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[[Image:Pot of Chili.jpg|thumbnail|200px|A pot of Chili with beans]]

'''Chili con carne''' (or Chili for short) is a [[spice|spicy]] stew-like dish, the essential ingredients of which are beef, pork, venison, or other mature meat, and [[chilli pepper|chile peppers]]. Variations, either geographic or by personal preference, may use a [[imitation meat|meat substitute]] and may add [[tomato]]es, [[onion]]s, [[bean]]s, and other ingredients. There are also many versions of [[vegetarianism|vegetarian]] chili, made without meat. The name  "chili con carne" is a slight corruption of the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''chile con carne'', which means "chili with meat". Chili con carne is the official dish of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Texas]].

==Origins and history==
Chili con carne had its origins in Texas. One theory holds that it emerged in the late [[1840s]], as the local equivalent of [[pemmican]]. This consisted of dried beef, suet, dried chiles (usually chilipiquenes), and salt, which were pounded together and left to dry into bricks, which could then be boiled in pots on the trail. An alternative and more widely-accepted theory holds that chili con carne was born in [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]] in the 1880s as a way of stretching available meat in the kitchens of poor [[Tejano]]s. Despite popular perception, it is not native to [[Mexico]].

:"Chili, as we know it in the United States, cannot be found in Mexico today except in a few spots which cater to tourists. If chili had come from Mexico, it would still be there. For Mexicans, especially those of Indian ancestry, do not change their culinary customs from one generation – or even from one century – to another." [Ramsdell, ''San Antonio'']

A "San Antonio Chili Stand" was in operation at the [[1893]] [[World Columbian Exposition|Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago, and this helped spread a taste for chili to other parts of the country. Furthermore, San Antonio was a significant tourist destination, and Texas-style chili con carne spread throughout the South and West.

===Chili queens===
During the 1880s, brightly-dressed [[Spanish in the United States|Hispanic]] women known as "Chili Queens" began to operate around Military Plaza and other public gathering places in downtown San Antonio. They would appear at dusk, building charcoal or wood fires to reheat cauldrons of pre-cooked chili, selling it by the bowl to passers-by. The aroma was a potent sales pitch, aided by [[Mariachi street musicians]], who joined in to serenade the eaters. Some Chili Queens later built semi-permanent stalls in the ''[[mercado]]'', or local Mexican marketplace.

In September [[1937]], the San Antonio health department implemented new sanitary regulations which required the Chili Queens to adhere to the same standards as indoor restaurants. The "street chili" culture disappeared overnight. Although [''San Antonio Light'', 12 September 1937] Mayor [[Maury Maverick]] reinstated their privileges in [[1939]], the more stringent regulations were reapplied permanently in [[1943]].

San Antonio's ''mercado'' was renovated in the [[1970s]], at which time it was the largest Mexican marketplace in the U.S. Local merchants began staging historic re-enactments of the Chili Queens' heyday, and the "Return of the Chili Queens Festival" is now part of that city's annual [[Memorial Day]] festivities.

===Chili parlors===
Before [[World War II]], hundreds of small, family-run chili parlors (also known as "chili joints") could be found throughout Texas and other states, particularly those in which emigré Texans had made their new homes. Each establishment usually had a claim to some kind of "secret recipe".

One of the best known chili parlors, in part because of its location and socially-connected clientele, was [[Bob Pool]]'s "joint" in downtown [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], just across the street from the headquarters of popular department store [[Neiman Marcus]]. [[Stanley Marcus]], president of the store, frequently ate there, and sent containers of Pool's chili to friends and customers across the country by air express. Several members of General [[Dwight Eisenhower]]'s [[SHAPE]] staff during the early [[1950s]] were reported to have arranged regular shipments from Pool's to Paris.

==Texas chili recipes==

===Original Texas-style chili===
This contains no vegetables at all, except chilies which have been prepared by being boiled, peeled, and chopped. The meat is simply bite-size – traditionally, the size of a pecan nut – or coarsely ground, with 1/2-inch plate holes in a [[meat grinder]] as standard. It must always be beef, venison, or other mature meats. Stewing meat also works well. Prime beef or veal, on the other hand, are not suitable for chili, as they tend not to remain solid. Many cooks omit the suet as being much too greasy, although it does add flavor, and Ancho or Anaheim peppers are recommended. For an "elevated" flavor, one uses four pepper pods per pound of meat; for a milder "beginners'" version, use only 2-3 pods. Chili powder is a barely adequate substitute in the original recipe; it lacks the subtle sting of the pods. (A heaping teaspoon of chili powder is the approximate equivalent of one average-size chile pod.)

===Jailhouse chili===
In the early part of the 20th century, those likely to regularly spend time in local detention facilities in the American Southwest were said to rate the accommodations among themselves by the quality of the chili they were served. This became a matter of local pride and competition with other communities.

This modern version, as served in the Texas prison system, more or less follows the cooking procedure of the Original Texas-Style recipe.

