Video summary
In this episode of Collard Valley Cooks, host Tammy shares her recipe for a creamy and delicious white chicken chili that stands out due to the inclusion of pepper jack cheese. The video begins by addressing the preparation of the main protein, suggesting the use of a rotisserie chicken from stores like Publix rather than whole birds found at warehouse clubs. Tammy advises chopping the meat into bite-sized pieces for better texture in the final dish, though she acknowledges that larger chunks can be used if one prefers. To build a rich base flavor, she demonstrates a helpful tip where the leftover chicken bones and scraps are boiled to create a homemade broth, which is then combined with two cups of water or store-bought bullion before adding the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
The cooking process involves sautéing chopped onions and white sweet corn, followed by the addition of a can of mild Rotel tomatoes and two cans of navy beans, ensuring that the liquid from the Rotel is included for extra flavor. The seasoning profile is built with garlic powder, oregano, and a significant amount of cumin, which Tammy notes is essential for achieving authentic chili taste. After combining all these elements, the mixture is simmered covered for about an hour to allow the flavors to meld together thoroughly. During this time, viewers are reminded that if they need to speed up the process, they can increase the heat to boil off some liquid, but doing so requires careful attention to salt levels as reduction naturally intensifies the savory taste.
The secret ingredient that transforms this chili into a creamy masterpiece is added at the very end: eight ounces of cold pepper jack cheese. Tammy explains that adding the cheese last prevents it from melting too quickly and becoming greasy, resulting in a thick, cheesy texture with a slight spicy kick. She offers practical advice for those who prefer less heat by suggesting alternative cheeses or simply omitting the pepper jack entirely. Additionally, she provides a useful tip regarding salt intake, noting that reducing the liquid through boiling will make the dish taste saltier, so cooks should adjust their seasoning accordingly before the final reduction stage.
To finish the dish, Tammy garnishes the chili with fresh or dried parsley for color and tops it with a small amount of cheese to create an appealing melted crust. She suggests adding crunchy elements like small tortilla chips, croutons, or corn chips to provide textural contrast against the soft beans and chicken. Throughout the video, she also takes a moment to promote her own cookbook, highlighting its thick pages, large print, and sewn binding designed for durability. The episode concludes with Tammy enjoying a bowl of her creation alongside a crouton, encouraging viewers to try the recipe during the cooler months and reminding them that even yellow corn can be used if white corn is unavailable.
Read the full video transcript
Well, hey y'all. It's Tammy with
Collarded Valley Cooks. It's getting
cooler and so today we're making my
creamy and delicious
white chicken chili. And mine is special
because I use pepper jack cheese in it
and boy does it make it good. Now, the
chickens in the store today aren't what
they used to be. I didn't get this one
at Sam's Club or Costco, so it wasn't a
big fat chicken. It's just a Publix
chicken, rotisserie chicken. So, you
want to chop it up so that it's in
bite-sized pieces and not big hunks,
unless for some reason you're trying to
impress your buddies and you want them
to have big hunks of chicken in your
chicken chili. You can do it however you
like, but I do tell you to cut it up in
small pieces.
Now, you can see we've got a cup of
chopped onion as well.
I'm going to go ahead and add some corn
to my white chicken chili. And since it
is white chili, I'm using white sheep
peeg corn.
I'm also using a can of Rotel with mild
chilies.
If you don't have a can opener like
this, it's great for arthritis. And I do
have a link in the post for you.
It makes good Christmas presents, too.
All right, there's Boy, it smells good
already, y'all. I'm so hungry. There's
your Rotel tomatoes
and your delicious corn,
two cans of beans, and now
we're going to get our broth.
You're going to be using two cups.
Now, my recipe calls for a rotisserie
chicken. That's simple and easy. Just
pick it off the bone, chop it up. I
throw the scraps in a pot and I boil it.
Then it creates my broth for my white
chicken chili. And boy, does it make it
taste even better. Now, I don't tell you
to do that in the instructions. I just
tell you to use a rotisserie chicken.
But that's what's great about watching a
video tutorial, isn't it? You get to
figure out some tips that you wouldn't
have otherwise known had you not watched
the video. Let me know if you've used
this tip before or if you've got
something to add to it in the comments.
Now, I add two tablespoons
of bullion to it.
