For The Best Bowl Of Chili, Consider Ditching This Ingredient

When you're craving a hearty and comforting meal, a bowl of homemade chili can be just what you need. To find out the best tips on how to make the perfect batch, Daily Meal spoke with Hammed, a chef, recipe developer, and the author of the blog The Prince Eats.

To start, there's an ingredient that Hammed wants you to ditch: pre-packaged chili seasonings. He says, "For better homemade chili, consider using homemade seasoning blends. The packaged seasoning blends work; however, you can achieve deeper flavor by increasing the ratio of a particular herb or seasoning. This might look like increasing the smoked paprika or cumin which might not be center stage in a store-bought spice blend."

While Hammed uses smoked paprika and cumin, you can swap them out for others you prefer. The point is that this is only possible if you make the blend yourself instead of buying something pre-made.

For the best flavor in your homemade chili, Hammed recommends using both dried spices and chilis that are either fresh or canned. He says, "I like to use dried spices for depth of flavor and whole chilis for bite and heat." Additionally, the chef notes that whole chilis also add texture to the dish.

With all this in mind, the main detail to decide is which chilis to use — or, rather, how spicy you want your chili to be. Hammed says, "Consider using a milder pepper such as poblano pepper, which has the perfect balance of flavor or heat. If you want to control the heat for guests, consider using jarred pickled jalapeno peppers, which have good flavor and heat." Pickled jalapeños are slightly less spicy because the juice absorbs some of the heat, so they're definitely a good option if you want to lessen the heat and ensure that the chili isn't too overpoweringly spicy. To pick the best type of pepper, you can read our guide on the different varieties of peppers and when to use them.

Another crucial element of chili? Beans. But should you use canned beans or dry beans? It depends on the recipe. Hammed says, "If the chili [is] a low and slow recipe, consider using dry beans that have been soaked and prepped. Doing so will allow the beans to maintain [their] texture and physical structure during the long cook. If using a quick-cook recipe, opt for canned beans, which do not require a long cook time to soften."

Of course, using dry beans does require a bit more effort. Specifically, they require hours of soaking, so you'll need to plan to prep them in advance. They also require hours of cooking time, but this is a moot point if, as Hammed suggested, you're using them for a slow-cook chili recipe. If you don't want to deal with the extra effort, Hammed assured us that there "isn't a bad bean to use for chili," so you can always just resort to using canned beans. Just make sure to check out our rankings of canned beans to use for chili — some of the best include pinto and cannellini beans.