I’m just trying to cover all bases here. I don’t know whether the OP knows chili powder as powdered chiles, or what, but my experience is that when somebody from across the pond says chili powder, they mean dried, powdered red peppers.
He’s the thing, “chili” can refer to both the pepper and the dish. “Chile” is used only to refer to the pepper and the country.
This is how I make the distinction (in American English), but not everyone does so it’s good to clarify: (“peppers” refer to fruit of plants in the genus Capsicum):
Chili: Beef stew made primarily with hot peppers , meat, and spices (cumin, oregano, etc)
Chile: A hot pepper or South American country
Chili powder: a blend of spices used in the making of chili
Powdered chiles: dried and powdered red peppers
I do not use the term “chile powder” because it’s easily confused with “chili powder.” Besides, I can’t think of American speakers of English who use the term “chile powder” for powdered hot peppers.
Also, “chile” is a variant of “chili.” The pepper, when I was growing up, was always spelled as “chili.” This “chile” spelling seems to be a newer spelling based on Spanish spellings.
Missed the edit window. Anyhow, the “i” ending implies no such thing as I mentioned the “chili” vs “chile” distinction seems to be a new thing. I just looked through some UK Indian cookbooks, and they ask for “chili powder” or “red chili powder” in their recipes. My assumption is that “chili powder” refers to just ground peppers.
You don’t want chili in cold weather, you want it in hot weather. A really spicy chili will make you break out in a sweat, which will cool you via evaporation (the biological function of sweat).
Y’all are kinda esoteric for a chili thread.
There is a variant on your basic chili, namely Cincinnati chili. The Cincinnati chili chains are run by Greeks, and tastes it. They use allspice and (often) some chocolate in the recipe. Also, they boil the ground beef instead of sauteeing it.
I went to grad school in Cincinnati, and became addicted to the stuff. My wife, owing to my demands, makes a hybrid Cincinnati chili: she does everything a good Cincinnati recipe calls for, but refuses to boil the ground beef. And she adds some cayenne (Cincinnati chili is not at all hot). It’s delicious.
This site has essentially what she does, except that she doesn’t use Worcestershire or Vinegar, and uses cinnamon sticks instead of ground cinnamon. I usually have it over spaghetti, another Cincinnati tradition.
Other observations:
Ground beef is much more common that beef chunks. I consider that a good thing.
Where you come down on the beans/no beans controversy depends, I guess, on how you feel about beans. There are no laws against them.
The best Texas-style chili mix is Wick Fowler’s.
The best chili powder is Pensey’s (but not the hot; add your own peppers).
Here’s a basic chili powder recipe modified for european sensibilities and availability. A large quantity, for multi use.
Euro Chili Powder
1 Cup of Powdered or toasted Ground Cumin
1 Cup of Spanish or Hungarian Sweet Smoked Paprika
1/2 cup of Hot (Piquant) Hungarian Paprika
1/4 cup of whole crushed dried red chili (Peperoncini)
3 Tablespoons of Oregano
3 Tablespoons of Thyme
3 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
Just remember, no matter what they tell you… Chili has kidney beans and you eat it with saltines.
…saltines crushed in, that is… Texas sacrilege.
Actually, from what I’ve read, crackers have been served with chili from the earliest days – to soak up the grease. (Chili being traditionally and properly made with cheap, tough, very fatty cuts of meat that could benefit from being stewed for hours on end. It’s not something you would want to make with sirloin or filet cuts.)
I’ve heard it made with Filet Mignon, in fact the best chili is made with the chateu briand, (large end) of the the Tenderloin, plus any trimmings. This club end of the filet should be prepared in a fine 1/4 inch cube with chili (powder) and chile, water, and no fillers (beans). Maybe some beer. The chile should be layered in fresh and dried configurations, a fresher dried chile booster according to flavor profile just before service after a 4 hour simmer.
Serve with corn tortillas.