14
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?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
paul_owens2518d ago
Holy cow, that baking soda trick is genius, I gotta try that next time.
7
the_jessica18d 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.
5