Posted by Herald-Review, IL on November 17, 2009 at 09:42:19:
'Keep it simple, stupid:' Taylorville man finds these words to win by
By TONY REID - H&R Staff Writer ..TAYLORVILLE - In the world of competitive chili, less is more, and the devil is in the detail.
This is the gastronomic gospel according to Taylorville's Bob Hall, who has built a stairway to taste bud heaven following what he calls the KISS recipe: Keep it Simple, Stupid.
The proof of the chili is in the bowl, and Hall has just earned himself a nice, shiny silver one. It's the trophy he won in Charleston, W.Va., where he cooked his way to this mouthful of a title: the International Chili Society's 2009 Chili Verde Cook-off World Champion.
Hall, who cooks under the chili stage name "Chef Boy-R-Bob" (apparently, all serious chili cooks have stage names), says the mistake most neophyte cooks make is adding more and more ingredients in a desperate race for the perfect chili.
"People think, ‘Well, I'll just do this and this, and I am going to knock their socks off," he says, smiling, yet shaking his head. "A good and knowledgeable friend once told me, ‘Don't add things; take them out. Go back to simplicity,' and that really works. Keep it simple, stupid."
Chili verde, which means green, as in peppers, doesn't involve any beans, which usually don't make an appearance in serious competitive chili cooking. Beans would only get in the way of the flavor, and it's the sauce you're being judged on. Hall's winning verde recipe accompanies this story, and we children of lesser cooking gods are welcome to try our hand at it; just don't expect to cook like old Chef Boy-R-Bob.
"I asked another friend of mine once for his chili recipe, and he said, ‘Sure, you can have it,' " recalls Hall. "But then he said, ‘You can cook my recipe, but that doesn't mean you can cook my chili.' "
It turns out there are just so many variables in chili cooking that no one, not even jalapeno maestros such as Hall, can guarantee the exact same ingredients will produce the exact same results every time. Then there are all the vagaries of judges' palates and the factoring in of crap-shoot variables such as chili bowl placement on the judging table, for example.
"A lot of judges won't clean their palate enough between tastings," laments Hall, 67, who's taken his share of knocks on the path to glory. "They taste one that is really terrible, and maybe they've still got that overlingering taste when they come to try yours. With chili, it's 40 percent cooking and 60 percent luck."
The art of the chef is to keep the luck percentage in its place by using his, and occasionally her, skills to consistently serve up delicious food. Hall, who collected a $3,000 check along with that silver trophy when he bested 134 other cooks for the verde victory, started competitive cooking 28 years ago. He soon began notching up wins as he moved up the chili tournament food chain and, along the way, Hall and friends founded the annual Chillifest held in Taylorville, now munching along in its 24th year. He also is called on to judge other major chili contests, and he says the thrill of being fully immersed in the pressure cooker of competitive chili has never grown old.
"Everybody thinks they make the best chili in the world, every guy in his kitchen or every grandma, every fire department," he says with a smile. "And we all want to prove it."
A retired miner, he now does all the cooking at home and his wife, Lynda, is happy to get out of the way and let him have at it. " ‘Why is he so good at chili?' " she asks. "Perseverance and dedication to that little hobby of his, that's why. He doesn't give up easily, and he's always been like that. He likes to, you know, excel."
He can cook about anything, but don't expect to be greeted by a bowl of steaming chili if you gatecrash a Hall family gathering.
"I guess because he cooks it all the time elsewhere, we can hardly get him to cook it at home," laments his wife. "We have to beg him to do it."
treid@herald-review.com|421-7977
JUDGING
Want to meet the consummate chili chef? Bob Hall will be organizing and judging an International Chili Society regional cook-off Jan. 16 in Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth.
CHEF BOY-R-BOB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CHILI VERDE
Ingredients:
2½ pounds of pork tenderloin cut into 3/8 or ½ inch cubes
2 tbs bacon fat
1 cup diced onion
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 green chilies, seeded and chopped,
4 serrano peppers, thinly sliced
1 pound of green chilies (canned or frozen), divided in half
1 14 ounce can of chicken broth
1 14 ounce can green enchilada sauce
1 7 ounce can green salsa verde
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs powdered green jalapeno
2 tsp powdered green chili
2 tsp cornstarch for thickening
Salt to taste
Tabasco green pepper sauce (as needed for heat)
Directions: In a six-quart pot, brown the pork in the bacon fat. Add the remaining ingredients (using only half of the frozen or canned green chilies) to the pot and simmer for two hours. You may need to add some water during the cooking time to keep mixture covered.
With 30 to 40 minutes of cooking time left, add the remaining green chilies and, 10 minutes before the end of cooking, adjust the thickness, salt and heat. Remember, the salt level drops each time you add the green chilies, so be sure to add salt as needed.
FOLLOW UP POSTS ARE NOT PERMITTED - DO NOT COMPLETE & SUBMIT FORM