Now we're going to add everything to the
pot. We're going to add our onion,
our chicken,
our water and bullion or broth and
bullion, whichever one you choose to do.
Our navy beans.
And I do add the juice with the beans
are rotel.
You are supposed to drain your corn, but
I'm pretty sure this corn's drained
anyway.
The way that it's packed,
it's steam crisp green giant whole sheep
corn.
Now, you can use fresh garlic in this
and just press it, or you can use some
garlic powder. We're going to be using
a teaspoon of garlic powder. And I'm
using roasted garlic powder, my
favorite.
A teaspoon
of oregano.
It calls for a tablespoon
of cumin plus
one teaspoon. That's a lot of cumin.
That's what gives it the chili flavor.
So, one thing that's great about these
teaspoons is they may not fit in your
spice jars in this direction, but they
fit in this direction.
Nice to have them. I love them.
This is a short enough video I'm going
to give you a sales pitch. I have to
brag on my cookbook today. I'm going to
show you a few things about it because I
don't push it a lot. But look y'all,
it's thick. It's 208 pages. It has a
ribbon.
The binder is sewn in so you can bend it
without splitting the pages from the
spine. It's sewn in like a Bible, y'all.
that cost me 10 extra dollars a book
and I think it's worth it. I wanted a
good product for you guys and boy is
this a nice book. Now, I wrote it
myself. I didn't have someone to help me
edit it. So, yes, it has some
imperfections,
but that should just remind you of
sitting down and looking at one of
mama's recipes.
700
recipes,
large print, thick pages. You can't beat
it and you need it for the holidays. So,
hop on over to the website or to Amazon
and purchase Collard Valley Cooks Master
Cookbook.
All right, we're going to turn this on.
Stir it up good.
And you're going to put a lid on this
and you're going to let it simmer for
about an hour to get all that flavor in
there good.
do a good mix up on it so all that cumin
and onion and all the other spices get
mixed up in there good so they can melt
together.
Now remember while heating up this
chili, everything's already done. So if
you're in a hurry, turn that temperature
up. Just don't add the cheese and reduce
that water a little quicker by letting
it boil as you see here.
and that way you can eat quicker. But if
you're not in a hurry, let those flavors
melt. Now we're going to grate our
pepper jack cheese, 8 oz.
You want to make sure it's cold and you
want to make sure you don't go too fast
or it will get clogged up.
This is going to make our chili so
creamy, cheesy, and give it just a
little bit of a kick. If you do not want
your chili to have that kick, then don't
use pepperjack. Use uh your favorite
cheese.
All right,
we're going to add our cheese.
And I'll save just a little bit for
plating.
Get it stirred in here good.
And you're going to see when you add
that cheese, it gets a little thicker.
If for some reason you want yours
thicker, all you have to do is make sure
you got a non-stick pot before you add
the cheese. Turn up the heat and boil
some of the liquid out of it.
All right, y'all. This is a Tammy's tip.
If you like soups and stews and you have
to watch your salt intake or you don't
like things salty, remember the more
water that evaporates out of that soup,
the saltier it's going to taste. And
that is the way it is with any type of
sauce, even spaghetti sauce. So, if you
like thick sauces and soups and stews,
you can use less salt because the more
it reduces, the saltier it's going to
taste. Okay, there's a tip for you. If
for some reason it's too salty, all you
got to do is add some water or broth to
it. Okay, and that's going to tone it
down.
Looks really good, y'all. And it smells
delicious.
And I'm going to show you how to dress
it up a little bit.
You can sprinkle it with a little fresh
or dried parsley to make it pretty.
We're going to top it with just a little
bit of cheese
and it'll melt on the top and make it
pretty.
You can add small tortilla chips,
croutons, just anything. Little corn
chips to give it some crunch.
Chris is out fishing. He's going to be
happy to come home and have some good
chicken chili.
It is so good, y'all. I'm going to have
it with a crouton.
I mean, you can't beat my chicken chili.
I hope you give it a try. It's that time
of year. And add that white corn in
there. If you don't have white corn,
throw in some yellow if you don't care
if it's not white, but make sure you
drain it. We'll see you next time on
Colored Valley Cooks, where we cook out
of Tammy's cookbook like mama did. Bye.
I love you.