm always collecting recipes. Thanks so much, it looks wonderful.

[LaurieAnn]

Thanks everyone... it isn't very spicy so I kick it up a bit by making my own chili powder (which lately hasn't been the same way twice).

[Many Walks]

Mmmm, looks good. Now I'm hungry. Thanks for sharing.

[LaurieAnn]

I know I posted this in the other thread on dehydrating beans but I thought it might be good to show you what it looks like when dried in the same thread as the recipe. This way it's easier to find in the future.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l185/_WildChild/dried-chili.jpg

[le loupe]

I'm trying this in my oven, on a cookie sheet, lined with wax paper, at 170 degrees.

Anybody know how this will turn out?

[mkmangold]

Laurie Ann: try Alton Brown's "AB Chili" recipe. And obviously, your brother must have been WAY too young. My sympathies.

[Heater]

I know I posted this in the other thread on dehydrating beans but I thought it might be good to show you what it looks like when dried in the same thread as the recipe. This way it's easier to find in the future.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l185/_WildChild/dried-chili.jpg

This is what happens when you drink too much Tequila with your chili. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sick017.gif

[LaurieAnn]

I'm trying this in my oven, on a cookie sheet, lined with wax paper, at 170 degrees.

Anybody know how this will turn out?

Depends on the oven, the humidity of your home and how long you dry it for... but it should turn out fine.

[LaurieAnn]

This is what happens when you drink too much Tequila with your chili. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sick017.gif

lol Dehydrated food doesn't look pretty... that's for sure.

[LaurieAnn]

Laurie Ann: try Alton Brown's "AB Chili" recipe. And obviously, your brother must have been WAY too young. My sympathies.

I like Alton and his techniques. Chili around our house becomes what I call "Kitchen Chili" and basically the ingredients depend on what I have in the kitchen. It's a good way to use up veggies and such.

Thank you for the kind words. It's been 32 years since he's been gone but everytime I am out on a trail he's with me. He was a total bohemian wanderer - a bit of a hippy. Gotta love it.

[le loupe]

Turned out great, took about 8 hrs per batch. I'm excited about having it on the trail.

I'm on to dehyrating other things. I didn't know my oven went that low...

[mrhughes1982]

I just checked out your website Laurie. There's some tasty stuff in there :) I love chili and plan on doing a lot of winter camping this year before I try my through so I'm sure I'll give this a shot. Thanks

[chefjason]

In the "Dehydrating Beans" thread there was a request for the chili recipe I use on the trail. To make it easier to find later on, I figured a separate thread might be a good idea. I generally double the recipe and we have it for dinner at home and then I dry the leftovers. This was usually one of the first meat-based recipes that I would teach my wilderness cooking classes.

I'm not sure how traditional the recipe is but it is a special one for me. You see, Bruce passed away when I was a child. It was about 7 months after his last backpacking trip from Ontario to BC. He'd hitch-hike, campground camp and wilderness backpack all the way and most often he'd choose walking over hitching. Although I was very young, I still have strong memories of Bruce and it was the camping experiences we shared that are at the foundation of my life outdoors... this recipe always brings me back to that. Anyway, enough of the sentimental stuff (I'm a big sap)... here's the recipe.


http://www.outdooradventurecanada.com/laurie/chili.jpg

Bruce’s Chili con Carne

courtesy A Fork in the Trail ©2008

Dehydration Time: 7–10 hours
Makes 3–4 servings

My brother Bruce was an avid backpacker and loved to play around in the camp kitchen. This was his favorite chili recipe, and he would cook it over the campfire on the late fall camping trips that we shared when I was a kid. I’ve modified it to make it backpacker friendly. This chili is delicious served with cornbread, biscuits, or toasted tortillas.


1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups canned diced tomatoes
5 ounces or 1/2 can condensed tomato soup
2 cups canned dark red kidney beans
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste

At Home
Cook the meat in a large pot over medium-high heat until browned. Drain the fat, rinse the meat with boiling water, and return it to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste, and simmer for an hour or more.

Remove the chili from the heat and allow to cool. Measure the chili and write this measurement on a sticky note. Place on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 7 to 10 hours. Place the dried chili in a ziplock freezer bag along with the sticky note.

At Camp
Add enough boiling water to the chili mix in a pot to equal the measurement on your sticky note. Do not add the water first or you will have too much liquid. Once rehydrated you might have to reheat the chili.

Where are the peppers in the recipe? Chili with out peppers is just beef stew...with chili powder.:p

Just ribbin' ya LaurieAnn. Long time no speak. How ya been?

[LaurieAnn]

Turned out great, took about 8 hrs per batch. I'm excited about having it on the trail.

I'm on to dehyrating other things. I didn't know my oven went that low...

Awesome! You are going to have to get a food dehydrator at some point if you find you are drying a lot of things. I promise that it is worth the small investment.


I just checked out your website Laurie. There's some tasty stuff in there :) I love chili and plan on doing a lot of winter camping this year before I try my through so I'm sure I'll give this a shot. Thanks

Thanks... I wish I could post all of the stuff from my books but I think my publisher would fire me... lol.


