How does Gordon Ramsay’s Chilli con Carne recipe compare to Heston Blumenthal’s Waitrose recipe. Chef v chef challenge.
Well, that was the last in the series of Heston’s Mission Impossible. The Royal Navy submarine episode probably had the best long-term results of all four shows, but there weren’t many recipes I could have a go at replicating at home (I doubt eel-bone soup will go down well at teatime).
That chilli at the end of the show looked achievable though, and the mention of spiced butter made me think it’s probably the same as Heston’s Waitrose Chilli Con Carne recipe. Just writing about that would be a bit dull, so let’s put it up against Gordon Ramsay’s chilli con carne recipe for a Heston V Gordon challenge. Our last Gordon v Heston challenge, Christmas dinner, was a magnificent (and gluttonous) success.
Gordon’s entry is from the BBC’s Olive magazine, where his versions are pitted against reader recipes. I’ve picked it because it’s his most recent (and the one the cocky fella chooses to compete with).
Let’s see who’s best….
COOKING
Step 1: Before we go any further, let’s deal with the Spiced Butter, similar to the “Bloody Mary Finishing Butter” from Heston Blumenthal’s In Search Of Perfection Chili Con Carne recipe. You add it at the end to give richness, flavour and an increased risk of heart attack.
This is a complete recipe all by itself. The first three ingredients need frying together. A novice might think they could leave them in the pan while they weighed out the other ingredients. But of course that’d risk them burning. And only a fool would let that happen… ahem!
Your red-hot spiced oil will melt through the (unsoftened) butter leaving you with a puddle of fatty, flavour-packed liquid. Add an extra hour to your recipe time as it re-sets in the fridge.
Step 2: Heston starts with spiced butter, Gordon starts with spiced flour. Lots of frying-in-batches with both chefs.
Step 3: We all know about adding star anise to our onions, but this recipe doesn’t tell you to bag them in muslin. You should. Otherwise good luck with the messy Crystal Maze challenge of fishing them out of the finished dish. Or better luck than me at any rate.
Gordon uses red onions, claiming they add sweetness to the dish. I couldn’t notice any difference by the time all the spices are added. I found the quantity of vinegar alarming.
Step 4: Then add all the other ingredients before a long, slow cooking. Ramsay uses three times as many chillies than Heston.
Instead of Heston’s trad kidney beans Gordon recommends mixed pulses, but what I got from Sainsbury’s was more of a Bean-Mush-in-A-Can. A messy rip-off, shoppers take note.
Step 5: Heston asks for 1 hour on the stove, while Gordon, with his tough chunks of stewing steak, needs twice that. Both would benefit from double the time. Nows when all the slow-cooker enthusiasts can nod sagely.
VERDICT
Ramsay’s chilli, with its smoky, leathery depth from the paprika and chocolate and sharp up-front hit of spice, could be described as a Man’s Chilli. But it’s not at all balanced. You’d expect Heston to have the unusual ingredients but Ramsay’s try-hard shopping list utterly fails here. Crème fraiche just doesn’t have the same mouthfeel as soured cream, it’s far too light and hollow.
Heston’s chilli is much more traditional and full-bodied, but those red peppers look comically out of place. Did Waitrose need help clearing surplus stock from their warehouses?
All that butter gives you the richness the name implies, but after adding only a third the dish was at the tipping point of becoming too greasy. Being able to personalise your chilli is a great idea, but it leaves you with a choice of too buttery or too mild. Go easy on the lime juice, it can really overpower the other flavours.
Let’s hope everyone in the house loves chilli, after this experiment we’ve enough leftovers to last beyond Easter.
Next time
Blumenthal-bias aside, Gordon’s chilli was far too unbalanced. Next time I’d follow Heston’s chilli con carne recipe, but with the following tweaks:
1. Halve the amount of butter in the spiced butter mix. Or, if you’re a regular chilli eater, quadruple the spice content. The butter adds important flavour, but with the beef and cheese there’s enough fat in the recipe already. The butter freezes very well for future use. Health freaks can just add the spices and oil
2. Add more chilli. It’s entirely personal preference, but Heston’s chilli recipe was far too mild for my liking. The butter method means its impossible to add more heat without also adding deadly quantities of artery-clogging fat.
