Burnt my chili so bad it set off the smoke detector for 20 minutes

I was making my usual beef chili last night, threw in the beans and tomatoes, then got distracted by a phone call. Left it on medium heat for about 45 minutes instead of stirring it every 10. The bottom turned into a black crust that smelled like burnt rubber and I had to toss the whole pot. Cost me $12 in ingredients and I had to air out the kitchen until midnight. Has anyone else ruined a one-pot meal by walking away too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

reese12415h ago

Man I used to think walking away was totally fine too, that chili could just sit there and do its thing. Then I tried that with a pot of beans and ended up with a kitchen that smelled like a tire fire for three days straight.

keith_rivera1913h ago

Three days of tire fire smell? Dude, how burned did it get?

veraj5312h ago

Cracked the windows and ran the ceiling fan on high for a whole day after I did the same thing with a beef stew. Learned my lesson the hard way, now I set a timer on my phone for every 15 minutes when I step away from the stove. Burnt chili smell is stubborn, but a bowl of vinegar left sitting out overnight actually helped pull some of that tire fire stink out of my kitchen. Also scrubbed the pot with baking soda and water paste to get the black crust off without scratching it. That email or phone call can wait, the chili won't.