===Pedernales River chili===
President [[Lyndon Johnson]]'s favorite chili recipe became known as "Pedernales River chili" after the location of his [[Texas Hill Country]] ranch. It calls for leaving out the traditional beef suet (on doctor's orders after his heart attack while he was U.S. [[Senate Majority Leader]]) and also adds tomatoes and onions. LBJ preferred venison, when available, over beef; Hill Country deer were thought to be leaner than most. [[First Lady]] [[Lady Bird Johnson]] had it printed up on cards as a mail-out because of the many thousands of requests the [[White House]] received for the recipe.

==New Mexico chile verde==
The Official State Vegetable of [[New Mexico]] is the chile pepper and the Official State Question is "Red or green?" This refers to the decision New Mexican chile devotees must regularly make, and which engenders frequent discussion and argument. The red chile is simply a riper form of the green chile, but the former is cooked in its dried form and the latter is used fresh from the field, with significant differences in results. For those who simply cannot decide, the standard reply is "Christmas": a portion of each.

Chile verde ("green chile") is generally considered more typical of New Mexican cuisine, possibly because of its more marked visual contrast to Texas-style chili. While there apparently is no canonical recipe for chile verde, <!--- that I have been able to find---> all versions involve roasting fresh green chiles and cooking them slowly with meat (usually pork but also beef, chicken, or turkey), garlic, oregano, and cumin. The consistency is usually much thinner than Texas-style chili and is sometimes listed on restaurant menus as "green chile stew". In additon to being eaten by the bowl (sometimes with pinto beans or diced potatoes added), Chile Verde often is treated as a [[condiment]] and is ladled over [[burrito]]s, [[enchilada]]s, hamburgers, and fried eggs.

==Cincinnati-style chili==
This very popular regional variation is quite different from Texas-style chili. Most notably, it is usually eaten as a topping for spaghetti rather than as a stew by itself. While served in many regular restaurants, it is most often associated with several [[fast-food]] chains in the [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]] area, especially Empress (apparently the first), [http://www.skylinechili.com/ Skyline], and [http://www.goldstarchili.com/ Gold Star], each of which has its own variation and its own loyal customers.

According to the [http://www.cincyusa.com/ Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau], Cincinnatians consume more than two million pounds of chili each year, topped by 850,000 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese. Each September, the city celebrates "Chilifest" at [[Yeatman's Cove]] on the [[Ohio River]], with food and entertainment.

===Origins and history===
[[Cincinnati chili|Cincinnati-style chili]] seems to have originated with one or more recently-immigrated restauranteurs from southern Europe (in particular, Slavic Macedonians) who were trying to broaden their customer base by moving beyond narrowly ethnic styles of cuisine. It may have been based in some degree on Texas-style chili, or it may simply have acquired the name "chili" because it was built on spiced ground beef.

===The Greek connection===
The individual apparently most responsible for the wide local and regional popularity of Cincinnati-style chili, if not for its creation, was [[Nicholas Lambrinides]], who immigrated to the city from [[Kastoria]], [[Greece]], in [[1912]] and brought his favorite family recipes with him. To save up the money to bring his wife to America as well, he first worked as cook for a railroad crew and in a hotel kitchen, then opened a short-order [[diner]]. After nearly a decade, his wife was able to join him in Cincinnati and they raised five sons.

By World War II, Lambrinides was working as a chef for the original Empress Chili restaurant, where he continued to tinker with a recipe which he had been developing for years. In [[1949]], he and three of his sons opened their own place on Glenway Avenue, near the top of a steep hill; they named it [[Skyline Chili]] for its panoramic view of downtown Cincinnati. After some local resistance in the heavily Catholic neighborhood, Skyline developed a large and devoted following &ndash; especially on Thursdays and Saturdays, which immediately preceded and followed meatless Fridays.

The family opened a second restaurant in [[1953]] and the growth of the business accelerated in the [[1960s]]; by the end of the century, there were 110 Skyline retaurants, mostly in Ohio, but with additional establishments in other states including Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Florida. Lambrinides died in [[1962]] at the age of 82, but his sons continued to operate and expand the company. They retained the original recipe unchanged, though. According to William Lambrinides, "Dad always said, 'Don't change a thing with the recipe &ndash; don't add anything, don't take out anything, it's perfect the way it is'." As a result, Skyline's version has largely become synonymous with "Cincinnati-style chili".

In [[1998]], the company was sold to [[Fleet Equity Partners]], a New England investment firm, which promised not to change the recipe (which they reportedly keep locked in a safe). [''Cincinnati Post'', 12 April 1999]

===Cincinnati chili recipes===
One of the main differences from Texas-style chili is the inclusion of sweet spices such as [[cinnamon]] and [[allspice]], and even [[cocoa]] in the Cincinnati version. Since its heat is much milder than in Texas-style chili, fans also often stir in cayenne pepper or Tabasco or other pepper sauces.