Where are the peppers in the recipe? Chili with out peppers is just beef stew...with chili powder.:p

Just ribbin' ya LaurieAnn. Long time no speak. How ya been?

lol... that's cause this is my brother's recipe... now that said I have a four-pepper chili that I love. Things are good and speaking of cooking I am way behind on some projects. How's things with you?

[chefjason]

lol... that's cause this is my brother's recipe... now that said I have a four-pepper chili that I love. Things are good and speaking of cooking I am way behind on some projects. How's things with you?
Great down here. This past week was my daughters 16th birthday, my 36th, my mom was in town and my wife had to entertain 56 people from all of Europe that were here for a company wide training thingy. So, as you can imagine, it was a wild week. Plus, I had to make up menus and quotes for 6 different caterings over the next 3 months. Busy busy! Speaking of chili, I am making my tailgatin' chili for MNF tonight. Gaurunteed to, um, clean out your system.:eek: Habanero peppers are a mofo!

[LaurieAnn]

Sounds wild... but busy is good. I hate quoting but I adore creating menus (that said, the menus I create are for wilderness cooking classes so not near as stressful).

lol @ the habaneros... I learned the hard way to wear gloves when cutting those because the time I didn't - well let's just say putting in my contacts the next day was an adventure I won't soon forget (and that was after having a soak in the tub).

[chefjason]

Sounds wild... but busy is good. I hate quoting but I adore creating menus (that said, the menus I create are for wilderness cooking classes so not near as stressful).

lol @ the habaneros... I learned the hard way to wear gloves when cutting those because the time I didn't - well let's just say putting in my contacts the next day was an adventure I won't soon forget (and that was after having a soak in the tub).

When I was in culinary school one of the guys in my class was working with scotch bonnets and then a bit later he went to the restroom. For gals that aint as dangerous cause of paper products, but for us men, well we jsut grab hold. No kidding, he went to the emergency room to get them to stop the pain and swelling. Then things is nasty!!

[LaurieAnn]

When I was in culinary school one of the guys in my class was working with scotch bonnets and then a bit later he went to the restroom. For gals that aint as dangerous cause of paper products, but for us men, well we jsut grab hold. No kidding, he went to the emergency room to get them to stop the pain and swelling. Then things is nasty!!

OMG! His name wasn't Kim by chance... almost the exact same story. We called him Hot Pants after that.

[chefjason]

OMG! His name wasn't Kim by chance... almost the exact same story. We called him Hot Pants after that.
No it was Matthew Quinota. Poor kid. He was only 18 and proud of his virginity. Which made the ridicule even worse when he returned.

[LaurieAnn]

I can well imagine. We've never let Kim live it down.

So back to chili... what's your favorite secret ingredient? I've been known to sneak a little chocolate into some chili recipes.

[Farr Away]

TVP, or sometimes grated carrots.

Chili is a great recipe to sneak stuff into.

[Skidsteer]

So back to chili... what's your favorite secret ingredient? I've been known to sneak a little chocolate into some chili recipes.

Coffee. Seriously.

[Bulldawg]

Coffee. Seriously.

Coffee and Cocoa, both!!

[Farr Away]

This sounds intriguing! Do you just add brewed coffee, or instant, or what?

[Skidsteer]

This sounds intriguing! Do you just add brewed coffee, or instant, or what?

I use cold coffee left over from the morning brew if I have any or make a fresh pot if not. It doesn't take a lot; 1-2 cups max to start out until you see how you like it.

[Rocket Jones]

If I'm using stew beef for the chili, sometimes I'll marinade it in orange juice and cinnamon before browning.

[LaurieAnn]

now coffee I've never tried in chili - it's great in rib sauce though... I'll have to try this

[chefjason]

I can well imagine. We've never let Kim live it down.

So back to chili... what's your favorite secret ingredient? I've been known to sneak a little chocolate into some chili recipes.

Tequila, for deglazing, sour mash whiskey for flavor and caraway seeds. Those are the "non-traditional" ingredients I use most often.

[chefjason]

If I'm using stew beef for the chili, sometimes I'll marinade it in orange juice and cinnamon before browning.

Odd, I usually think of hot and spicy when I think of chili. Not sweet, which is what you would get from o.j. and cinnamon. If the meat is tough and needs to be marinaded to help tenderize it, I just put it in a baggy with hot sauce (vinegar) and beat the snot out of it. Then let the acids eat away at the meat for a bit. Voilà!

[Rocket Jones]

Odd, I usually think of hot and spicy when I think of chili. Not sweet, which is what you would get from o.j. and cinnamon. If the meat is tough and needs to be marinaded to help tenderize it, I just put it in a baggy with hot sauce (vinegar) and beat the snot out of it. Then let the acids eat away at the meat for a bit. Voilà!

Done right, you get a hint of sweet under the hot and spicy. Similar to adding chocolate (pseudo-mole).

[chefjason]

Done right, you get a hint of sweet under the hot and spicy. Similar to adding chocolate (pseudo-mole).
Very cool. I like learning new things!

