Here is the second "expert essay" I have received for my new Expert Series. (If you think you're an expert on something, anything, please send me an essay and I will post it.)
Dean Esmay, a great friend of this blog and this redhead, has sent me his theories on chili, and his recipe for chili.
CHILI
by Dean Esmay
Chili is a Texas creation, a Texas invention, and a Texas tradition. It was created as a cheap food for cowboys, one that could easily be made while riding the hard trails, and that would also travel well. In other words, it was quick and easy to make, but could be made to serve lots of people over a long period of time. Following the herds across country, a group of cowboys could start a pot of chili, and continually add meat scraps and fat to the pot over the weeks as they traveled--and it only got better as the trail went on.
Indeed, one of the secrets to good chili is that the longer you cook it, the better it gets, and if you let it cool down and reheat it, it continues to be not just edible, but to improve with time.
The great problem is that most benighted souls believe foolish things about chili. Having never actually eaten the real thing, they often have the foolish notion that chili has noodles in it, a cringeworthy notion to say the least. However, almost as bad is the odd notion that chili is supposed to have beans in it. Or tomatoes.
Think about this for a minute. Chili is cowboy food. Food made by and for cowboys traveling across the ranges away from civilization, in the 1800s. There were no canned tomatoes, and certainly no fresh tomatoes on the trail. There were no pasta makers. And there certainly weren't any beans--beans require you to soak them in water for a day or more and then boil them for hours more just to make 'em edible. Chili is fast, easy food, and is made up of nothing but ingredients you can travel with safely without refrigeration, or scrounge while you're on the trail. That really means only a few things: meat, chili powder, and possibly a few wild leaks, onions, or a little garlic. Maybe a few wild vegetables on top of that, but damned little.
So let me set y'all straight: real chili has no pasta, no beans, and if it has tomatoes, onions, green papers, or any of that in it, it ain't got much. All that other stuff may make for an interesting flavor, but the more of it you add, the further away you are from real chili. Maybe you like that other stuff, but I'd encourage you to at least once try the real, authentic chili, just so you understand what you're really doing when you throw in frills like beans, tomatoes, or [shudder] pasta.
Here's how to make real cowboy chili. Start with the following ingredients:
2 lbs coarsely ground beef (not lean!)
2 ounces of animal fat (bacon grease or beef suet--the pork fat's a little better)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons chili powder (McCormick's is authentic enough, although you can mix your own with cumin, ground red pepper, oregano, cumin, black pepper and salt if you're aggressive enough)
Yes, that is the entire ingredient list!
First, render your pork or beef fat--basically, fry it over a low heat until it melts. An iron skillet is best if you want to be really authentic. Remove the rinds from the fat, if any. Then add in your ground beef--again, course ground is better. Brown the beef over medium heat, just so it's nice and even--do not overcook! The meat should be nice and tender is all. As it browns, go ahead and throw in the chopped garlic and onions.
Do not, repeat, DO NOT drain ANY of the fat off.
Once the beef's brown all around, slowly start sprinkling in the chili powder, stirring smoothly and steadily as you sprinkle it in. Once it's all in, slowly reduce the heat, and let it simmer at a very low, mildly bubbling heat for at least two hours. Check and stir occasionally.
Add a moderate--I said moderate!--amount of salt to taste. You shouldn't need much though!
You'll notice the consistency changes rather dramatically over time. It will get thicker and thicker. As long as the heat is low and you have already mixed in the chili powder thoroughly you can add a little water if it gets too thick, but keep in mind that it's supposed to be thick--real chili fans will tell you that a spoon should stand up if you stick it into a bowl of real chili!
That's it. Two hours and it's ready to eat. However, the longer it cooks, the better it'll be. Four hours, six hours, no problem. Start it in the morning and eat it for dinner, no problem. Refrigerate and reheat the next day, even better still. You can't cook it too long.
Sound boring? You'll be blown away with how good it is. Bonus: if you're on a low-carb diet, you should notice that this is a very low-carb recipe. A cup or two of this stuff should not mess up anyone's low-carb diet. When my wife was pregnant and on a low-carb diet, I made this for her at least twice a week!
Adventurous things to experiment with:
A fresh, sliced jalapeno or two will add a nice kick. A SINGLE fresh tomato chopped into the mix isn't too far from the original to be sacrilegious. A single chopped green pepper might not hurt either. However, I encourage you to try the plain original recipe at least once, to understand the basis of what real, basic, plain old chili is really before you start experimenting with frills.
And remember: real chili can't be cooked too long!
Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you'll try the real thing at least once in your life!
Another Expert Essay here: A day at the races
Good job, Dean! The man knows what he's talking about and we heartily salute his purism in jettisoning most of the garbage that goes into modern chili-making. Noodles in chili is about on a par with pineapple on pizza IMHO.
However, Dean left out one crucial ingredient that was part of every chili recipe I ever heard of growing up in Texas - beer. (Most of the folks I knew used Lone Star, but this had to do more with Texas nationalism than actual taste.) Pour some into the mix and be damned to the carbos!
YIP! YIP!
Posted by: Robert the Llama Butcher at April 6, 2004 12:09 PMI was down with it until the part about McCormick's. Ack! You might as well just put sawdust in it. Hie thee to an Indian grocery and get some decent chili powder. (Or mix your own as suggested.)
Posted by: Mark at April 6, 2004 3:43 PMWatering it down with beer is a good substitute for water. But most cowboys didn't have beer on the trail either. ;-)
Yeah, an Indian grocery's gonna have some good red pepper, but McCormick's is good enough for the novice. All it is is ground red pepper, cumin, and a little black pepper. I like to add a little extra cumin myslef. ;-)
Posted by: Dean Esmay at April 6, 2004 6:19 PMOh, by the way, anyone who tries this is obligated to let me know how it turns out!
(I think that means you, Sheila.)
Posted by: Dean Esmay at April 6, 2004 6:25 PMActually, this EXTREMELY close to the way I make chili, so I can vouch you'll get a tasty treat. However, I go the heathen's route by adding beans; I'm not a cowboy, so I'm not limiting myself.
Posted by: Mark at April 6, 2004 6:59 PMYum, I will try this as soon as I am home for more than 24 hours - sounds absolutely yummy.
I have never had chili with pasta - what is that? Sounds wrong.
Posted by: Beth at April 6, 2004 7:58 PMSay! This sounds so simple that even I could manage to make it!
Dean -- do you have any suggestions for making it spicy enough to the point where I'll be in tears? I like very spicy food and so any condiment suggestions in that regard would be appreciated.
Posted by: Benjamin Kepple at April 6, 2004 11:04 PMWell, if you like a runny nose, add a couple of teaspoons of cayenne pepper to the mix. Best add a little extra cumin to compensate if you do that.
So that would be chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
A sliced jalapeno will work too.
And yes, I think even you could handle it, Ben. :-)
Posted by: Dean Esmay at April 6, 2004 11:12 PMWell, the pasta is what's called "Cincinnati style" chili. its not bad, just different. then again, I'm a big believer in modifying 'traditional' recipes if I like the modification and the hell if its "wrong".
Posted by: Ron at April 6, 2004 11:24 PMChile made with beans and macaroni was what my mother called goulash and that's not authentic Hungarian either. We didn't call it chile although we ate enough of it. I thought authentic Texas chile was made with shredded beef from a rump roast cooked until very tender then cooled and shredded and then cooked a long time with the seasonings Dean specified with no beans or tomatoes. Personally I prefer ground beef. They started adding tomatoes because chile is supposed to be red from the chili powder. For those who liked it red but not very hot, the red tomatoes were substituted for some of the heat from the red chile powder. This is definitely something dreamed up by the chile sissys. And of course the beans were introduced to stretch the meat. Poor folks used to eat a lot of beans and they got adopted into the sissy chile recipe due simple economics.
Posted by: jane m at April 7, 2004 12:23 AMShredded & chopped beef is probably more authentic than ground beef, just more work, because then you have to find more fat. But you're pretty much right on that score.
Posted by: Dean Esmay at April 7, 2004 7:15 AMPasta? Sacrilege!
I'll have to save this recipe and try it some weekend.
Posted by: Dave Belisaurius at April 7, 2004 7:16 AMI caught alot of flack for my chili recipe when I posted it for Sgt Hook's chili contest not too long ago. It has - Alas! - beans and tomatoes in it. It also has Cafe Cubano - yeah, thats right, let's see a trail cook pull that one out of his wagon!
See, when I make chili, Im not out on the wagon trail, I'm at home, there's a supermarket down the street, so why on earth wouldnt I add stuff to my chili thats readily available to me? Isnt that what the essence of chili is? A conglomeration of stuff thrown together in a big pot and stewed for a while?
I know there are chili purists out there, and I apologize if my chili recipe offends them, but I will go toe to toe with any recipe out there when judged by taste.
maybe I should change my recipe's name to "Val's Post-modern Cafecito Chili."
