The Secret Ingredient to Make the Best Chili Ever According to Reddit

Chili—the soupy, saucy hot meal—is made a thousand ways. And countless eaters have enjoyed the many versions of this classic stew.

From chili contests at block parties to your family recipe passed down through generations, we’ve all probably crossed paths with someone claiming their chili is the best. They may even brandish a trophy or two to prove their chili-cooking skills.

If you are trying to climb the ladder to reach chili royalty, or are just trying to keep yourself fed over a lazy weekend, Reddit users shared their secret ingredients to the best chili, and they are worth considering. While plenty of the suggestions will interest a curious cook, one ingredient stands out among the rest: black garlic.

“Black garlic is pure umami and tastes nothing like garlic,” says user ebrius, referring to the basic savory taste that some foods are known for. “I’d describe it as having a sweet, almost molasses-like flavor.”

Umami is considered one of the basic tastes in food, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Often considered a flavor booster, adding an umami component like black garlic to chili would help each part of the dish sing a little more.

What Is Black Garlic?

“It's soft and savory yet very sweet,” says Allrecipes Allstar Yoly. “High in antioxidants and full of many health benefits, black garlic can be used in both sweet and savory dishes.”

Black garlic is made when regular garlic goes through a process of fermentation. For a minimum of two weeks but up to one month, garlic is cooked in a low, slow manner. The result is a savory clove with an almost charred flavor. The garlic is deep black, spreadable like butter, and more acidic than raw garlic.

Black garlic can be purchased at the store if waiting the two weeks for a bulb to ferment isn’t an option. However, the item might be hard to find at your local grocer considering its unique nature. 

“If you have access to Trader Joe's, they carry it as a dried powder (at least they do where I live),” says one Reddit user. “Amazon also sells it as a paste. It's very good and you don't need to use a lot of it to get the flavor.”

What Do Others on Reddit Recommend?

There were several other irresistible ingredients that home cooks use when making chili. Red miso paste and MSG were suggestions with lots of praise. Other Reddit users highlighted the different chile peppers used for the stew.

One user recommended canned chipotle peppers and another, dried peppers. Some options to add sweetness, rather than spice, include cocoa or dark chocolate, or Guinness beer to deglaze your pan in the early stages of cooking.

Whatever your secret ingredient in chili, there are plenty more out there to add to your recipe, and beat your neighbor at the next chili cook-off.