Chili Con Carne

Chili is best described as a spicy stew-like dish. Its main ingredients are meat and chili peppers. According to where one lives and to ones preferences chili may also include tomatoes, onions, beans and other ingredients. "Chili Con Carne" is derived from the Spanish term Chile con came meaning chili peppers and meat. Chili is the official dish of the state of Texas.

What are its origins? Some say it was invented in Mexico during the 1840s while others say Tijuana, Baja California or Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The theory is that chili was created as a complimentary dish to be served at cantinas. This was done especially to please those who wanted something spicy, Mexican and cheap. Meals were prepared from leftovers and served free to drinking customers.

At the 1893 Columbian Expo in Chicago a "San Antonio Chili Stand" was in operation which helped spread a taste for chili to other parts of the country. During the 1880s in San Antonio, Texas Hispanic women dressed in bright clothes became known as "Chili Queens" and worked around Military Plaza and other public gathering places in downtown San Antonio. At dusk fires were built to re-heat cauldrons of pre-cooked chili and sold to passers-by. Mariachi street musicians would serenade the eaters. Later some of these "Chili Queens" built semi-permanent stalls at the local Mexican marketplace. When in September of 1937 the San Antonio Health Dept. implemented new sanitary regulations this "street selling" disappeared overnight.

In the 1970s the Mexican marketplace (at that time the largest in San Antonio) was renovated and local merchants re-made enactments of the "Chili Queen" time and now the "Return of the Chili Queens Festival" is part of the city’s annual Memorial Day festivities.

Before WWII throughout Texas there were hundreds of small, family run chili parlors (also called "chili joints") and whenever Texans moved to other states they also opened up these chili parlors there. One of the most popular and best known chili parlors was Bob Pool’s Chili Joint in downtown Dallas across from the popular department store Neiman Marcus. Containers of Pool’s chili were sent to friends and customers by air express across the country. Supposedly in the early 1950s regular shipments from Pool’s to Paris were sent to General Dwight Eisenhower’s SHAPE staff.

Different types of chili:
• Original Texas style chili requires chili peppers to be boiled, peeled and chopped. Meat was cut in bite sized pieces or ground. The meat had to be beef, venison or other mature meats. Stewing meat could also be used but prime beef and veal were not solid enough. Recommended peppers are New Mexico or Anaheim, or a combination of these. Hotter chili – usually 4 pods per pound of meat and milder – 2 – 3 pods.
• Pedernals River Chili – former US President Lyndon Johnsons’s (1908 – 1973) favorite chili recipe named after the location of his Texas Hill Country Ranch. It leaves out the traditional beef suet and adds tomatoes and onions. LBJ preferred venison over beef because Hill Country deer were considered leaner than most. Former First Lady Bird Johnson printed this recipe on cards which she then sent out when people requested the recipe.
• Cincinnati-style chili varies from the Texas style because it is usually eaten as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs. It was invented in the 1920s by Greek immigrants. The chili is bean less, but a "4-way" serving includes beans on top of the spaghetti under the chili. Normally cheddar cheese tops Cincinnati spaghetti dishes. In the 1920s and 1930s chains of diner style "chili parlors" sprung up in the Midwest. One of them can still be found in St. Louis at 901 Pine St. "St. Louis Bar and Chili Parlor." This "chili parlor" featured a dish called a "Slinger" consisting of 2 hamburger patties topped with melted American cheese and 2 eggs then smothered in chili and topped off with shredded cheese. However most commentators don’t regard Cincinnati chili as true chili.
• New Orleans-style chili made almost identical to Texas chili except for the addition of rice. The white rice is left marginally undercooked to create a more solid, fibrous texture.
• Vegetarian chili became popular in the US during the 1960s and 1970s. The meat is left out of the recipe and replaced with ingredients such as textured vegetable protein or tofu.
• "Meat on the side" chili some chefs prepare the meat with the same proportions of spices, peppers, onions etc. as the rest of the chili which contains only beans, tomatoes, peppers and other seasonings. The meat and chili are then served separately so that customers can add as much meat as they want to their chili or in the case of vegetarians no meat.
• A variation on chili referred to as white chili can be made substituting a tomato based sauce with Northern beans and chicken breast meat.

In 1908 the 1st canned chili was produced by Willie Gebhardt.

In 1885 rancher Lyman Davis produced a chili under the name Wolf brand chili named after his pet wolf "Kaiser Bill" selling it for 5 cents a bowl form the back of a wagon in downtown Corsicana, Texas. He started canning his chili in 1921. Both country singers Will Rogers and Ernest Tubb preferred Wolf brand chili. Rogers bought cases with the chili with him on tour and a Texas hotel made sure they had it in supply when Tubb stayed there. Gebhardt and Wolf brand are now owned by Con Agra Stagg, which is a division of Hormel.

A popular saying among self-proclaimed chili purists is "If you know beans about chili you know chili ain’t got no beans". The idea that beans don’t belong in chili come from the fact that most official chili cook offs don’t allow beans or anything considered a filler.