Eggs in the Sauce

[tony b]

After the last poached egg disaster (broken one), decided to try again. One of my favorite dishes is called "Eggs in the Sauce" - poached eggs in a bowl of chili. So, eggs went into the SV @ 158F for 17 minutes, per the calculator. And, yes, it's homemade chili (and a damned good one, too!) 

 

Of course, there's pictures.

 

 

Well, back to the calculator for me, anyway. The whites were too runny and the yolk was overdone for what I was looking for - runny. The yolk was nice and creamy, but too firm.

 

 

Will keep trying. I can always fall back on the "tried and true" of 142F for 50 minutes, but was looking to shorten that time up a bit. 

[MacKenzie]

Delicious, yum yum.. I just bet that was extra tasty.      It has been a very long time since I made chili and this might have just pushed me over the edge.

[tony b]

Nothing better on a cold wintry day! 

 

I am way over the top in my chili making. I used to judge competitions, so that's the style that I like to make. Tedious, but wonderful! 

[dstr8]

This thread is useless...without the recipe for that tasty looking chili   I'll even sign an NDA if necessary

[tinyfish]

This thread is useless...without the recipe for that tasty looking chili   I'll even sign an NDA if necessary

I would like to make some of that tasty looking chili too.

[tony b]

OK, I'll give you the basics (but not all my secrets!)

 

Use a nice cut of beef (sirloin is standard in competitions), but a nice bottom round steak or roast works, too. I go with 2 lbs. Cut into 1/2" cubes. Season with your favorite steak rub. Sear in a nice hot DO with some veggie oil and brown all sides. Remove when the beef starts to sweat to another bowl, including all juices. 

 

Saute a couple of medium yellow onions, diced, in a couple of TB of oil (bacon grease works very well, too. Hint, hint!), until translucent, add 3 or 4 large garlic cloves, crushed. Return meat and juices to DO. 

 

I use 5 different varieties of dried chiles - Ancho, Guajillo, Pasilla Negro, Cascabel, and Chipotle, one or two of each depending on size. Break up and remove seeds. Soak the dried chiles in a bowl with a nice dark beer (12 oz) until soft. Puree chiles and beer in a blender or food processor. Add to the DO with the meat.

 

Add a cup of beef broth and simmer. 

 

After 30 minutes, add 2 TB of powdered cumin and 2 TB of Mexican oregano, with one can Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chile. 

 

I use 4 different chile powders (here's where the secret part comes in - not telling which ones, but they don't come from the spice isle in the supermarket!) Each one gets added sequentially every 15 minutes after adding the tomatoes - 1/4 cup each, adding more broth as needed. In the chile cookoff world, these are referred to as "dumps." So my chili would be called a 4-dump recipe. Try and use at least 2 different chile powders, if you can. There are dozens of blends out there, so there's plenty to choose from - just like BBQ rubs.

 

The meat should be tender by now, but if not, simmer until it is. You shouldn't have to thicken the chili, if you've been careful not to add too much beef broth, but if you need to tighten it up, use 1 -2 TB masa harina (corn flour used to make tortillas); a slurry of corn starch will work, too. 

 

Told you it was a bit on the tedious side, but it's worth it.

 

Where are the beans, you might ask? This is competition style chili, no beans allowed. Your entry would be disqualified if it contains beans (or other extraneous vegetables, like corn, potatoes, zucchini, okra, or heaven forbid, lentils) - that's not chili, that's beef stew! 

[MacKenzie]

Oh no, me and my one dump beans would be up Chili Creek without a paddle. :(

[MacKenzie]

Actually Tony, I very much appreciate the write up that you did and I'll take some pointers and put them to use. Thanks. :)

[PRippley]

Yum, you had me at "use a nice cut of beef" Tony!

[tony b]

Thanks, ladies!

 

Just like many dishes, you are trying to build a complex flavor profile, hence, the various ingredients at different times. Yeah, the 4 dumps is a bit over the top, but after many years of experimentation, it's what I've settled on. 

 

Now confession time. I often make a pot of chili beans on the side, as I do like them together in the bowl. (The bowl in the picture actually has a bottom layer of beans, middle layer of cheese, then the chili and eggs on top.) I like to do "drunken beans." I like pintos, but red beans/kidney beans works well, too. I short cut and use canned beans most of the time over dried. Saute a diced onion and a clove of smashed garlic in oil (or bacon grease!), add 1/3 cup of chile powder (single dump), heat until fragrant. Add the beans (if canned, I drain and rinse them first), then add some chicken or beef stock just to cover. Add 1 tsp of dried epazote. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Now the fun part, take the pot off the heat and toss in a good shot of tequila (use a decent one - this last batch was Sauza Reposado) and stir into the beans. Serve!

[PRippley]

I am going to try your beans for the Broncos game tomorrow Tony, thanks! Sorry for my ignorance, but what is epazote?

[dstr8]

Thanks Tony!   Will try!   I'm with you on building layers of flavor and the only way to do that is with ingredients and processes.   I do something similar for my pork chile verde; and all things red sauces, etc. (longtime Mark Miller disciple).

[tony b]

PRippley, it's an herb that you can find in Mexican markets. It's supposed to help with the "gas problem," sort of like natural Beeno! 

 

It's not essential, as it doesn't impart a lot of flavor (it's actually a bit on the grassy, bitter side.) You can substitute Mexican oregano for the flavor, but it won't help with the "gas."

 

dstr8 - Mark Miller, right on!! 

[ckreef]

My taste buds are not a big fan of chilli but it always looks really good to my eyes. Keep trying with the eggs you'll hit the magic number eventually.

Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT

[tony b]

Will do, Reef. I played with the calculator a bit and have 2 more combo's to try. It's quite interesting to see what a couple of degrees and a minute or two does with the final results. 

[GoFrogs91]

Wow! That looks good. And a runny egg on top makes everything better<br />

<br />

<br />

Benton

[tony b]

Tried poaching eggs today @ 162F for 17 mins, 20 secs, per the "calculator." Getting closer, but still not hitting the mark. The whites were just set, but not firm (still needed to eat them with a spoon vs a fork), and the yolk was just set as well, very creamy, but not runny at all. 

 

 

I'm thinking a couple of degrees warmer and a minute or so less time. Maybe, 164F for 16 mins. 

[MacKenzie]

Looks delicious, Tony. Drop those eggs into boiling water for 1 mins, then cool. That might be one way to set the whites but not long enough to cook the yolks any more.

[tony b]

While that might work for firming up the whites, MacKenzie, the yolk is already too firm for my liking. I want a runny yolk, or at least mostly runny. Will keep on experimenting. 

[tony b]

Well, I did a redux of the Eggs in the Sauce this morning. See the other post in SV Broccoli for the details on the egg cook. But, I wanted the picture over here.

 

Ta - Da!!

 

 

Egg # 1 is on the left, Egg #2 is on the right.

 

As posted over there, I've just about concluded that Egg #1 is going to be my "go to" technique going forward, as it was simpler than #2 and gave a slightly better yolk. Whites were a toss up.