A good bowl of chili hits the spot, but a great bowl of chili? Well, that's an art form in itself. You won't believe what just one special ingredient can do to bring it to the next level.
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00:00A good bowl of chili hits the spot,
00:02but a great bowl of chili?
00:03Well, that's an art form in itself.
00:05You won't believe what just one special ingredient
00:07can do to bring it to the next level.
00:09Sounds most promising.
00:10Whether you're deep in the trenches
00:12of prepping your perfect grass-fed beef chili
00:14for the local cook-off,
00:15making a delicious pumpkin and turkey variation,
00:18throwing together a hopped-up 90-minute chili in a pinch,
00:21or whipping up the most epic Super Bowl snack table around,
00:24an award-worthy bowl of chili just so happens
00:27to include one secret ingredient
00:28that you may not have thought of, liquid smoke.
00:31Yes, you heard that right.
00:32It sometimes goes by other names,
00:34like smoke flavor or even wood vinegar,
00:36but either way, it's all natural.
00:38Liquid smoke is an easy and convenient way
00:40to add that signature smoked-for-hours flavor to your dish
00:43with minimal effort.
00:44Since it's a highly concentrated liquid form
00:46of actual smoke, you don't need to use much of it
00:49when adding it to recipes.
00:50A small dash will pack a powerful punch,
00:52so one bottle will last you for a considerably long time.
00:56Created in 1895 by a Kansas City pharmacist
00:59named Ernest H. Wright,
01:00liquid smoke is made by taking the smoke
01:03from burning hickory wood, running it through a condenser,
01:05and then capturing the infused droplets
01:08that come out of it.
01:09Originally, liquid smoke was used more
01:11as a preservative for meat,
01:12rather than as a flavor enhancer,
01:13with farmers using it to help preserve
01:15salt-cured hunks of ham and pork bellies.
01:18Over time, they realized that it gave the meat
01:20a wonderful smoky essence
01:21without the need to actually smoke it.
01:23Genius, genius, genius!
01:26While you can add it as an ingredient to meals
01:28like a pot of chili, baked beans,
01:30or slow-cooked pulled pork,
01:32you can also use it as a unique cocktail ingredient
01:34to bring some woody depth
01:35to some of your favorite alcoholic concoctions,
01:38like smoked old-fashioned or even infused into ice cubes.
01:41Sure, liquid smoke is its own standalone ingredient
01:44that you can buy at the supermarket,
01:46but it's also often used in any smoked products
01:49you see already cooked, like hot dogs,
01:51smoked cold cuts, or even canned smoked barbecue beans.
01:55Since liquid smoke is so concentrated,
01:57you don't need to dump a ton of it into your chili.
01:59In fact, doing so will probably ruin the dish entirely.
02:02Instead, use approximately 1 1â4 to 1 1â2 teaspoon
02:06of liquid smoke per pound of meat in your recipe,
02:08depending on how smoky you want it to be.
02:10If you're browning some larger cuts of meat
02:12to chop up and add to your dish,
02:14you can even dilute the liquid smoke a bit
02:16with some water, oil, or vinegar,
02:18and brush it on the meat before putting it in the pan
02:21or on the grill.
02:22Just make sure you're conservative with how much you use,
02:24and don't measure it on top of the dish
02:26you'll be adding it to,
02:27so you avoid mistakenly adding more in
02:29than you were hoping for.
02:30There's nothing worse than putting together
02:32a perfect pot of chili and then dooming it
02:34to the garbage disposal by being careless.
02:36Wanna keep adding more complexity to your chili?
02:38Another trick you can do is to play with unique ingredients,
02:41like beer, chocolate, peanut butter, or even coffee.
02:44Using these can infuse layers of flavor
02:47that will have your guests wondering
02:48what your secret ingredient is while asking for seconds.
02:51Whether you want to be generous
02:52and reveal the truth or not is up to you.