Make-ahead, but only halfway, chili?
April 27, 2018 12:45 PM Subscribe
I make chili in the slow cooker at least once a week. I'd like to be able to make a huge amount of it at once, freeze it in batches, and then reheat the batches in a slow cooker as needed. How do I do this?
The recipe is unremarkable. It involves two cans of tomato sauce, three cans of beans, two onions, some garlic, assorted things that taste good, and a pound of ground beef. I do not want advice on the ingredients.
The steps now:
1. Sauté the onions, garlic, spices, etc
2. Add the beef and sauté it until it doesn't look raw
3. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, assorted things
4. Slow-cook on one setting or another for three to eight hours.
It is important that the cooking happen in a slow cooker; I don't want to cook it completely and then freeze it in smaller portions to microwave later, as sensible as that is. Coming home to a house that smells of chili in the slow cooker is one of the great joys in life.
My understanding is that you shouldn't cook beef partway and then freeze it.
Suggestions?
The recipe is unremarkable. It involves two cans of tomato sauce, three cans of beans, two onions, some garlic, assorted things that taste good, and a pound of ground beef. I do not want advice on the ingredients.
The steps now:
1. Sauté the onions, garlic, spices, etc
2. Add the beef and sauté it until it doesn't look raw
3. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, assorted things
4. Slow-cook on one setting or another for three to eight hours.
It is important that the cooking happen in a slow cooker; I don't want to cook it completely and then freeze it in smaller portions to microwave later, as sensible as that is. Coming home to a house that smells of chili in the slow cooker is one of the great joys in life.
My understanding is that you shouldn't cook beef partway and then freeze it.
Suggestions?
FoodSafety.gov:
posted by General Malaise at 12:52 PM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
Since your using canned beans and not dried, and ground beef not stew meat you really don't need a slow cooker at all. I would make that chili and then freeze it in multiple containers to pull out when needed. If you are slow cooking to get a richer tomatoey base I would slow cook the tomatoes, like overnight, and then add that to the rest of the ingredients when you cook the whole batch. I would add the spices after slow cooking because I think they lose a lot of flavor when cooked too long.
posted by waving at 1:00 PM on April 27, 2018
posted by waving at 1:00 PM on April 27, 2018
This could be a job for sous vide! I make giant batches and put the leftovers in Mason Jars. Usually I'm lazy and microwave the mason jar, sans metal top. But sometimes if I'm making multiple jars, I'll throw them in the sous vide with the water going up about 2/3 the mason jar. If I were to take off the metal top, it would probably make the house smell delicious.
posted by politikitty at 1:02 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by politikitty at 1:02 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
My understanding is that you shouldn't cook beef partway and then freeze it.
But...you're cooking the ground beef completely, aren't you? Once ground beef loses its pink, it's pretty much fully cooked. So I would simply stop at step 3, freeze, and then pick up at step 4 in a slow cooker.
posted by Liesl at 1:08 PM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
But...you're cooking the ground beef completely, aren't you? Once ground beef loses its pink, it's pretty much fully cooked. So I would simply stop at step 3, freeze, and then pick up at step 4 in a slow cooker.
posted by Liesl at 1:08 PM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
Assuming parameters (ingredients, slow cooker) are fixed, I would stop after step 1. Sauté the aromatics and just combine everything then portion and freeze. Browning ground beef doesn’t cook it partially, it cooks it completely. The less you cook it in total the better off you are.
Or brown the hell out of half of it and put the rest in raw. You get the maillard flavors but the other half is less over cooked.
posted by supercres at 1:14 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Or brown the hell out of half of it and put the rest in raw. You get the maillard flavors but the other half is less over cooked.
posted by supercres at 1:14 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pork BBQ is completely unlike your chili, and that safety info is therefore not valid.
I would simply cook it for 2-3 hours in the slow cooker, freeze in a 2” ice cube tray or pint ziploc bags, then add a little water and slow cook the ice for 2-3 hours on your serving day.
Easy, yummy, fun, no problem.
posted by SaltySalticid at 1:16 PM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I would simply cook it for 2-3 hours in the slow cooker, freeze in a 2” ice cube tray or pint ziploc bags, then add a little water and slow cook the ice for 2-3 hours on your serving day.
Easy, yummy, fun, no problem.
posted by SaltySalticid at 1:16 PM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
When I make chili ahead, I store it in two parts:
Saute the aromatics in some oil and then add the beef to the pot and brown it. Saving the liquid. I leave the drippings in because that is flavor. Instead of straining after browning, I spoon off the "oil slicks" that rise to the top during cooking. That way I keep all the yummy flavor compounds created by browning the beef.
I make in advance a paste that becomes my sauce base for later. I use a base of tomato paste, ground dried chilis, spices, secret ingredients like cocoa and molasses (oops) and whatever else makes your chili your chili. I mix it well and put that in a glass container. Those flavors have time to meld fortuitously as they wait for their turn in the pot, which gives it that great "second day chili" taste my family loves.
On the morning of, I add the beef, the paste, and the liquid phase -- usually chicken stock and beer to the desired thickness. And, depending on my target audience and mood, I add canned goods like beans or chopped tomatoes.
