Topline:
We asked for readers, LAist staff and professional chefs for their top tricks for making chili magic. We got a whole lotta responses — check out the hotly contested debates between beans and no beans, whole or powder chili, and jump into a whole bar of chocolate suggestions
What are the outliers? Chicory coffee. Bone marrow. Brown sugar. Miso. Fish sauce. We could go on.
What if I don’t feel like making my own? Fret not. We’ve got you covered with our favorite takeout options.
It’s Super Bowl weekend and we’ve got chili on the brain! But it’s easy to get lost in the sauce when trying to make a memorable bowl.
We asked you (our readers), LAist staff, and professional chefs for their best hacks to make the hefty crowd-pleaser.
Ranging from beans to no beans (shout out to Texas), ground beef to prime cuts, and wild card ingredients such as chocolate, beer, and miso, it seems anything goes when it comes to flavor.
Here is what you had to say:
Caryl Chinn, Mid-City
I’m a Texas chili fan, so no beans allowed 😉 Plenty of spice, and all the fixin’s (cheese, onion, scallions, jalapeños, sour cream, etc) but especially Fritos! I follow a recipe from Elizabeth Karmel (former chef of Hill Country BBQ) Also — and this is not in the recipe — to get the consistency I prefer, I use an immersion blender to blend the finished product and break up big chunks of ground beef
Ale Gomez Tanner, Bellflower
I make a mash-up between chili and frijoles charros (Mexican-style stewed pinto beans) with chorizo and cilantro 😁
Matthew McIvor, Redondo Beach, owner of Proudly Serving
I make Texas-style chili, as we do at the restaurant and guests can make their Frito pie.
Gail Chabran, (mom of Gab Chabran, associate food editor), Whittier
I like to make it with black beans and ground turkey. Then I have the usual stuff like onion, various sauces or chiles, maybe canned tomatoes. I have been known to make it with garbanzo beans.
Nick Roman, host of LAist 89.3’s All Things Considered
My mom was a fabulous cook and taught me how to make chili in college, along with spaghetti sauce and Texas hash. She said you'll get by if you know how to make these things.
I’ve used Lawry’s seasoning, but I also use cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic cloves. I prefer to use ground beef at an 80/20 ratio for more crumble. I’ll add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green bell peppers, Ortega green chilies, corn, red kidneys, and pinto beans, and for Sunday's Superbowl, I'll start it in a crockpot in the morning.
Oakley Boren, Los Alamitos
I use Gochujang for heat. It sneaks up on you, that one. 😉
Robert Haleblian, Pasadena
Whole dried chilis > powders
Josh Hernadez, Los Angeles
A little mustard in the chili gives it a good zing 🔥
Monica Bushman, Producer, How To LA
My mom often uses the Chilean spice merkén / merquen in place of chili powder. And usually whatever the recipe calls for, she cuts it by half, because at least the Chileans in my family are not big on anything spicy.
Jonathan Burton, Long Beach
It’s the early and the late steps that matter most to me. Early on it’s blooming spices in the rendered fat and then throwing in minced chipotles in adobo. Later, add a malty beer and some dark chocolate for the simmer.
Aiddee Robles Tellez, Montebello
Adding fresh ingredients like diced onions, cilantro, and jalapenos will level up chili. (Even canned chili) The new burst of flavor will add great texture and crunch.
Nate Perez, LAist Associate Producer
A tiny bit of liquid smoke! I would use a smoker if I could.
Ron Reeder, Whittier
I use stew meat instead of ground round.
Rod Chrolon, Los Angeles
Use a li'l chorizo.
Chef Teresa Montaño, Chef and Owner of Otoño in Highland, Park
My grandma used to make a green chili with ground pork, onion, garlic and beans. It was stewed like Texas-style but all New Mexico green chile. It was like crack. I like to put a little dark cocoa powder in Texas-style chili.
Malina Syvoravong, food stylist and recipe developer, L.A.
Someone told me to put in cocoa powder and chicory coffee! It feels very cowboy-y to make it that way.
Matthew Cisneros, La Mirada
I used some bone marrow once and it was 😋 🤤 … roast the bone with marrow then add to chili. Wasn’t for the Super Bowl but should have been!
Laura Dux, LAist events intern
My dad only knew how to cook chili when I was a kid. He would add brown sugar and a whole stick of butter.
Tiffany Luong, owner of Vegan Bánh Mì Thảo, Long Beach
Miso!!
Neal Hirtzel, El Segundo
Fish sauce.
Brian Hidalgo, Whittier
I once sliced up tamales and put them in a chili. Wasn’t that bad.
Sionnan Wood, Burbank
My tip is to sit in the back and crack feminist jokes, and giggle to myself over a cool beer and chips.
Kevin Ferguson, Highland Park
Always add masa harina. Ground-up Fritos works great as a substitute in a pinch.
Nicole Martin, Compton
Going through the Louis Burger drive-thru for them chili cheese fries or buying the enormous ‘homemade’ Costco container and putting it atop a baked potato.
Jairo Bogarin, owner of Hamburgers Nice
My best friend Tony used to LOVE chili cheese fries at Tom’s/Tommy’s/Tams/Jims/ etc. He would eat all of it! The bottom of the styrofoam plate resembled a Japanese garden after he was done forking it🍴
Khristian Diane, Long Beach
Chili John’s in Burbank is one of the oldest — The Hat in Alhambra is so good — and Louis Burger here in Long Beach is top-notch! I love chili cheese fries. One alternative is the chana masala fries from Badmaash. They are a vegetarian Indian version of chili cheese fries.