Posted by: Val Prieto at April 7, 2004 8:15 AMPost-modern Chili. Good one, Val!
Posted by: red at April 7, 2004 10:13 AMSorry, Dean, but I have to disagree: Cowboys didn't have no garlic. Onions, sure (wild ones) but garlic? Nope.
Having said that, I add it to mine. I also use alcohol to add more liquid, and furthermore, I believe in sympathetic magic: Add some mezcal to the chili means I add some mezcal to me. The best batch I ever made, my friends said I was pretty drunk when I answered the door.
I was, too.
Cincinnati chili is a different kind of chili. Finer grind of meat, different spice mix (it includes chocolate, for instance. Honest!), different way being served. It's different, and its name indicates such.
It's like BBQ. Some people think 'cue should be done with a dry rub, others with a tomato-based sauce...who really knows?
Besides me, that is: Real barbecue is Carolina style--smoked & mopped with a vinegar-based sauce, pulled, and served with more vinegar.
Posted by: Victor at April 7, 2004 11:25 AMVictor:
smoked & mopped
with a vinegar-based sauce, pulled, and served with more vinegar
My gosh. My mouth is watering. MMMMMM
Posted by: red at April 7, 2004 11:28 AMI posted a chili recipe that is very close to this a couple of months back. Try:
http://mostlycajun.blogspot.com/2004_01_18_mostlycajun_archive.html#107490672100371525
And this one looks darned authentic, too!
Posted by: mostly cajun at April 7, 2004 12:13 PMVal-
Stand strong, man. Don't let them convince you chili shouldn't have tomatoes in it. Chili without tomatoes is evil and wrong.
Posted by: Dan at April 7, 2004 1:19 PMChili's not really trail food, it was originally jailhouse food. It was invented in San Antonio, was originally cooked in big galvanized tubs, and relied on chiles to cover up the taste of raunchy beef. The two most crucial ingredients in modern chili are beer and Ancho chiles. Add the spices no more than 30 minutes before eating or you lose the flavor, and use tried/reconstituted Anchos and fresh-ground cumin instead of McCormicks and you'll like the results.
You're right about the tomatoes and and beans, but there's nothing wrong with some beans on the side - just don't cook them with the chili because they'll either burn or be too hard, as cooking times vary wildly between beans and beef.
Posted by: Richard Bennett at April 7, 2004 1:31 PMCincinnati chili also has cinnamon and allspice in it, and sometimes a tiny touch of clove, so it has a bit of sweetness to it. It's usually served as a sort of sauce over a plateful of spaghetti. That's two-way. Three-way has kidney beans strewn about on top, four-way has chopped raw onion added, and five-way is topped with a handful of shredded cheddar. Talk about being off the trail! Also, the meat is browned not by frying, but by boiling in water!
Posted by: clyde at April 7, 2004 6:24 PMGotta have some peppers and a little tomato in it besides the powder. I like using Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles. I'm betting that any traveling chili had a little tomato in it when it started.
Posted by: Phelps at April 7, 2004 8:22 PMI don't know about you all, but the real stuff is spelled Chile and comes red or green. It's the stuff you put on enchiladas, tamales, stuffed sopapillas, etc.
Then again, I like Texas Chili also, but not as much as some Hatch, NM green chile on some home made enchiladas.
Of course, now that I live in Washington, I only get good New Mexican food once or twice a year, when I visit famliy.
That said, I'm startin the low carb diet next week, and depending on how badly I butcher the recipe, this may just become a staple. Definitely gotta try it.
Posted by: ConInWa at April 7, 2004 8:52 PMWhere on earth did Dean get the idea cowboys didn't have beans on the trail?
Posted by: Kerry at April 8, 2004 9:56 AMI have to agree with Kerry. Cowboys certainly had beans in the chuckwagon. I can't verify if they eat them in the chili, but I know I've read sources that state cowboys eat "frijoles" on the trail, probably for breakfast.
And soaking is no problem. Just put them in water overnight and Cookie's got nice soaked beans in the morning. I'm sure dry beans and cows were two of the things guaranteed to be available on any cattle drive. The are just to portable, cheap, easy and nutritious to not be there. (Not nutritious in the good for you sense, but nutritious in the filling sense)
I like beans in my chili, but then I just like beans
Posted by: Paul at April 8, 2004 12:08 PMA good cup of coffee, black, is a fine substitute for water or beer. I've used coffee in my chili for years and had nothing but compliments.
I think cowboys drank coffee. Otherwise, what was it they were they brewing in those coffee pots over the fire?