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Just realized I was ruining my chili by adding the tomatoes too early
For years I always dumped in canned tomatoes at the start when I was browning the meat. I thought simmering them longer meant deeper flavor. Then my aunt visited last month and watched me cook. She said I was making my chili sour and killing the texture. I tried her way - holding the tomatoes until the last 30 minutes of simmering. Huge difference. The chili came out richer and the meat stayed tender instead of getting tough. She told me the acid from tomatoes breaks down the meat fibers if they cook too long together. Total game changer for me. Anyone else have a cooking habit they thought was right but turned out wrong?
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paul_owens252mo ago
Holy cow, that baking soda trick is genius, I gotta try that next time.
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benk2612d ago
Right?? The baking soda thing is a total game changer. I started adding just a tiny pinch to my chili after seeing it online and it completely fixed that weird metallic tang you get from cooking tomatoes for so long. I do the same thing with my bolognese - dump the tomatoes in raw, let it bubble for like 3 hours, and the meat just falls apart into these tiny tender shreds. No more floating chunks of shoe leather, just rich silky sauce. Your aunt means well but she's missing out on that deep flavor you only get from a long simmer with the acid working its magic.
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the_jessica2mo ago
I mean, I get what your aunt is saying but I actually dump my tomatoes in at the start and my chili wins competitions around here. The acid breaks down the meat yeah but that's exactly why I do it - it makes the beef almost melt into the sauce and you don't get those weird dry chunks that float on top. I add a pinch of baking soda to balance the sourness and let it simmer for a full two hours with the tomatoes. Everyone who tries it asks for the recipe so I'm not convinced there's one right way here.
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