If I'm making chili that might be cooked (simmering/slow boil) for 8
hours, is it OK to throw in raw ground beef at the beginning? I would
expect it to quite safely thoroughly cook within an hour if not less
in such an environment.

What about throwing pork chops into the chili to remove them around
the 3 hour mark, cut up/shred and throw back in to make a nice
beef-pork chili? Raw pork is pretty dangerous, how long after this
would it be safe to even take a taste?

Even if it's safe, is there some reason to worry about sacrificing the
taste by doing this? I'd like to think I am helping the taste. I
realize I'm missing an opportunity to remove fat. But healthy cooking
is for the other 20 meals of the week.

I'm trying to use slow long cooking to produce the best possible
chili.

Thomas Reat wrote:

> If I'm making chili that might be cooked (simmering/slow boil) for 8
> hours, is it OK to throw in raw ground beef at the beginning? I would
> expect it to quite safely thoroughly cook within an hour if not less
> in such an environment.
>
> What about throwing pork chops into the chili to remove them around
> the 3 hour mark, cut up/shred and throw back in to make a nice
> beef-pork chili? Raw pork is pretty dangerous, how long after this
> would it be safe to even take a taste?
>
> Even if it's safe, is there some reason to worry about sacrificing the
> taste by doing this? I'd like to think I am helping the taste. I
> realize I'm missing an opportunity to remove fat. But healthy cooking
> is for the other 20 meals of the week.
>
> I'm trying to use slow long cooking to produce the best possible
> chili.


Perfectly safe to boil the meat like that, but the beef will taste a lot
better if you brown it. And you can pour off the beef fat. The pork fat
added later will add more flavor.

Boiling the pork chops (I would use a cheaper cut) in the chili pot is a
fine idea.

When I have pork bones, I boil them and make pork stock to freeze until I'm
ready to make chili.

Best regards,
Bob

As to safety, after an hour or so of simmering, the pork chops and beef will
be thoroughly cooked. But as for taste, well, that's another story.
By not browning the meat first in a hot pan you miss out on the brown,
crusty glaze that contains lots of flavor.

Tony


"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message
m...
> If I'm making chili that might be cooked (simmering/slow boil) for 8
> hours, is it OK to throw in raw ground beef at the beginning? I would
> expect it to quite safely thoroughly cook within an hour if not less
> in such an environment.
>
> What about throwing pork chops into the chili to remove them around
> the 3 hour mark, cut up/shred and throw back in to make a nice
> beef-pork chili? Raw pork is pretty dangerous, how long after this
> would it be safe to even take a taste?
>
> Even if it's safe, is there some reason to worry about sacrificing the
> taste by doing this? I'd like to think I am helping the taste. I
> realize I'm missing an opportunity to remove fat. But healthy cooking
> is for the other 20 meals of the week.
>
> I'm trying to use slow long cooking to produce the best possible
> chili.

>> If I'm making chili that might be cooked (simmering/slow boil) for 8
>> hours, is it OK to throw in raw ground beef at the beginning? I would
>> expect it to quite safely thoroughly cook within an hour if not less
>> in such an environment.
>>
>> What about throwing pork chops into the chili to remove them around
>> the 3 hour mark, cut up/shred and throw back in to make a nice
>> beef-pork chili? Raw pork is pretty dangerous, how long after this
>> would it be safe to even take a taste?
>>
>> Even if it's safe, is there some reason to worry about sacrificing the
>> taste by doing this? I'd like to think I am helping the taste. I
>> realize I'm missing an opportunity to remove fat. But healthy cooking
>> is for the other 20 meals of the week.
>>
>> I'm trying to use slow long cooking to produce the best possible
>> chili.
>
I make my chili this way all the time in the crock pot. Adding
the hamburger unbrowned makes it all fall apart into tiny pieces,
thickening the chili. I also add a cheap cut of beef, chunked up, at
the begining.
It is also nice to add a little more onion than what you would
normally use. It tends to help cut out any extra greasy taste in the
finished pot. Depending on how lean your meat is to begin with, you
may still have to skim off some fat as you go.

Wrench