Keto Means
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Should chili cook all day?

The longer it simmers, the more the flavors will meld together. In fact, chili is just the kind of thing you want to make a day ahead: it gets better with a night in the fridge. For the record, we always say yes to toppings: onions, scallions, cheese, sour cream, and avocado.

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There are handfuls of ways to make chili: some people like it with ground beef and beans, some like it Texas-style with big chunks of meat, and plenty go vegetarian. Whatever your pleasure, there are many mistakes made when cooking this football favorite. We asked senior food editor Dawn Perry to point them out so we can all avoid them. Read her list and you'll be on your way to making your best batch yet...

1.

#### Browning doesn't matter

Just kidding! Browning ALWAYS matters. Searing your meat first will get you a deep, umami-packed flavor that will permeate your chili. Plus, you don't want your beef or pork to become grayish lumps in your stew, do you? No. So make sure you've got a nice sear—this goes for both diced and ground meat.

2.

#### Vegetables? Throw them in raw

Wrong. Sautéing onions, garlic, and other veggies first coaxes maximum flavor out of them. So make sure your onions, for example, are soft and translucent before you add your liquid.

3.

#### Use a pre-mixed chili powder

Take a look on the back of your chili powder bottle. Often times, it's a blend of spices: ancho chile, cumin, garlic powder usually. We recommend using all these spices, but use them separately to build layers of flavor. Garlic? Use fresh chopped cloves. Get a bottle of ancho chile powder instead of a blend. Buy whole cumin seeds, then toast and grind them yourself. Small changes like that will make your chili so much better.

4. Season with spices just before serving

Do the opposite. Like with your veggies, heat and fat draw out the flavor in ground spices. If you add them when the stew is almost finished, all you'll taste is raw spice—not the deep, rich, spicy flavor that you love about chili.

5. Quick is okay

Let that chili cooooook. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors will meld together. In fact, chili is just the kind of thing you want to make a day ahead: it gets better with a night in the fridge. For the record, we always say yes to toppings: onions, scallions, cheese, sour cream, and avocado. And we recommend that you serve your chili with sturdy chips, in case you want to forgo spoons.

Get the recipes:

Chili con Carne

Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash

Beef and Bean Chili

What about some comforting chicken soup?

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Should I make chili the night before?

Secondly, an overnight rest in the refrigerator will give all of the flavors more time to meld together and deepen. Recipes like soups and stews (especially ones that are heavily spiced and made with a lot of ingredients, such as chili) almost always taste better the next day.

There are many ways to make a pot of chili, and even more "secrets" to making that an ordinary chili recipe even better. Use fresh spices. Brown the meat thoroughly before adding it to the pot. Use a mix of dried and fresh chiles. Sauté your aromatics. Cook the chili low and slow. And if all else fails, you can always top it with plenty of Cheddar cheese and sour cream. But there's one specific thing you can do that is guaranteed to improve your chili—and it requires no additional work at all. Zero.

Make your chili a day in advance. That's it!

Yes, this will require a little advance planning, and also some extra space in your refrigerator. But the benefits are twofold: Firstly, you'll have a hot, homemade dinner that is ready to go—all you have to do is reheat it and dig in. Secondly, an overnight rest in the refrigerator will give all of the flavors more time to meld together and deepen. Recipes like soups and stews (especially ones that are heavily spiced and made with a lot of ingredients, such as chili) almost always taste better the next day. Best of all, this tip works for every type of chili, from vegetarian chili, to chicken-green chile chili, to the beefiest, bean-free Texas chili con carne. No matter what you like to put in your chili pot (or whether you use a slow cooker or a pressure cooker), the end results will be more complex and satisfying if you let the contents rest. And if you can't wait an entire day to eat a bowl of chili, rest assured that any leftovers you might have will taste even better the next day.

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