Football season and chili go hand in hand. But what kind of chili, exactly? It’s no surprise that a country as diverse as the United States would be home to different kinds of chili. Of course, it usually comes down to: beans or no beans? According to the International Chili Society, created in 1967 to govern the World Championship Chili Cook-Off, a traditional red chili may have any meat (or combination of meats), red chili peppers, and spices. No beans are allowed. In a homestyle chili, though, there can be meat (or meats), beans, and other veggies. Those might be their rules, but every region follows their own. Before you grab your pot and turn on the stove, check out this regional chili primer.
You won’t find beans in Texas chili. Chili, here, is short for chile con carne, which is a stew of beef (ground or chuck), chile paste, spices, and tomatoes (optional). The roots of this dish go back to the mid-1800s where women known as the Chili Queens of San Antonio would serve up chili in Military Plaza. There are different variations of Texas chili, like this one made with brisket or this deliciousness made with flank steak and cocoa powder. Just remember, no beans! Don’t mess with Texas chili.
Cincinnati Chili
If you order a bowl of Cincinnati chili expecting it to be like chili con carne… you’ll be sorely disappointed. Instead, go into it prepared, and appreciate it for what it is. In his book, The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili, author Dann Woellert says that Cincinnati chili’s roots go back to 1922. It was then that Tom and John Kiradjieff, brothers from Macedonia, developed their recipe and served it out of a burlesque theater. They opened Empress Chili, and now the dish is served at several chili parlors, like Skyline, in Cincinnati and beyond.
Cincinnati chili has a sauce-like consistency and is made with ground beef, stock (or water), tomato paste, and a blend of spices that include cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and cumin. It’s usually served three way: over spaghetti and topped with shredded cheese. Sometimes beans or onions are added, making it a four or five way.
Watch: How to Make Easy Chili
Chile Verde
A New Mexican staple, chile verde is aptly named thanks to its green hue. This variation is made by simmering pork with tomatillos and green chili peppers. The tomatillos add a nice tartness, while the green chili peppers add a good dose of heat.
Homestyle Chili
When most of us (outside of Texas and Cincinnati) think of chili, we’re thinking about homestyle chili. The mix of ingredients varies, but you’ll almost definitely find a ground protein (typically beef for carnivores), beans, spices (like chile powder and cayenne), and tomatoes in it. Sometimes you’ll find corn and black beans in it for a Southwestern twist, or sometimes it’ll have pinto and kidney beans. There’s no prescribed way to enjoy homestyle chili, but you can’t go wrong ladling some over a baked potato or eating it directly from the pot.
Oklahoma chili is, by all accounts, very similar to the Texas bowl of red. The main exception is that Okies are far less militant about the exclusion of ingredients like beans and masa.
Traditionalists say chili only includes beef, tomatoes and heat — absolutely nothing else. But in Indiana, we add beans, sometimes V-8 and spaghetti to create what could pass for soup. It's called Hoosier chili — a much-maligned meal.
What primarily distinguishes Texas chili from other chili recipes you might find is a lack of beans, but it also doesn't feature any tomatoes. It is, largely, a ground beef dish that's seasoned with a spicy chili paste made of dried peppers.
The Hatch Chile Festival is an annual event that occurs each Labor Day. This event attracts people worldwide to a place known as the chile capital of the world. The small town has accommodated up to 30,000 people for this event. This small farming community is known worldwide for raising renowned chiles.
Reception. Cincinnati chili is the area's "best known regional food" and according to Woellert is, along with goetta and mock turtle soup, one of Cincinnati's "holy trinity" of local specialties.
No bean chili, also known as Texas chili or Chile con carne, is a spicy stew made without any beans. It traditionally contains meat (usually ground beef), tomatoes, peppers, onions, aromatics and flavorful spices.
Cincinnati Chili was first served in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1922. It is traditionally served on a bed of spaghetti piled high with cheese, beans, ground beef, onions, and oyster crackers. It is sweetened up with very unique flavors to chili like chocolate, cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
Traditional red chili often includes cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder, though it's not limited to these spices. Cincinnati chili, on the other hand, has a sweeter edge with spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Some recipes also use cocoa powder.
When making chili, former Southern Living Test Kitchen Director, Robby Melvin, recommends using a mix of ground chuck and ground sirloin. "It's the best of both worlds," he says. "You get a balanced lean-to-fat ratio from the chuck and the hearty, beefy leanness from the sirloin."
Texas Red, as it's called, is chunks of beef, braised with cooked peppers (anchos, chipotles, habaneros etc) and spices. Chile con carne, the Mexican version, is spiced beans (same peppers as above) with ground or chunks of (usually ) beef, goat, or mutton. You can use cooked tomatos in either without being shot.
Mexico is the second largest producer followed by Indonesia, Turkey, Spain and the United States. California is the largest all-pepper producer in the U.S. with about 320,000 metric tons annually. New Mexico is the nation's largest chile pepper grower, followed by California, Arizona and Texas.
New Mexico chiles have an earthy, sweet flavor with hints of acidity, weediness and dried cherry undertones. They are often confused with their close relative the Anaheim chile (or California chile) but are a bit hotter at 800-1,400 SHU and more flavorful than the California chiles.
The chili con carne story: How a humble one-pot became San Antonio's signature dish. In Texas, the story of the state's most beloved dish—chili con carne—meets at the intersection of tradition, culture and immigration.
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