Chili was probably invented in San Antonio, Texas, possibly as early as the late 1600s, nobody knows by whom – although there is an unsubstantiated legend of a Spanish nun named Sister Mary of Agreda, “La Dama de Azul,” who would go into trances for several days and brought the first chili recipe back from one of them. More likely it was invented by the poor as a way of spicing up cheap cuts of meat. (Cheap and tough – traditionally, chili should be simmered a very long time, to tenderize the meat.) Chile might have been an adaptation of traditional Spanish stews, brought to San Antonio by colonists from the Spanish Canary Islands, and augmented with the New World’s chile peppers. At any rate, by 1880, San Antonio “chili queens” were serving up homemade chili to cattle drivers, soldiers and railroad men in the Military Plaza Mercado. (Sanitation laws put the “chili queens” out of business in 1943.) See The Ultimate Chili Book, by Christopher B. O’Hara (The Lyons Press, 2001).
BrainGlutton. Texans as a whole ain’t wrapped too tight when it comes to their cuisine or having an accurate assessment of their importance in the world – I offer up our current Commander-In-Chief as an example of that. I thank you for your thoughtful references and summarily reject every last ONE of 'em. What you call a bowl of Texas red ain’t chili; call it what it is, stewed browned meat with tangy gravy. Eating bowlfuls of red meat without tomatoes to lubricate yer innards or beans to clean yer pipes out is a recipe for being fed suspect cuts of meat and being daignosed with an impacted colon. Now you know why cowboys walk funny.
This has been **Askia’**s take on history. Y’all come back and set a spell, y’gotme?
I’ll give you the peppers, but not the meat. I’ve been told that “real chili” doesn’t have meat. I’ve also been told that it doesn’t have beans and it doesn’t have tomatos (two things essential to good chili IMO), My point is everybody and their brother has a different idea of what makes chili and as far as I’m concerned, if you want to call what you make chili, then call it chili. The world won’t end.
MY world just*** MIGHT * ** end!
Says somebody who comes from a state where they use chili as a spaghetti sauce, of all things! 
Dammit, BrainGlutton, that was low. I admire that.
Seriously they use it as a pizza topping, too. Near as I can tell they open up a can of Hormel and add some sausage and cheese. [Add three Puke smilies] I swear, I miss the South, even if you can’t hear a proper accent in Atlanta anymore.
Them’s fightin’ words, buster. You do NOT disparage a Cincinnatian’s chili.
I have no objections to Texas-style chili, or all those other funny chilis. Eat 'em myself, from time to time. It’s not their fault, poor dears… everyone can’t live where there are good chili parlors
Cincinnati-style chili is nothing like any of them. But you can’t drive five blocks in Cincinnati without passing a chili parlor (I have three within walking distance of my home), and the average resident has chili once a week. People who move here tend to fall into our chili-eating patterns fairly quickly- the first plate makes them sick, but by the third, they’re addicts. People who move away have it shipped to them in cans at great personal expense. This is not an wacky eccentricity, it’s a culinary blessing from the gods who watch over southern Ohio.
It was brought to us by hardworking Greek immigrants and is still served, in many cases, by their Greco-American descendents, who grew wealthy on the chili fortunes. The American dream, steaming on a plate, with a side of oyster crackers.
That wonderful, spicy-sweet mixture is fantastic- and it is not anything like making Texas chili and pouring it on spaghetti, which I’ve seen people try with disastrous results. It is correctly served under an enormous pile of cheese, accompanied by oyster crackers, and followed by a single Peppermint Patty. The spices vary from cook to cook, but my mother’s recipe includes cocoa and allspice.
If you have not tried Cincinnati chili, then there is a void in your life that we Ohioans can only pity. I suppose it’s kind of like a person born blind… they may not fully understand how much they are missing, but that does not make their loss tragic.
If you find yourself passing through Cincinnati someday, give a fair try to what Bette Midler once called “Satan’s baby food.” Just exit from the highway anywhere, and you’ll see a Skyline or a Gold Star Chili, right next to the McDonalds, but with more people in the parking lot. Or go here and order a few cans to try for yourself. It’s not the same as having it served fresh from a giant chili vat by a chatty middle-aged waitress, but it’ll do.
I love all kinds of chili, from the spiciest Southwestern to the meatiest Texas no-bean style to the thin-but-tangy Skyline style from Cincinnati. I never seem to make chili the same way twice, and I incorporate the ingredients I like from different recipes into my own. Sometimes I am disappointed in the final result, but usually it comes out wonderful, whether I added a bottle of Guinness or a can of chipotle peppers or a hunk of unsweetened chocolate. And I usually serve mine over spaghetti, a family tradition long before I had ever sampled Skyline or heard about the Cinci tradition to do so.
