Wolf Brand Chili Clone

[Covetreasure]

I love Wolf Brand Chili and can't get it here in Florida. To order it from the net is prohibitive because of the ridiculous shipping cost. Does anyone have a recipe similar to it?

[rexster314]

The chili mix from Bolner's in San Antonio is a pretty good substiture for Gebhardt's.

[Floridagirl]

I was in Publix a few days ago and they carry it.

[deet13]

Same here.

From what I've seen, most of the Publix supermarkets down here in Tampa carry it.

[awanabiisa]

PS If you're going to make your own chili, don't use ground meat. Use chuck steak cut up small and cook it a long time. And if you don't want to make your own chile spices, you'll have to experiment with the bottled kind because they're all different. I prefer Gebhardt's but it's not available everywhere. It always looks ridiculous to me when recipes are so careful about ingredients and then just say "chile powder."

[awanabiisa]

I had some Wolf brand tonight and it no longer tastes the same. I don't know what Con Agra did to it, but it was very bland and nothing like what it used to taste like. I wonder if Gebhardts still makes chili?

[chocolatetartguy]

Not sure if you have Grocery Outlet in the Sunshine State, but I just found Wolf Brand at the GO in Berkeley, CA.

It was not that thick, but the best canned I have found since Larry Mahan's. Going back tonight to buy some no beans. Chili tator tots for dinner tonight while I finish preparing my lentil soup.

[jmellby]

When I first came to Texas Wolf Brand Chili was good (for a canned chili).
Unfortunately when they moved production outside TX
it got worse. Much worse.

[RobbnTX]

Yep, much worse! And that may be an understatement. Yucko!

[scrumptiouschef]

Make sure you can get your hands on some Sodium Tripolyphosphate.

It'll be a key weapon when you replicate Wolf Brand Chili.

You can lay your hands on some from a chemical supply warehouse.

From the wisegeek website:

"Sodium tripolyphosphate is a strong cleaning ingredient that typically can rid dishes and fabrics of soil and spots. Its key function is that it allows surfactants to work at their full potential. Also, it prevents deposition of soil and acts as a pH buffer. It softens detergent water and can be used as a water treatment, as well. Many household cleaning products, including surface and toilet cleaners, contain STPP due to its cleaning component."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any failed attempts at replicating Wolf chili can be used as industrial strength cleaners around your house or office.

Out here in Austin we eat a lot of chili but Wolf in a can does not enter into the equation when it's supper time.

[waistedinkerrville]

So ConAgra is trying to poison me with Sodium Tripolyphosphate. Does the FDA know this? While they're at it, why not ban oxygen...everyone who ever breathed it died, or will. I will go on enjoyin' Wolf Brand now knowing that it's cleanin' my insides in addition to bein great tastin'.

[mljones99]

I like how every time someone mentions Wolf Brand Chili, STPP is brought up like it is the only food in the world that contains it... what about all the other foods that have STPP in it? preservatives are used in A LOT of foods, especially canned.

[waistedinkerrville]

Actually, I been eating it for years. It used to be you could find unidentifiable chunks in it but those have mercifully disappeared.

[Chimayo Joe]

Have you tried any of the refrigerated chili that comes in bricks or plastic tubs? I think some of those taste closer to Wolf than other brands of canned chili. It's been too long since I've had a big, thick, steaming bowl of Wolf Brand Chili for me to say for certain though.

[Covetreasure]

Don't seem to have that round here but I'll keep on the lookout

[brucesw]

Have you checked the web for copy cat recipes? There are several sites that specialize - not to say that any of their recipes are worth anything.

FWIW, here's a list of ingredients from a can of the 'Hot - no beans' variety (minus the chemicals): beef, water, tomato puree, rolled oats, textured soy flour, chile pepper, less than 2% salt, natural flavor, sugar, dehydrated jalapeno pepper, caramel color, garlic powder, spice.

I'd guess for the 'regular' you'd omit the jalapeno. Big questions, besides quantities of each, are the kind of chile pepper and what's covered by 'spice' and 'natural flavor.' I know commercial powder typically includes some ginger. Hmmmm...no mention of cumin in there!

Rolled oats would be for a neutral tasting thickener.

I've used Cindy Reed's packaged mix but it's a little mild for me; best packaged mix is Pecos Red. Both those are from here in Houston. I was surprised but Penzey's chili powder mixes are good.

[hazelhurst]

Gee, what ever happened to the primacy of WIck Fowler? That was the mix we always used and I still like it.

[brucesw]

Still very popular, of course, and very good. I haven't used a pre-made mix in several years but I did think Pecos Red was significantly better than WF - YMMV. Only available at a few places around here and I was never going to try it if I had to pay postage for shipping from Houston to Houston!, but I found it at the famous Spec's Deli downtown. More than twice as expensive as WF, as I recall.

[Covetreasure]

Interesting

[Covetreasure]

How very nice of you

[Covetreasure]

so very nice of you, thanks

[hazelhurst]

I'm with you--I love that stuff

[James Cristinian]

I haven't had Wolf Brand in years, but here are recipies from the past Terlingua chili cook off winners. I use Cindy Reed's recipie. No beans allowed.

http://www.chili.org/recipes.html

[Covetreasure]

muchas gracias