[LaurieAnn]

lol - peudo-mole - love that way of putting it

chefjason... that's the thing I love about cooking... there is always new things to try and new things to learn about

[eric j]

In response to LaureeAnns original recipe, Cumin and a touch of curry, Cumin definetly(ground), sometimes if too tomato-ie I cut with some green tea,(lame)

[Big Dawg]

Bruce’s Chili con Carne

courtesy A Fork in the Trail ©2008

Dehydration Time: 7–10 hours
Makes 3–4 servings

My brother Bruce was an avid backpacker and loved to play around in the camp kitchen. This was his favorite chili recipe, and he would cook it over the campfire on the late fall camping trips that we shared when I was a kid. I’ve modified it to make it backpacker friendly. This chili is delicious served with cornbread, biscuits, or toasted tortillas.


1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups canned diced tomatoes
5 ounces or 1/2 can condensed tomato soup
2 cups canned dark red kidney beans
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste

At Home
Cook the meat in a large pot over medium-high heat until browned. Drain the fat, rinse the meat with boiling water, and return it to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste, and simmer for an hour or more.

Remove the chili from the heat and allow to cool. Measure the chili and write this measurement on a sticky note. Place on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 7 to 10 hours. Place the dried chili in a ziplock freezer bag along with the sticky note.

At Camp
Add enough boiling water to the chili mix in a pot to equal the measurement on your sticky note. Do not add the water first or you will have too much liquid. Once rehydrated you might have to reheat the chili.


First an admission, then a few questions for us over-the-top detail seekers.:D

I LOVE chili, and make a pretty good homemade batch, but sometimes when it's just for me or I'm lazy, I'll eat a can of Bush's Chili (surprisingly good for canned). Admission..... Thinking about how delicious chili would be on the trail, I decided to dry some Bush's chili in my dehydrator. Let's just say the rehydrating experiment at home was nasty. I wonder if it was because of the preservatives in the can? Not sure... anyway, I gave up.

Now to the detail seeking (sorry for the dumb questions in advance).

--When you say "measure the chili" after cooking at home, you mean how many cups (or other form of measurement chosen) will be put in ziploc to be rehydrated,,, so example, if you have 2 cups of chili in a ziploc baggie, then at camp you'll be putting 2 cups of boiling water + chili in a pot to rehydrate?

--When you say "Do not add the water first or you will have too much liquid", I'm not sure what you mean.

--Can I ad the boiling water to the ziploc baggie that has dehydrated chili, then once rehydrated, pour all into pot & heat up?

--Once chili is cooked, dried, & put into ziploc at home, I assume it should be kept in the freezer until ready to use? & how long will it survive in the freezer?

--I assume I can replicate the process w/ spaghetti/meat/sauce?


Thanks for any info provided.

Great recipe. Great story!

Dawg

[Big Dawg]

Oh, and how long does it take to rehydrate?

[LaurieAnn]

First an admission, then a few questions for us over-the-top detail seekers.:D

I LOVE chili, and make a pretty good homemade batch, but sometimes when it's just for me or I'm lazy, I'll eat a can of Bush's Chili (surprisingly good for canned). Admission..... Thinking about how delicious chili would be on the trail, I decided to dry some Bush's chili in my dehydrator. Let's just say the rehydrating experiment at home was nasty. I wonder if it was because of the preservatives in the can? Not sure... anyway, I gave up.

Now to the detail seeking (sorry for the dumb questions in advance).

--When you say "measure the chili" after cooking at home, you mean how many cups (or other form of measurement chosen) will be put in ziploc to be rehydrated,,, so example, if you have 2 cups of chili in a ziploc baggie, then at camp you'll be putting 2 cups of boiling water + chili in a pot to rehydrate?

--When you say "Do not add the water first or you will have too much liquid", I'm not sure what you mean.

--Can I ad the boiling water to the ziploc baggie that has dehydrated chili, then once rehydrated, pour all into pot & heat up?

--Once chili is cooked, dried, & put into ziploc at home, I assume it should be kept in the freezer until ready to use? & how long will it survive in the freezer?

--I assume I can replicate the process w/ spaghetti/meat/sauce?


Thanks for any info provided.

Great recipe. Great story!

Dawg

Ah... yes... much of this is covered in the front matter of my book... however many of those details I cover in this article...

http://www.wildernesscooking.com/fork/making-trail-food.pdf

use a measuring cup to measure - that's fairly accurate.... no you won't be adding two cups of water to the chili. That's why I say to measure the chili and then you will add enough water to the chili to make it back to the original measurement. So let's say you started with 2 cups. Then when dried you have 1 cup (these are just random numbers for illustration). At camp you would add 1 cup of water to the dried mix (or a little less than one cup to ensure it doesn't become too watery - as I say you can always add a bit more water if it is too thick but it's hard to take away water without losing flavor).

While you can use a baggie I have a thing about putting boiling water in a baggie and I prefer either a pot and cozy or Nalgene and cozy. I just add the boiling water and wait (depending on the dish and how long you dried it and the size of your meat pieces and the weather condition) this will take 10 to 30 minutes - with chili I find 15 to 20 is usually decent.

If you will be travelling within the month there is no need to freeze it but I like to keep everything in the freezer because then I know where it is.