Chili con carne

Chili con carne

A pot of chili con carne with whole green hot chilis, kidney beans and tomatoes.
Alternative names Chili
Course Main
Place of origin Texas
Main ingredients Chili peppers, meat, and often made with tomatoes and beans
Variations Multiple
Cookbook: Chili con carne  Media: Chili con carne

Chili con carne (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃili koŋ ˈkaɾne];[1] English: chili with meat), commonly known in American English as simply "chili", is a spicy stew containing chili peppers, meat (usually beef), and often tomatoes and beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin. Geographic and personal tastes involve different types of meat and ingredients. Recipes provoke disputes among aficionados, some of whom insist that the word "chili" applies only to the basic dish, without beans and tomatoes. Chili con carne is a frequent dish for cook-offs and is used as an ingredient in other dishes.

Origins and history

In Spanish, the word chile from the Nahuatl "chīlli" refers to a "chili pepper", and carne is Spanish for "meat".

As far back as 1850, a recipe consisting of dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers and salt, which were pounded together, formed into bricks and left to dry, which could then be boiled in pots on the trail, was found.[2]

The San Antonio Chili Stand, in operation at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, helped popularize chili by allowing Americans to appreciate its taste. San Antonio was a tourist destination and helped Texas-style chili con carne spread throughout the South and West.[3] Chili con carne is the official dish of the U.S. state of Texas as designated by the House Concurrent Resolution Number 18 of the 65th Texas Legislature during its regular session in 1977.[4]

Chili parlors

Before World War II, hundreds of small, family-run chili parlors (also known as "chili joints") could be found throughout Texas and other states, particularly those in which émigré Texans had made new homes. Each establishment usually had a claim to some kind of secret recipe.

A bowl of chili con carne and tortilla chips.

As early as 1904, chili parlors were opening outside of Texas. After working at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Charles Taylor opened a chili parlor in Carlinville, Illinois, serving "Mexican Chili".[5] In the 1920s and 1930s chains of diner-style "chili parlors" grew up in the Midwest.

Cincinnati chili arguably represents the most vibrant continuation of the chili parlor tradition, with dozens of restaurants offering this style throughout the Cincinnati area. It can be traced back to at least 1922, when the original Empress Chili location opened.[6]

In Green Bay, Wisconsin, the chili parlor Chili John's has existed since 1913. As with Cincinnati chili, it is most commonly served over spaghetti with oyster crackers, but the recipe is less sweet with a higher proportion of fat.[7] The original proprietor's son opened a second location in Burbank in 1946, which is also still in existence.[8]

Until the late 2000s, a chili parlor dating to 1904, O.T. Hodge, continued to operate in St. Louis. It featured a chili-topped dish called a "slinger": two cheeseburger patties, hash browns, and two eggs, and smothered in chili.[9] As of 2014 no O.T. Hodge-branded locations remain, though one still exists under the name Chili Mac's.[10]

Controversy over ingredients

Ingredients for chili con carne.

Beans

Beans, a staple of Tex-Mex cuisine, have been associated with chili as far back as the early 20th century.[11] The question of whether beans "belong" in chili has been a matter of contention among chili cooks for a long time. While it is generally accepted that the earliest chilis did not include beans, proponents of their inclusion contend that chili with beans has a long enough history so as to not be considered "unauthentic".[12] The Chili Appreciation Society International specified in 1999 that, among other things, cooks are forbidden to include beans in the preparation of chili for official competition—nor are they allowed to marinate any meats.[13] Small red or pink common beans are commonly used for chili, as are black-eyed peas, kidney beans, great northern beans, or navy beans.

A bowl of Texas-style chili without beans.

"Texas-style chili" may or may not contain beans and may even be made without other vegetables whatsoever besides chili peppers.[14]

Most commercially prepared canned chili includes beans. Commercial chili prepared without beans is usually called "chili no beans" in the United States. Some U.S. manufacturers, notably Bush Brothers and Company and Eden Organic, also sell canned precooked beans (without meat) that are labeled "chili beans"; these beans are intended for consumers to add to a chili recipe and are often sold with spices added.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are another ingredient on which opinions differ. Wick Fowler, north Texas newspaperman and inventor of "Two-Alarm Chili" (which he later marketed as a "kit" of spices), insisted on adding tomato sauce to his chili — one 15-oz. can per three pounds of meat. He also believed that chili should never be eaten freshly cooked but refrigerated overnight to seal in the flavor. Matt Weinstock, a Los Angeles newspaper columnist, once remarked that Fowler's chili "was reputed to open eighteen sinus cavities unknown to the medical profession."[15]

Variations

Vegetarian chili

Pot of chili sin carne.

