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It's Chili Season!
- Thread starter WilbursaurusRex
- Start date
Well, you can see my chilly willy after I take that long run in 30 degree weather, but you'll need a magnifying glass.
As the thread creator, I think not, but that would be pretty funny (and confusing to those that dont look closely).
I don't have a problem with different variations. I even use beans in my chili *gasp*. The only problem I have is if there was a chili contest and there weren't separate categories. Thats what happened at work. Everyone brough traditional chili and one person brought a white chicken chili and they came in second place...even though it was completely different from everything else
The only problem I have is if there was a chili contest and there weren't separate categories. Thats what happened at work. Everyone brough traditional chili and one person brought a white chicken chili and they came in second place...even though it was completely different from everything else
I hear ya. I entered my red chili that I make with chunks of beef and no beans (just like I learned in West Texas) and since it wasn't ground meat and beany, it was accused of being non-chili by these fine Ohio folks.
History of Chili Pt. I - the Trail
During and after the Civil War, people traveling through the vast plains often carried bricks made of layers of very thinly sliced beef alternating with layers of chile peppers, pounded and pressed to remove as much moisture as possible. The acid in the chiles could keep these from spoiling for weeks. Slice off the outer layer of mold, throw the remainder in a pot of boiling water and in awhile you'd have something that was described as 'slightly better than starvation'.
After the Civil War, Texans were extremely poor. They'd been poor before the war, but now they were destitute. The Spanish had been trying to raise cattle with few fences in what became Texas for over 150 years - many had escaped and were roaming the plains, joined by cattle who'd escaped during the war. John Chisum rounded up a bunch of the feral cattle, walked them out to Albuquerque and sold them to the army. Other people saw that and created a new industry. Charles Goodnight became the biggest of the cattle barons. He and his cowboys would walk his cattle from northwest Texas across part of New Mexico, over the Raton pass, up to Denver and sell the cattle there. Later to Kansas and then Fort Worth when the railroads arrived there.
A big key to his success was the invention of a small, compact wagon that functioned as mobile kitchen and butcher station and provided medical treatment for the cowboys, called a chuckwagon. They packed a surprising amount of utility into a small wagon. {Every year when the rodeo comes to town, there's a cook-off in the park where people compete to make the best cowboy breakfast using only what they can fit into their chuckwagons and cook over a campfire.}
Ristras of dried chile peppers are light, easy to carry, don't attract flies, and pack a lot of flavor in a small package. With hundreds of cattle on the move there were always some that got injured and were lost anyway. If you had a meat grinder they became dinner. That's where and when chili con carne (literaly 'meat with chiles') was invented and it became very popular among the cowboys.
During and after the Civil War, people traveling through the vast plains often carried bricks made of layers of very thinly sliced beef alternating with layers of chile peppers, pounded and pressed to remove as much moisture as possible. The acid in the chiles could keep these from spoiling for weeks. Slice off the outer layer of mold, throw the remainder in a pot of boiling water and in awhile you'd have something that was described as 'slightly better than starvation'.
After the Civil War, Texans were extremely poor. They'd been poor before the war, but now they were destitute. The Spanish had been trying to raise cattle with few fences in what became Texas for over 150 years - many had escaped and were roaming the plains, joined by cattle who'd escaped during the war. John Chisum rounded up a bunch of the feral cattle, walked them out to Albuquerque and sold them to the army. Other people saw that and created a new industry. Charles Goodnight became the biggest of the cattle barons. He and his cowboys would walk his cattle from northwest Texas across part of New Mexico, over the Raton pass, up to Denver and sell the cattle there. Later to Kansas and then Fort Worth when the railroads arrived there.
A big key to his success was the invention of a small, compact wagon that functioned as mobile kitchen and butcher station and provided medical treatment for the cowboys, called a chuckwagon. They packed a surprising amount of utility into a small wagon. {Every year when the rodeo comes to town, there's a cook-off in the park where people compete to make the best cowboy breakfast using only what they can fit into their chuckwagons and cook over a campfire.}
Ristras of dried chile peppers are light, easy to carry, don't attract flies, and pack a lot of flavor in a small package. With hundreds of cattle on the move there were always some that got injured and were lost anyway. If you had a meat grinder they became dinner. That's where and when chili con carne (literaly 'meat with chiles') was invented and it became very popular among the cowboys.
History of Chili Pt. II - the Chili Queens of San Antonio
Starting in the late 1870s, chili con carne became extremely popular in San Antonio de Bexar, the largest city in Texas. There were a number of 'chili queens' who sold bowls of chili and other foods in the plazas and competition was reportedly fierce. This early form of fast food was extremely popular. Bands were hired, people danced and drank in the evenings, etc.