That will cook all day and permeate your kitchen with aromatic goodness. When you get home, skim the oil slicks, stir, skim a bit more. Adjust seasonings to taste (usually salt and spice level) and serve. Ta da.
posted by cross_impact at 1:30 PM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Saute the aromatics in some oil and then add the beef to the pot and brown it. Saving the liquid. I leave the drippings in because that is flavor. Instead of straining after browning, I spoon off the "oil slicks" that rise to the top during cooking. That way I keep all the yummy flavor compounds created by browning the beef.
I make in advance a paste that becomes my sauce base for later. I use a base of tomato paste, ground dried chilis, spices, secret ingredients like cocoa and molasses (oops) and whatever else makes your chili your chili. I mix it well and put that in a glass container. Those flavors have time to meld fortuitously as they wait for their turn in the pot, which gives it that great "second day chili" taste my family loves.
On the morning of, I add the beef, the paste, and the liquid phase -- usually chicken stock and beer to the desired thickness. And, depending on my target audience and mood, I add canned goods like beans or chopped tomatoes.
That will cook all day and permeate your kitchen with aromatic goodness. When you get home, skim the oil slicks, stir, skim a bit more. Adjust seasonings to taste (usually salt and spice level) and serve. Ta da.
posted by cross_impact at 1:30 PM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I would do steps 1 and 2 and freeze and then you can just open the cans and dump it all in the slow cooker the day you want to cook it. As for the assorted things that taste good - if they are canned add the day of - if they are fresh you could freeze with the rest of the stuff. seasoning i would add the day of cooking.
posted by domino at 1:45 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by domino at 1:45 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Slow cookers will not get a frozen block of food to 140F within 2 hours, which is what needs to happen to keep your food safe to eat. The USDA has an explainer on how much time your food can safely spend above 40F and below 140F.
What I'd do:
1. Cook your meat and aromatics completely ahead of time, then divide into batches and freeze.
2. ~48 hours before you want to eat your chili, move a batch of meat and aromatics from the freezer to the fridge and defrost it in the fridge. Your chili will remain below the lower bounds of the danger zone temperature while in the fridge.
3. The morning you want to cook your chili, take your meat and aromatics out of the fridge and make sure there's no signs of frost. (If there still are, warm it quickly with a brief saute.) Then put it in your slow cooker, add the rest of the room-temperature or warmer ingredients (all the canned stuff), and let it cook on low all day if you're going to be gone, or on high if you're going to have it for lunch.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 1:53 PM on April 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
What I'd do:
1. Cook your meat and aromatics completely ahead of time, then divide into batches and freeze.
2. ~48 hours before you want to eat your chili, move a batch of meat and aromatics from the freezer to the fridge and defrost it in the fridge. Your chili will remain below the lower bounds of the danger zone temperature while in the fridge.
3. The morning you want to cook your chili, take your meat and aromatics out of the fridge and make sure there's no signs of frost. (If there still are, warm it quickly with a brief saute.) Then put it in your slow cooker, add the rest of the room-temperature or warmer ingredients (all the canned stuff), and let it cook on low all day if you're going to be gone, or on high if you're going to have it for lunch.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 1:53 PM on April 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
1) Make and freeze in a bag.
2) Day before, thaw frozen bag in fridge.
3) Day of, slow cook unfrozen fridge-temp food.
4) Night of, eat.
posted by zippy at 2:31 PM on April 27, 2018
2) Day before, thaw frozen bag in fridge.
3) Day of, slow cook unfrozen fridge-temp food.
4) Night of, eat.
posted by zippy at 2:31 PM on April 27, 2018
1. Sauté onions, garlic, spices, etc
2. Add beef and sauté it until it doesn't look raw.
==Stop. Freeze this. ==
a. Night before chili day, put in fridge to defrost. If you forget, this can be defrosted in the microwave without too much hassle.
b. Morning of chili day, add defrosted ingredients and continue.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, assorted things
4. Slow-cook on one setting or another for three to eight hours.
Cooking the onions and beef takes the most time and can be done in bulk pretty easily. The tomato sauce and beans are just opening cans. You could easily start the beans the night before in the slow cooker; beans smell fantastic.
posted by theora55 at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2018
2. Add beef and sauté it until it doesn't look raw.
==Stop. Freeze this. ==
a. Night before chili day, put in fridge to defrost. If you forget, this can be defrosted in the microwave without too much hassle.
b. Morning of chili day, add defrosted ingredients and continue.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, assorted things
4. Slow-cook on one setting or another for three to eight hours.
Cooking the onions and beef takes the most time and can be done in bulk pretty easily. The tomato sauce and beans are just opening cans. You could easily start the beans the night before in the slow cooker; beans smell fantastic.
posted by theora55 at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2018
I feel like you're overthinking this.
posted by Aleyn at 4:19 PM on April 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
- Make your chili as per normal.
- Freeze your chili into whatever size portions you want.
- (For best results) defrost your chili in the fridge the day before you want to eat it.
- Defrost and reheat your chili quickly (e.g. in the microwave or on a stovetop) to the point where it's around 140 degrees F.
- Put the hot chili in a slow cooker and set it on low, and let it go for however long you like.
posted by Aleyn at 4:19 PM on April 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I am a risky person because I regularly cook things from frozen in my slow cooker. If it were me, I would just fully cook, freeze in a bag, then plop my frozen chili into the slow cooker in the morning to thaw out and cook up during the day. Apparently this is unsafe but it has never occurred to me as such before, and has never harmed me so far... so I think I’ll continue!
posted by samthemander at 4:59 PM on April 27, 2018
posted by samthemander at 4:59 PM on April 27, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.