Wednesday March 31, 2004

Home Racing Slot Car Chili

In the wake of the new slot car releases that were on display this year at the toy fairs, other accessories were also on hand, yet didn't get the exposure. One of these was the addition of the Home Racing World Slot Car Cookbook (Not Available in stores...not even EBay) and we thought one of the recipes deserved a closer look.

Yes, I know many of you have waited with baited (and awful) breath for this and it has finally arrived. For years, slot racers around the globe have asked our secrets to having fun in this hobby and lets face it...it all starts with a good meal. The last thing any racer wants to do is tune a Fly car on an empty tank and I discovered that after a good bowl of home-made heat...my efforts were raised to a new level. It actually shaved my lap times off by a whole .00078950 of a second! So without further adieu...HRW slot car chili is here...

Overall finish of the chili was excellent...why this is near Policar or BUM Slot level. The thing that impresses you right off the bat is the small details. While looking at it from our drivers station, this chili looks and represents it's 1:1 counterparts very well. Oh sure, scale purists will find some discrepancies here and there, but for my money I think I nailed it pretty good.

But it isn't just how it looks. What good is a pretty chili if it doesn't perform for you? Trust me when I tell you that this chili delivers what you need...and FAST. We tested this chili in several Crock-Pots by Rival, GE and Procter-Silex (be careful using the cheaper, harder porcelain/ceramic brands...if you step on them...they will break) and all rendered the same results. After 4 or 5 bowls in testing we not only thought the flavor was good but the added heat it provided was a welcome surprise (well to some it wasn't very welcome).

So what makes it so good? The ingredients of course. We found an abundance of jalapeños and onions along with stewed tomatoes, green peppers and Habanero sauce. One thing that stands out is the meat selected. Only the finest, least expensive hamburger is used in this chili which should please at least 2 or 3 enthusiasts.

Heat is of course the key in any good chili. Why bother making chili if it's milder than Mom's sloppy joe's? The sauce combined with frying the jalapeños, green peppers and onions with the low-grade hamburger makes this chili stand above the rest. Then mixing it with chili sauce and generic stewed tomatoes for at least 15 to 20 minutes makes the flavor last forever (or at least until morning). And no need to drain the grease in our chili...the veggies will soak most of it up and the rest that stands at the top of the pot just add to the overall scale appeal of the chili.

Not all will agree, but this release by HRW is what this hobby has needed for a long time. It combines throat-burning heat along with a long-lasting effect you can enjoy for hours. Fans of this chili series will certainly be asking for the recipe details and I think Slot-Kitchens around the globe owe themselves to give this chili a closer look.

- Harry

I would like to thank Steve for the hot sauce and the National Beef Foundation for the meat. Slot Car World will be carrying our chili in ready-to-run form soon after the release of the Craftsman Trucks by Fly (chassis, axle and gear issues have delayed it).