# A turkey chili that doesn't suck?



## chiffonodd (Feb 29, 2016)

With the desk job and hours being what they are, I've had two main goals recently: (1) eat healthier and (2) batch cook on weekends. So today's experiment was trying make a turkey chili that doesn't suck. 

Anyway, if you're Texan you might as well look away now. This is just going to raise your blood pressure.

I came up with a hybrid of cincinnati and new mexico styles . . . knowing that I'm at a disadvantage starting with turkey, I tried to cobble together ingredients that would give me the right balance of savoriness/depth, acidity, heat, and sweetness. Tips for improvement are most welcome. That is . . . any tip except "don't use turkey" 

*1. Partial cast of characters*







Not everything is pictured above, but after thinking it over for a bit, here's what I decided to use:

- 1 lb of 1:1 white meat/dark meat ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 anaheim chiles
- 1 poblano chile
- 1/2 28 ounce can whole san marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand, with juice
- 1 14.5 oz can kidney beans
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- agave syrup (to taste) 
- salt (to taste)

The hope was that blending in dark meat and adding a hit of fish sauce would help lend a bit of savoriness that I was missing out on by forgoing red meat. I went with smoked paprika and roasted a couple of the chiles on the gas flame for a bit more depth as well.

*2. Roasted chiles*






Put these bad buys right on the gas range top, then let sit covered for a bit. One of the anaheims and the poblano. Peeled and diced.

*3. Sweatting vegies*






Diced the onion and the other anaheim (kept one un-roasted). Sweated it with some veg oil and salt. Kept going until I got a bit of caramelization, as again the name of the game is to extract maximum flavor from a dish that's missing a key component. 

*4. Adding meat*

Added the light/dark meat ground turkey a bit at a time, breaking up clumps. Probably not as important to do it in bits like it is with fattier cuts of beef, pork, or lamb -- meats that might release too much fat/water and start to boil. There really wasn't that much fat. 






*5. Browning*






But even with the lack of tasty fats I was able to get the meat and veg mix to start caramelizing/browning alright. The enameled cast iron is a great tool.

*6. Deglaze/add Spices*






Deglazed with the chicken stock and juices from the tomato, scraping up the fond. Added the cayenne, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, red wine vinegar, and fish sauce. I didn't have low sodium chicken stock so I held off on adding any more salt.

*7. Roast chiles*






Added the roast chilis, which I had peeled and diced

*8. Simmer . . . *






Brought to a boil and then simmered until reduced

*9. Beans*






Threw in the beans with a good portion of their juice -- acted as a good thickening agent. Continued to simmer.

*10. Served*






After adjusting for salt/sweetness, I threw it in a bowl with avocado, cotija, and cilantro. Served with warmed corn tortillas.

Overall it was pretty good. Not blow-my-mind-great great, but good. There was good spice to it when taste testing . . . nice notes from the cinnamon and cloves, good savoriness, and then a decent amount of heat from the chiles that rose up at the end. But that heat didn't quite stand up to the avocado and cheese. If I did it again I would maybe add some serrano or up the amount of cayenne. I might also try it with chipotle chiles en adobo for some additional smokiness and a different sort of kick.

I dunno do you guys have a go to turkey chili recipe? I'm in my 30s now and want to be well fed but not necessarily look it haha. It's hard with the desk job man. Can't get my *ss out of bed at 5am to work out. 

Any tips or tweaks?


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## panda (Feb 29, 2016)

brown the meat multiple times by deglazing with water and rebrown repeatedly, you want as much fond as possible
use some tamari instead of fish sauce
a little bit of molasses instead of agave
use four times as much cumin (this is the flavor that should shine when it comes to chili)
add ground coriander
precook some dried beans ahead of time instead of canned (add beer to the water)
rehydrate some dried chiles (i like guajillo), take out the seeds and stem and puree
before deglazing with stock, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste and cook until maroon color
increase amount of garlic

i would omit cinnamon and clove, if you want a twist go celery and anise seeds
replace vinegar with lime juice
use fresh oregano if you can


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## chiffonodd (Feb 29, 2016)

panda said:


> brown the meat multiple times by deglazing with water and rebrown repeatedly, you want as much fond as possible
> use some tamari instead of fish sauce
> a little bit of molasses instead of agave
> use four times as much cumin (this is the flavor that should shine when it comes to chili)
> ...



:doublethumbsup: great tips thanks sir, excited to try this next time


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## panda (Feb 29, 2016)

don't be afraid to put in some real irish butter.


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## rahimlee54 (Feb 29, 2016)

Also brown meat before veg for fond and fat to cook veg in.

I also like to throw in around a tbl spoon of natural cocoa powder. I'd add a little more cumin but I am not the biggest fan of it over running everything and I grind mine so that probably makes it stronger.


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## Mrmnms (Feb 29, 2016)

I thought it looked great, are you cooking the spices before you deglaze at all?


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## chiffonodd (Feb 29, 2016)

No I put them in after deglazing. Should've toasted them first! :beatinghead: Thanks for the reminder


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## Mucho Bocho (Feb 29, 2016)

Great ideas, hit your finished chili with a shot of vinegar before serving. I'll use the juice from the pickled jalapenos can.


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## Mrmnms (Feb 29, 2016)

like that!


Mucho Bocho said:


> Great ideas, hit your finished chili with a shot of vinegar before serving. I'll use the juice from the pickled jalapenos can.


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## brainsausage (Feb 29, 2016)

Dried chiles are a real must for any type of chili. I like to do a mix of guajillo/New Mexico/ancho. Toast them lightly, simmer in a stock that complements the rest of your flavor profile(at my BBQ joint I make a stock strictly for the chili), then purée. You can make large batches this way and freeze in single servings for when ready. I can pm you my chili stock recipe if you're interested.


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## sachem allison (Feb 29, 2016)

you want to make great turkey chili? make it like great beef chili.


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## chiffonodd (Feb 29, 2016)

sachem allison said:


> you want to make great turkey chili? make it like great beef chili.



Oui, Chef! Although that of course that brings up another question . . . How to make great beef chili :scratchhead::bliss:


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## panda (Feb 29, 2016)

you should retract that question as it just opens up a can of endless worms


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## DamageInc (Mar 1, 2016)

There are many ways to make a great beef chili.

My perfect beef chili might be crap to someone else. Rarely is there a dish that comes down to personal preference as much as chili. I can make my own perfect beef chili, but I cannot make someone else's perfect beef chili.


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