Is it possible to simmer chili too long?

Well ............... since you can go to a lot of places, all known for their chili, where each and every one is completely different from the other, I would say that YOU CAN  ... and YOU CAN'T over-simmer chili. I think it's up to you. What texture are you looking for? What texture do you personally like? 

I also made a big batch for S-B Sunday. I got mine to bubble temp, let it go for about 5 minutes, then shut it down. It's gonna take a couple hours to cool down to put-away temp (residual continuation heat), then I'll heat it up tomorrow (more cooking). Mine includes a lot of chunks of stuff (onions, carrots, celery, peppers, beans, tomatoes). I don't like it over-mushy (technical term). 

I'm sure that whatever way you make yours, it will be just fine. You're the cook, who's gonna argue.

 

Yeah. I agree w/ phatch. 



(I just saw this, and I wanted to put it somewhere.)

 

I agree with chefs above, an hour or two stove top, 3-4 slow cooker but 24 hours ? well.............I am gentle, but if i had to spill the beans ....24 hours is a long time to cook, in my opinion, yes, your meat would go to mush.

Max 6 hours is enough to cook your chilli and then reheat before game time.

what is one more little opinion ?

May your team win ! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif

 

Phreon,

Hi, Then the way things are turning out, it seems to me your going to have some pretty terrific chilli DEMAIN   ! I hope your staying positive still.

 

Hi!

I actually made some chili the other day and it was much easier than I expected it to be. I just left it for about an hour or so and I thought it was PERFECT. I imagine the boil then simmer is just to let the flavors of the spices blend together better. Not sure it could have gotten any better for extended simmering time though. Hope yours turns out ok for the big game--we're just doing pizza here .

 

A lot of info here, but if you want my opinion, that depends on your own preference.  Some people like chili to be, pretty much, soup. I personally want it so thick I can stand a spoon in it, and an acceptable burrito filling. Cooking for 24 hours straight would make me nervous. If we're trying purely for convenience, simmer the tomatoes alone until you have a thick sauce (with maybe spices and aromatics) then add your beans and meat later on. that way they'll have a fresh texture still. also maybe some diced tomato for textures as well? If you're going to leave that sauce completely unattended, bane marie! Tomatoes, onions, all that stuff WILL burn if you dont mix it often, but the indirect heat of a bane marie will really help.

also, if you don't have time to do chili, may i suggest gumbo? YAn organized cook can whip out a sausage or white meat gumbo in a half hour to an hour tops.

 

The best thing about a slowly cooked dish such as chili is that it can be done with little fuss in just a few hours until you've reached the texture you're looking for.  Then it goes straight into the fridge.  It's wayyyyy better the next day heated up.  You did the right thing.  And if not, at least the racoons will enjoy it.

I like mine with kidney beans, green peppers, and raw chopped red onion on top.  Ha ha ha ha, hate me all you want!

 

I personally don't know if I could stand to let chili simmer for 24 hours. After 4 hours of smelling it, I get hungry. That's when I know my chili is done and ready for consumption 2 hours after.

 

Chili, or any other braise, can simmer for too long.  What is happening in a braise is the connective tissues that hold the mussel fibers together are breaking down, separating the fibers from each other, which is what gives us this "falling off the bone" texture that we all aim for whenever we braise meats.  However, these connective tissues take a lot of cooking to fall apart - which is why braising usually takes 3-4 hours to be completed properly.

However, the logical extreme of this is "over-braising" where the connective tissue is so broken down that there is almost no structure to the meat at all left. It becomes an almost evenly-distributed solid throughout the stew instead of there being nice, tender chunks of meat.  (I liken it to seeing tiny splinters throughout the stew.)  Since this homogeneous mix is not the point of using cubes of meat in the first place (might as well use ground meat if that's what you're aiming for) that can obviously be called "overdone" and therefore can be thought of as "simmering for too long."

That being said, I love a great chili as well - I do mine with smoked peppers and bourbon!