Chili with beans is great.
It’s just not chili.
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When I make up a pot of chili for guests I always have some beans available for anyone that wants to dump them in their bowl of chili. Also sliced jalapenos, grated cheese, and chopped raw onion.
This is exactly what I do. “Ruin your chili however you like but leave me out of it…”. I will say this though, if you like chili with beans, Goya black beans are the better alternative to red kidney beans.
I think the nomenclature is a big part of the problem with this dish.
Moved to California and married a Korean girl raised in LA who loves chili but argues that it comes with beans. If you’ve met a Korean girl you’ll know this is an argument I can’t win so I’ve met her in the middle with black beans and you’re absolutely right. As Wesley Snipes said, “Always bet on black.”
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To keep Jim’s head from exploding, I’m moving the fish discussion from last night’s GameZone to here.
In answer to Chuck’s question, how to grill (red)fish.
The grill needs to be at somewhere north of 350 and somewhere south of 425. I use direct fire on a big green egg, and guess that would work on other grills. To keep the fish from sticking, you need to oil the grill. You can use vegetable oil and a paper towel, or pam, or I use spray avocado oil. If I forget to do it before I heat the grill, it makes a very satisfying whoosh when I spray it over the fire.
The fish I usually grill is redfish. I’m pretty good at grilling fish, but I don’t think I could grill something like flounder that’s light and flaky. Redfish has some substance to it, but one of the big advantages in Houston is that you can ask the fishwife to prepare the fish on the half-shell–they leave on the scales which adds a level of protection between the fish and the grill and helps keep the fish from falling apart. That’s probably unique to the coast though.
If I don’t forget, I’ll season the fish about an hour before I put it on. I use Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning, that has salt already in it. I started using it when I found some in the pantry, and have been using it ever since. 5 stars at Walmart.Com, and I pretty much concur.
The most important tool is two spatulas. We have one pretty good fish spatula, a big Dexter commercial spatula with an 8" long blade and about 3 1/2 inches wide. The blade is offset from the handle. You have to have two spatulas though, and I wish we had another big Dexter. When the fish is done, I’ll slide the Dexter under the fish, and then use a normal spatula to help the slide and then to press the top of the fish when I pick it up.
I always use small cookie sheets for transport. They fit in the dishwasher.
If your grill is hot, it only takes about 12 minutes to grill a normal filet. The biggest danger is overcooking, and I use an instant read thermometer to check that the fish is somewhere north of 140.
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I’ve seen recipes that grill in foil. That would probably help with something like flounder, but why bother? Broil 'em or bake 'em.
I’m sure everyone has their favorite way of doing things, but I never grill anything at less than 500 degrees, and fish or seafood at about 700. It needs to be like jet engine hot. And always uncovered…ie lid open. Also, I second oiling the grill, but I stick to the oil on paper towel method, right before the meat goes on. Like sautéing, I heat the pan first, get it really hot, then add the fat and the food immediately. Hot pan, cold oil…food won’t stick.
And I started craving a grilled grouper sandwich with spicy mustard about the 7th inning last night. Still am.
For your consideration: I tried a new way of grilling burgers last weekend, and it worked quite well. I set up a dual-zone setup in my green egg (of course Neil and I have the same equipment), then put the burgers on the cool side and let them cook (lid down) for about 8 minutes per side (they were half-pound burgers formed somewhat thick) until they were about 130 degrees in the center. Then I opened the lid, let the hot side really get going again, and put the burgers on the hot side for about a minute on each side to finish them off. Nice color and just a little crisp on the outside and really juicy on the inside. I think I got that technique from Meathead’s book.
I have become a fan of smashburgers on my griddle. My patty melt is almost as good as Whataburger. Almost.
Do you do your griddle on your grill, or in the kitchen? There are bunch of things that I would like to do inside, but lacking an industrial-grade ventilation system, I choose not to.
I do not understand the smash burger. Why would I willingly force the juices from my meat?
I have a convertible grill/griddle outside. Love it.
Two words: goldenbrown and delicious. And you don’t smash them after they’ve cooked, you smash them when they’re raw before any juices have developed. They just end up really thin with a high surface to mass ratio. Still plenty juicy.
What he said.
Good advice I saw somewhere is start with an loose ball about 1/4 pound. Smash em and flip when the grease starts to bubble up on the uncooked surface. (If they’re too thick the outside will get overcooked/ burned while you wait for the interior to get up to temp)
The main downside to doing them indoors is the next morning the kitchen smells like a greasy diner.
Gad damn, I’m hungry.
A greasy diner smells great while you’re eating there. Not so much the next morning. Kind of like a cigar lounge or a brewery. Nice when you’re in the moment, but you don’t want to live there.
My head won’t explode. Lots of people think a 2-1 game is boring and talk about anything else they can think of. I was giving y’all grief and did not mind what you talk about at all. Diverting the conversation seems to be chuck’s special mission, and far be it from me to criticize him about anything.There are other places to follow the game.
Cast iron skillet/comal on the grill works great for stuff like that.
eta: since the threadstarter asked, I made a batch of taco meat (beef/chorizo) the other day and have so far had taco salad, soft tacos, nachos, and eggs. I’m about done eating taco meat for a while.
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Smash burgers have been the trend here for a few years and I was very happy to see Koreans find that burger subgenre.