San Antonians still claim to have the best Mexican restaurants in the world, better than in Mexico. While that is a mighty big claim, I've never heard anyone even try to dispute it.
Much more info:
San Antonio's Chili Queens: The story behind their 60-year reign
Starting in the late 1870s, chili con carne became extremely popular in San Antonio de Bexar, the largest city in Texas. There were a number of 'chili queens' who sold bowls of chili and other foods in the plazas and competition was reportedly fierce. This early form of fast food was extremely popular. Bands were hired, people danced and drank in the evenings, etc.
San Antonians still claim to have the best Mexican restaurants in the world, better than in Mexico. While that is a mighty big claim, I've never heard anyone even try to dispute it.
Much more info:
San Antonio's Chili Queens: The story behind their 60-year reign
History of Chili Pt. III - the 1960s and Chili Appreciation Society
The modern history of chili was written by Wick Fowler and Frank X. Tolbert, two journalists in north Texas who shared a great love of chili. Mr. Fowler wrote for the Ferris Wheel and Mr. Tolbert had a popular column in the Dallas Morning News called "Tolbert's Texas" and wrote the definitive book "A Bowl of Red". They founded (?) the Chili Appreciation Society (my father was an early member). At first the Chili Appreciation Society had only one rule: if you were served a bad bowl of chili at their events you were REQUIRED to either a) force the cook to eat it, or b) throw the bowl straight up to the ceiling and attempt to make it stick there. (There was substantial alcohol consumed at their meetings.)
Soon the CAS was not welcome at any restaurant so they began renting party rooms at clubs and cooking their own chili. Soon, no place in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area would rent them a party room either (see above note about alcohol), so the CAS rented a warehouse for a clubhouse. They trained a chimpanzee to serve chili to the members and made him President of the club. (My Dad said the chimp would get most of the chili in the bowl until he got bored with doing it and a human would take over).
When they ran into legal problems with the clubhouse, Mr. Tolbert and Mr. Fowler created the very first chili cook-off in Terlingua, Tx, then (1967) a ghost town in the middle of nowhere (no cops, no rules, and they even attempted to ban wives). Now there are dozens, probably well over a hundred, chili cook-offs world-wide but the Terlingua one is still the World Championship. Mr. Tolbert later opened a much-loved chili parlor in Dallas and Mr. Fowler created a great chili mix.
Here's some good chili porn:
10 Best Restaurants To Get A Warm Bowl Of Chili On A Cold Winter Night In Texas
and Terlingua cook-off vids:
(and yes, even Texans think Texans are weird and funny.)
(I regret that I didn't ask my Dad questions about the CAS later. I'm pretty sure there were things he wouldn't have told me when I was seven that would have been very funny when I was forty.)
The modern history of chili was written by Wick Fowler and Frank X. Tolbert, two journalists in north Texas who shared a great love of chili. Mr. Fowler wrote for the Ferris Wheel and Mr. Tolbert had a popular column in the Dallas Morning News called "Tolbert's Texas" and wrote the definitive book "A Bowl of Red". They founded (?) the Chili Appreciation Society (my father was an early member). At first the Chili Appreciation Society had only one rule: if you were served a bad bowl of chili at their events you were REQUIRED to either a) force the cook to eat it, or b) throw the bowl straight up to the ceiling and attempt to make it stick there. (There was substantial alcohol consumed at their meetings.)
Soon the CAS was not welcome at any restaurant so they began renting party rooms at clubs and cooking their own chili. Soon, no place in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area would rent them a party room either (see above note about alcohol), so the CAS rented a warehouse for a clubhouse. They trained a chimpanzee to serve chili to the members and made him President of the club. (My Dad said the chimp would get most of the chili in the bowl until he got bored with doing it and a human would take over).
When they ran into legal problems with the clubhouse, Mr. Tolbert and Mr. Fowler created the very first chili cook-off in Terlingua, Tx, then (1967) a ghost town in the middle of nowhere (no cops, no rules, and they even attempted to ban wives). Now there are dozens, probably well over a hundred, chili cook-offs world-wide but the Terlingua one is still the World Championship. Mr. Tolbert later opened a much-loved chili parlor in Dallas and Mr. Fowler created a great chili mix.
Here's some good chili porn:
10 Best Restaurants To Get A Warm Bowl Of Chili On A Cold Winter Night In Texas
and Terlingua cook-off vids:
(and yes, even Texans think Texans are weird and funny.)
