Chili beef fat substitutes I'm working on a vegetarian version of a brisket chili recipe. It takes 20 hours to make, so effort involved is not an issue.
I need a substitute for brisket fat. I render the fat, strain out the proteins, and toast the seed-based spices, along with salt, in the rendered fat. I then char the aromatics, and use this mixture to make a stock that is the base for my chili. It lends a noticeable &quot;cured&quot; body to the finished chili.
What can I substitute for the beef fat to make this vegetarian?
Not going to accept this, because a couple of professional cooks get primary credit, but here is the first draft for anybody interested. I am also still interested in any answers:
Coconut oil offers the saturated fat and body that I will be missing with a non-meat fat. Also palm oil, but I have several cups of cooking-grade coconut oil on hand already.
For nitrates, there are various seasoned salts that were suggested. I will be going with a mixture of sesame salt and a friend's line of umami salt.
For umami, powdered mushroom. I will be putting dehydrated shiitakes through a microplane, and sifting the results to remove any dirt.