Chili con carne, often known simply as chili, is a spicy stew-like dish. The essential ingredients are meat (usually beef or pork) and chili peppers. Variations, either geographic or by personal preference may include tomatoes, onions, beans, and other ingredients (brown sugar is often a favorite condiment). There are also many versions of vegetarian chili, also known as chili sin carne, made without meat (sometimes with a meat substitute). The name "chili con carne" is a slight corruption of the Spanish chile con carne, which means "chili with meat". Chili con carne is the official dish of the U.S. state of Texas. Texas chili recipes
Original Texas-style chili
This contains no vegetables except chilis which have been prepared by being boiled, peeled, and chopped. The meat is simply bite-size — traditionally, the size of a pecan nut — or coarsely ground, with 1/2-inch plate holes in a meat grinder as standard. It must always be beef, venison, or other mature meats. Stewing meat also works well. Prime beef and veal, on the other hand, are not suitable for chili, as they tend not to remain solid. Many cooks omit the suet being much too greasy, although it does add flavor, and New Mexico or Anaheim peppers are recommended. For an "elevated" flavor, one uses four pepper pods per pound of meat; for a milder "beginners'" version, use only 2-3 pods. Chili powder is a barely adequate substitute in the original recipe; it lacks the subtle sting of the pods. (A heaped teaspoon of chili powder is the approximate equivalent of one average-size chili pod.)
Chili queens
During the 1880s, brightly-dressed Hispanic women known as "Chili Queens" began to operate around Military Plaza and other public gathering places in downtown San Antonio. They would appear at dusk, building charcoal or wood fires to reheat cauldrons of pre-cooked chili, selling it by the bowl to passers-by. The aroma was a potent sales pitch, aided by Mariachi street musicians, who joined in to serenade the eaters. Some Chili Queens later built semi-permanent stalls in the mercado, or local Mexican marketplace.
Jailhouse chili
In the early part of the 20th century, those likely to regularly spend time in local detention facilities in the American Southwest were said to rate the accommodations among themselves by the quality of the chili they were served. This became a matter of local pride and competition with other communities.
This modern version, as served in the Texas prison system, more or less follows the cooking procedure of the Original Texas-Style recipe.
| .:Original Texas-Style Chili
The Original Texas-Style Chili version of chili con carne contains no vegetables at all, except chili peppers. If using fresh peppers, they should have been prepared by being boiled, peeled, and chopped. If using dried peppers, they need to be soaked in hot water for 1 hour before being chopped.
Ingredients
· 3 lbs. (1.3 kg) beef or other meat
· 2 oz. (55 g) beef kidney suet
· 4 chili pods (previously skinned and blistered, or else buy sun-dried chili peppers)
· 1 tablespoon dried oregano
· 1 tablespoon crushed cumin seeds
· 1 tablespoon salt
· 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
· 1 tablespoon Hot sauce (optional but frequently included)
· 2 garlic cloves, chopped (or more, to taste)
· 2 heaping tablespoons masa harina
Many of the above quantities may be somewhat adjusted up or down, depending on personal taste.
Procedure
1. Sear beef in a little cooking oil (not lard) until lightly browned. Drop the seared beef, suet, and chile pods in a large iron skillet or pot (at least four quarts), and enough water (the reserved "pepper water" if you prepared the pods yourself) to keep the meat from burning. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes.
2. Take pot off the stove and add spices and garlic. Put back on the stove, bring to a boil again, lower heat, and simmer another hour, keeping the lid on as much as possible. Stir when necessary, but remember that too much stirring will tear the meat. Add a little more water if anything seems seriously in danger of burning (but as little water as possible).
3. Take pot off the stove and skim off all or most of the grease. (The old-timers left it all.) Mix in masa harina, which "tightens" or thickens the chili con carne and adds a subtle tamale-like flavor. Simmer about 30 minutes more, until meat is done. Do a lot of tasting during this time, (1) to adjust the seasoning, and (2) just because a chili cook should do a lot of tasting. Serves 6-8.
Notes, tips, and variations
· The meat is simply bite-size - traditionally, it was the size of a pecan nut - or coarsely ground, with 1/2-inch plate holes in a meat grinder as standard. It must always be beef, venison, or other mature meats. Stewing meat also works well. Prime beef or veal, on the other hand, are not suitable for chili con carne, as they tend not to remain solid.
· Many cooks omit the suet as being much too greasy, although it does add flavor.
· Ancho or Anaheim peppers are recommended. For an "elevated" flavor, use four pepper pods per pound of meat; for a milder "beginners" version, use only 2-3 pods.
· Chili powder is a barely adequate substitute in the original recipe, but lacks the subtle sting of the pods. A heaping teaspoon of chili powder is the approximate equivalent of one average-size chili pod.
| Origins and history
Cowboy dishing up chili at noonday dinner. Cattle ranch near Marfa, Texas
Many argue that chili was invented in Mexico during the 1840s, as a replacement for pemmican; others place its origin in Tijuana, Baja California, or Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
The Mexican origin theory holds that it was created as a complimentary dish served at cantinas, especially to please outsiders, who wanted something spicy and "Mexican" to eat, but also free or cheap. It was made with leftovers from the meals prepared in the cantina and served for free to drinking customers.
The Americanized recipe consisted of dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers (usually chilipiquenes), and salt, which were pounded together and left to dry into bricks, which could then be boiled in pots on the trail. An alternative, and more widely-accepted theory, holds that chili con carne was born in Ensenada, Mexico in the 1880s as a way of stretching available meat in the kitchens of poor Tejanos.
"San Antonio Chili Stand" was in operation at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which helped spread a taste for chili to other parts of the country. San Antonio was a significant tourist destination and helped Texas-style chili con carne spread throughout the South and West.
While the origins of chili con carne properly appear to be Mexico with American influence, there is significant evidence that the original idea and recipe stems from Spanish conquistadors who came to Mexico in the 16th century (See, e.g., "Definitely not of Mexican Origin"). 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 emigré Texans had made their new homes. Each establishment usually had a claim to some kind of "secret recipe".
One of the best known chili parlors, in part because of its location and socially-connected clientele, was Bob Pool's "joint" in downtown Dallas, just across the street from the headquarters of popular department store Neiman Marcus. Stanley Marcus, president of the store, frequently ate there, and sent containers of Pool's chili to friends and customers across the country by air express. Several members of General Dwight Eisenhower's SHAPE staff during the early 1950s were reported to have arranged regular shipments from Pool's to Paris. Pedernales River chili
President Lyndon Johnson's favorite chili recipe became known as "Pedernales River chili" after the location of his Texas Hill Country ranch. It calls for leaving out the traditional beef suet (on doctor's orders after his heart attack while he was U.S. Senate Majority Leader) and also adds tomatoes and onions. LBJ preferred venison, when available, over beef; Hill Country deer were thought to be leaner than most. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson had it printed up on cards as a mail-out because of the many thousands of requests the White House received for the recipe.
|