(I regret that I didn't ask my Dad questions about the CAS later. I'm pretty sure there were things he wouldn't have told me when I was seven that would have been very funny when I was forty.)
History of Chili Pt. IV - Refining the Recipe
My father (also a journalist) was friends with Wick Fowler (chief cook of the CAS) and they'd drink together at the Dallas Press Club. For years, Mr. Fowler refined his chili mix recipe. He'd make up a batch, a little more of this, a little less of this, and give the packets to his friends - who'd cook up their own batches of chili and give feedback. [And when my Dad came home with his pockets full of chili mix, that would also somewhat blunt my mother's 'opinion' about him spending all night drinking at the Press Club.
] My family were essentially 'beta tasters' - we ate many, many batches of Mr. Fowler's chili. I remember in the early days that subsequent batches of chili mix varied a lot, but as he homed in on his final recipe the variation became smaller.
I never met Mr. Fowler, but my Dad said he had large sacks of spices in trash cans in his garage and he and his family would package up batches of chili mix there. Eventually, Wick Fowler turned his chili mix into a succesful small business - and we no longer got it free. After his death, his son Gordon sold the company and last I heard he was an artist living outside Austin.
I still cook chili using Mr. Fowler's mix (with a few minor tweaks) - and it always comes out excellent! Have served it to many people and everyone seems to really like it. Have tried many other bowls of red, some quite good but never any I thought were actually better than Wick Fowler's. The famous Texas Chili Parlor makes one that is very similar to it though.
I'm going to cook up a pot of red in next few days, will post pics.
My father (also a journalist) was friends with Wick Fowler (chief cook of the CAS) and they'd drink together at the Dallas Press Club. For years, Mr. Fowler refined his chili mix recipe. He'd make up a batch, a little more of this, a little less of this, and give the packets to his friends - who'd cook up their own batches of chili and give feedback. [And when my Dad came home with his pockets full of chili mix, that would also somewhat blunt my mother's 'opinion' about him spending all night drinking at the Press Club.
] My family were essentially 'beta tasters' - we ate many, many batches of Mr. Fowler's chili. I remember in the early days that subsequent batches of chili mix varied a lot, but as he homed in on his final recipe the variation became smaller.I never met Mr. Fowler, but my Dad said he had large sacks of spices in trash cans in his garage and he and his family would package up batches of chili mix there. Eventually, Wick Fowler turned his chili mix into a succesful small business - and we no longer got it free. After his death, his son Gordon sold the company and last I heard he was an artist living outside Austin.
I still cook chili using Mr. Fowler's mix (with a few minor tweaks) - and it always comes out excellent! Have served it to many people and everyone seems to really like it. Have tried many other bowls of red, some quite good but never any I thought were actually better than Wick Fowler's. The famous Texas Chili Parlor makes one that is very similar to it though.
I'm going to cook up a pot of red in next few days, will post pics.
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It’s happening, people! Local market has bulk hatch chiles. I roasted 3 pounds worth yesterday. Today I roasted the other key ingredients: onions, garlic, tomatillos, and jalapeños. Simmer it all, blend it up with broth and add meat. I won’t presume to know what to call it ….but I like it.
….but I like it. 
Friends, come get some achiote pork.
I made plenty. Beer in the fridge. Fresh tortillas.
I made plenty. Beer in the fridge. Fresh tortillas.
Gettin’ my Chile vibes rolling…
In the pot before blending
6lbs of pork shoulder
Bubbling away for a few hours…
To be served with corn tortillas, avocado slices, cilantro and green onions.
In the pot before blending
6lbs of pork shoulder
Bubbling away for a few hours…
To be served with corn tortillas, avocado slices, cilantro and green onions.
Ohhh yeah, that's good eatin right there. As long as there aren't any issues with consuming dairy, sprinkle a little cotija on top right before you dig in.
-Mike
Adding cotija will happen with the next round. That sounds really good!
I’ve been making a batch annually for probably 8 years now. The chilies I use have included Anaheim, poblano, banana, and recently Hatch. Plus some jalapeños and Serranos for character. This last year’s Hatch crop worked out great for me. Bright and flavorful but not painful spicy. Some years it’s a real adventure
I go back and forth on Hatch, but I sure like the combo you come up with. I can imagine the layers of flavor in there.
-Mike
-Mike
I might have to get some spaghetti going at some point. Been trying to find this stuff for a while.
It's not something I'm too familiar with, but apparently might have some cinnamon and cocoa in it. I recall some Greek folks put cinnamon on their meat - so there might be something to it.