3. Cook longer and lower. Chilli’s basically a Mexican casserole, and as such benefits from slow cooking. If you do have a slow cooker this dish is ideal for it. I’d go for 6 – 8 hours. Lid off at the end to reduce. Plus, you can add some oxtail for more texture and flavour.
4. Chop the peppers finely and add carrot. There’s nothing wrong with adding more veg, it brings flavour (and vitamins) to the dish. But big chunks of it took away the essence of what a Chili Con Carne is to me. Finely diced carrot would add more body and more healthy veg.
5. Up the umami. After last week’s umami-thon with Heston’s Shepherd’s Pie on Steroids recipe, I’d probably throw in a sheet of sushi nori, some mushroom ketchup and a splash of soy as well to really boost the savoury mouthfeel.
Have you made either of these recipes, or have you got a favourite chilli con carne recipe of your own?Let us know in the comments section below.
I’m loathe to try and more Gordon Ramsay recipes after I wasted inordinate amounts of expensive beef and pork and wine on his ragu recipe and had to throw it all away. It was so bad I couldn’t rescue it (though I did try but gave up when realised I didn’t want to risk throwing more good ingredients after bad).
Delia’s recipe came to my rescue the next time I wanted to make it and I’ve never trusted GR again!
I don’t cook chilli con carne often but am a fan of a non-traditional recipe with chorizo and chocolate in it, from Nigella, which a friend adapted and I adapted further.
Many thanks for your extremely generous comment about my blog in your blog roll. Unbelievably kind of you!
You’re more than welcome about the comments, http://www.kaveyeats.com is a brilliant and hugely enjoyable read.
I’ve still got a lot of time for Gordon, it was his shows and cooking that really got me into food in the first place. I even worry that by using Heston recipes to knock him I’m another symptom of the fickle tastes of the British public.
I totally agree that adapting recipes to personal taste is the way forward. The chilli recipe you made (http://www.kaveyeats.com/2010/05/chocolate-chorizo-chilli-con-carne.html) is a perfect example. I’m only sticking rigidly to the printed recipes for the sake of these experiments, but they’re also great learning experiences. I will deff be adding chocolate to my next one, and as your post says you’re right about it needing the cinnamon.
Quick question: was the Ramsay ragu you made the one that uses chicken livers and goes in the oven for 3 hours? I ask because there’s a non-Perfection Heston Bolognese recipe (still takes 8 hours) from The Times I was going to pit them against each other at some point.
Honoured to be on your blog roll, will have to make sure I’m worth the click. (And if you want any free chilli there’s still some in the freezer).
Interesting comparison!
My chilli tips: I slow cook (hurrah for slow cookers!) for 6 hours and use fresh ground mince which I marinade in beer for several hours first (which is actuallly an authentic Mexican ingredient for several carne dishes I understand). It adds an umami-like depth and keeps the chilli very savoury. I also use cocoa powder and find that a balance of fresh chillies, dried chillies and then a hint of cayenne brings a nicer flavour than using just one element. Personally I don’t put red kidney beans in my chilli prefering to use black beans which are smaller and seem to go better into the feel of the chilli. Most people definately seem to put too much tomato into their chilli (a bit like making a tomato based non-authentic bolognaise instead of a ragu!).
Hi Annie,
Thanks for taking the time to read! Totally agree that low slow cooking and marinading would perfectly suit this sort of dish. Heston’s Perfection chilli recipe also uses a variety of chillis, you both might be onto something there. Will put some of your suggestions into my next chilli.
I’m a big fan of Barburrito (closest we have oop North to Daddy Donkey et al) and I think they use black beans. In fact, I’m tempted to go there tonight and find out. Anthing so long as I don’t have to face those frozen leftovers!
I just made Heston’s chili with some of your “next time” suggestions. Namely, I upped the spices in the butter, chopped the veg finely (and added an extra carrot) and used chuck (which I minced myself after marinating in beer). Then I cooked it for about 6 hours. I wanted to stay as close to the original recipe as I could (i.e. no chocolate or nori) so I could get an idea of his original intentions with the recipe.
I was really pleased with the depth and the smokiness of the spiced butter really brought everything together.
Thanks for the experiment. It definitely saved me doing it on my own!
I wholeheartedly agree! Cinnamon and chilli are a perfect combination 😉
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