Vegetarian chili (also known as chili sin carne, chili without meat, chili non carne, and chili sans carne) acquired wide popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s with the rise of vegetarianism. It is also popular with those on a diet restricting the use of red meat. To make the chili vegetarian, the cook leaves out the meat or replaces it with a meat analogue, such as textured vegetable protein or tofu, or a starchy vegetable, such as potatoes. These chilis nearly always include beans. Variants may contain corn, squash, mushrooms, or beets.

Chili verde

Chili verde (green chili) is a moderately to extremely spicy New Mexican cuisine stew or sauce usually made from chunks of pork that have been slow-cooked in chicken broth, garlic, tomatillos, and roasted green chilis. Tomatoes are rarely used. The spiciness of the chili is adjusted with poblano, jalapeño, serrano, and occasionally habanero peppers. Chili verde is a common filling for the Mission burrito.

White chili

White chili is made using white beans and turkey meat or chicken breast instead of a tomato-based sauce and red meat (beef). The resulting dish appears white when cooked.

Accompaniments and additions

Chili with garnishes and tortilla chips
Chili con carne with mashed corn served in Austria.

The dish may be served with toppings or accompaniments; grated cheese, diced onions, and sour cream are common toppings, as are saltine crackers, tortilla chips or corn chips, cornbread, rolled-up corn or flour tortillas, and pork tamales. Chili can also be served over rice or pasta such as spaghetti.

Pre-made chili

Canned chili

Willie Gebhardt, originally of New Braunfels, Texas, and later of San Antonio, produced the first canned chili in 1908. Rancher Lyman Davis near Corsicana, Texas, developed Wolf Brand Chili in 1895. He owned a meat market and was a particular fan of Texas-style chili. In the 1880s, in partnership with an experienced range cook, he began producing heavily spiced chili based on chunks of lean beef and rendered beef suet, which he sold by the pot to local cafés. In 1921, Davis began canning his product, naming it for his pet wolf "Kaiser Bill". Wolf Brand canned chili was a favorite of Will Rogers, who always took along a case when traveling and performing in other regions of the world. Ernest Tubb, the country singer, was such a fan that one Texas hotel maintained a supply of Wolf Brand for his visits. Both the Gebhardt and Wolf brands are now owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Another major maker of canned chili, Hormel, sells chili available with or without beans, made with turkey or in vegetarian varieties, under their own name and other brands like Stagg.

Brick chili

Another method of marketing commercial chili in the days before widespread home refrigerators was "brick chili". It was produced by pressing out nearly all of the moisture, leaving a solid substance roughly the size and shape of a half-brick. Wolf Brand was originally sold in this form.[16] Commonly available in small towns and rural areas of the American Southwest in the first three-quarters of the 20th century, brick chili has mostly outlived its usefulness but can still be found in some stores.

Seasoning mix

Home cooks may also purchase seasoning mixes for chili, including packets of dry ingredients such as chili powder, masa flour, salt, and cayenne pepper, to flavor meat and other ingredients.

Other dishes made with chili

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In isolation, con is pronounced [kon].
  2. ↑ "History and Legends of Chili, Chili Con Carne History, Whats Cooking America". whatscookingamerica.net. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  3. ↑ "History of Chili, Chili Con Carne". whatscookingamerica.net. 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
  4. ↑ "State Dish - Chili". Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved on March 7, 2010.
  5. ↑ "The First 100 Years", Taylorschili.com
  6. ↑ Herrmann Loomis, Susan (April 16, 1989). "Fare of the County; A City's Romance With a Bowl of Chili". New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  7. ↑ The Secret to Making Green Bay’s Own Chili John's Style Chili in Your Kitchen
  8. ↑ Chili John's Burbank, CA : Food Network
  9. ↑ O.T. Hodges Menu, a "chili parlor" in Ferguson, MO in business since 1904.
  10. ↑ is there a brick and mortar ot hodge chili parlor in st louis anymore?
  11. ↑ Hill, Janet M. (June 1906). "Chili Con Carne". XI. Boston Cooking-School Magazine: 400, 401.
  12. ↑ Albala, Ken. Beans: A History. Oxford:Berg, 2007 p. 178
  13. ↑ Chili Appreciation Society International, Official CASI Rules & Guidelines October 1, 1999
  14. ↑ International Chili Society, Official History of Chili October 1, 1999
  15. ↑ Tolbert, A Bowl of Red
  16. ↑ Tommy W. Stringer, "WOLF BRAND CHILI", Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/diw01), accessed March 6, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  17. ↑ "Austin City Limits Festival Food Rocks!". Slashfood. 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.

References

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