Never heard of Gold Star, but the Skyline Chili franchise has expanded to Florida – there’s at least one in Pinellas County, across the bay from Tampa. I’ve never eaten there, but maybe I’ll try it.
O’Hara’s book gives the following recipe (which I’ve never tried) for “Cincinnati Chili”:
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
2 large onions, chopped
1 quart water
2 pounds ground beef
1 (16-ounce) can tomatoes
1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (!)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 large bay leaf
1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (!!)
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (!!!)
cooked spaghetti – enough for 6 servings
On the side:
shredded cheddar cheese
oyster crackers
chopped raw onions
kidney beans
sour cream (not “official” – O’Hara just likes it with sour cream)
Sautee the garlic and onions in oil, then add the water and the beef (which is not sauteed or browned, but boiled, “but I guess that’s the way they do it in Ohio.”). Add remaining ingredients and simmer 3 hours. Serve over spaghetti, topped with shredded cheese (never omitted). Can be eaten “3-way” (with cheese on top and crackers on the side); “4-way” (the same plus onions); “5-way” (plus beans); and O’Hara’s unofficial “6-way” (add sour cream).
I guess Skyline’s recipe would be something similar. Since this is made with ground beef rather than chunks or cubes, and without beans, it probably would make a good hot dog topping.
I’ve made chili with unsweetened cocoa powder. It’s delicious! You’d be surprised!
For extra liquid, many recipes call for water, beef broth, chicken broth, or beer. I like to use red wine! One or two cups of hearty burgundy! I’ve never had a complaint.
BTW, I’ve started a new thread on what vegetables are good in chili – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=299742 – because I think the topic is divisive and complicated enough that it should be discussed in a separate thread instead of hijacking this one. I mean vegetables other than the standard ones – chili peppers, sweet bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes and beans.
Some recipes – even, championship recipes that have won national cookoffs – call for celery. Nopalito cactus are sometimes added, but I think they’re kind of slimy. Corn sliced right off the cob into the pot is good – too good, IMO, it distracts attention from the meat. Some recipes, but only meatless ones, call for carrots and zucchini. I’ve always wondered whether okra would go well in chili.
That recipe would probably get you pretty close. They left out one step for making it yourself. The beef is boiled for a good reason- the chili should have a very fine texture, almost mushy, and frying it makes it too coarse.
Of course, since you’ve boiled the beef, the fat is all still in your chili. After you’ve simmered the chili for three hours or more, put it it the fridge overnight. The fat will rise to the top and solidify, and you can scrape it off with a spoon before heating and serving your chili.
I’ve never tried doing chili without chilling it to remove the fat. I think it would taste greasy.
[QUOTE=FisherQueen]
Them’s fightin’ words, buster. You do NOT disparage a Cincinnatian’s chili.
QUOTE]
God help me, but I do love me some cincinnati chili. I know I’ll never be a true Texan as long as the idea of chowing down a 3-way haunts my dreams. I’m gonna make a big ol’ pot for the Super Bowl.
Even though the state is duller than a box of rocks, and they voted for Shrub, this one culinary masterpiece redeems the entire state.
Basic chili: (amounts are whatever feels right)
meat, ground or cubed, any kind - The best I’ve ever made used moose.
tomatoes, stewed
onions, lots
chili powder, Gebhardt’s (There is no substitute)
chilis, ancho, chipotle, anaheim, habanero, whatever
cumin, lots
garlic, lots
salt & pepper
beer
Ingredients go into crockpot, and 24 hours later, it’s chili. Serve with grated sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and saltines.
No beans! Beans go on the side, not in the pot!
I’ve had chili on spaghetti (actually I had ordered chili-mac and got that)
But I prefer it over rice or elbow macaroni.
I’ve seen several recipes that specify Gebhardt’s but I’ve never been able to find it around here in Publix, Winn Dixie or Kash ‘n’ Karry. Where can you get it? And what makes it different from, say, McCormick’s?
Texas Red with tomatoes is Oklahoma Red. Don’t you peepul know nuthin? Please note that the closer you get to Louisiana, the more chili starts to resemble certain Creole dishes. As you move further east and north, it starts to resemble something the dog spewed up.
And what knucklehead said beans don’t add anything to chili? ::gets shotgun, goes post hunting:: Okay, *freeze right there, * Reeder! Black beans are god’s own creation, designed for the sole purpose of adding them to a pot of red.
Gebhardt’s Chili Powder is awesome! They’ve been in the business since 1896.
Try online for a source if the local Winn-Dixie doesn’t stock it. I get mine at the grocery store down the street.
See here for a bit of history.