The following recipe is typical and is based on one published in [[Gourmet Magazine]]. <!--- But I can't find the original source for this. Anyone? --->

{| border="0" cellpadding="2"
! colspan="3"| Cincinnati chili
|-
| align="right"|3 ||align="right"| 3 || onions, chopped
|-
| align="right"|6 || align="right"|6 || garlic cloves, minced
|-
| align="right"|3 tablespoons || align="right"|45 mL || cooking oil
|-
| align="right"|4 pounds || align="right"|1.8 kg || ground beef (chuck works well)
|-
| align="right"|1/3 cup || align="right"|80 mL || chili powder
|-
| align="right"|2 tablespoons || align="right"|30 mL || sweet paprika
|-
| align="right"|2 teaspoons || align="right"|10 mL || powdered cumin
|-
| align="right"|1 teaspoon || align="right"|5 mL || ground coriander
|-
| align="right"|1 teaspoon || align="right"|5 mL || ground allspice
|-
| align="right"|1 teaspoon || align="right"|5 mL || dried oregano
|-
| align="right"|1/2 teaspoon || align="right"|3 mL || cayenne pepper
|-
| align="right"|1/2 teaspoon || align="right"|3 mL || ground [[cloves]]
|-
| align="right"|1/4 teaspoon || align="right"|1 mL || ground [[mace (spice)|mace]]
|-
| align="right"|1  || align="right"|1 ||[[bay leaf]]<BR>
|-
| align="right"|3 cups || align="right"|720 mL || water<BR>
|-
| align="right"|1 can (16 oz) || align="right"|450 g || tomato sauce<BR>
|-
| align="right"|2 tablespoons || align="right"|30 mL ||wine [[vinegar]]<BR>
|-
| align="right"|2 tablespoons || align="right"|30 mL || [[molasses]]<BR>
|-
|  || ||salt to taste<BR>
|-
|  || ||freshly ground black pepper
|}

In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic in oil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions are soft. Add beef and stir until lightly browned. Add spices (except the bay leaf) and continue to cook for another minute or two, still stirring. Add bay leaf, water, tomato sauce, vinegar, and molasses.

Simmer, uncovered, for two hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water if necessary, keeping the meat barely covered; chili should be thickened but still soupy enough to be ladled. Discard bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.

Like all chili, this is often even better if refrigerated overnight or frozen, then reheated. Cincinnati chili is always served over [[spaghetti]], usually accompanied by [[cracker (biscuit)|oyster cracker]]s.

The serving method is based on (and is ordered in restaurants by) a traditonal code:<BR>
* One-way: Chili only (but never ordered this way).
* Two-way: Spaghetti topped with chili only.
* Three-way: Add shredded [[cheddar cheese]] on top.
* Four-way: Also add chopped onions.
* Five-way: Also add beans (usually [[kidney bean]]s).
* Six-way: Also add chopped garlic (only found at Dixie Chili so far)

Cincinnati chili is also commonly eaten as a topping for hot dogs.

==Vegetarian chili (also known as chili sin carne, "without meat")==
Vegetarian chili acquired wide popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s with the rise of the [[vegetarianism|vegetarian]] philosophy, and is also popular with those on a diet restricted in red meat.

The following is a simple, representative recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil<BR>
1 onion, chopped<BR>
1 red bell pepper, chopped<BR>
2 garlic cloves, crushed<BR>
2 cups diced tomatoes<BR>
2 cans (15-oz.) red kidney beans, drained<BR>
1 cup whole green lentils, cooked<BR>
1 teaspoon paprika<BR>
1 tablespoon chili powder<BR>
salt and pepper to taste<BR>
pinch of sugar

Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté onion and bell pepper for about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes. Drain beans and lentils, reserving the liquid. Add both to tomato mixture. Add paprika and chili powder.

Simmer for 15 minutes, adding reserved liquid as necessary for preferred consistency. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Garnish with fresh [[parsley]] and serve with French bread.

Many variant recipes exist, and almost any available vegetable may be added, including [[maize|corn]], [[squash (fruit)|squash]], [[mushroom]]s, [[potato]]es, and even [[beet]]s. (Corn, squash, and beans are known as the "[[Three Sisters (agriculture)|Three Sisters]]" of Native American agriculture in the American Southwest.) A meat substitute, such as [[textured vegetable protein]], may also be included.

==Accompaniments and additions==

Several beverages are commonly used to accompany a bowl of chili, including ice-cold [[beer]], or a glass of cold milk to moderate the impact of the chiles on the throat. [[cracker (biscuit)|Saltine crackers]], broken up and scattered on top, are common in chili parlors. Jalapeño [[cornbread]], rolled-up corn [[tortilla]]s, and pork [[tamale]]s also are popular, for dunking.

===Beans or no beans?===
[[Pinto bean]]s (''frijoles''), a staple of [[Tex-Mex]] cooking, have long been associated with chili and the question of whether beans "belong" in chili has been a matter of contention amongst chili cooks for an equally long time.  It is likely that in many poorer areas of San Antonio and other places associated with the origins of chili, beans were used rather than meat or ''in addition to'' meat due to poverty.  In that regard, it has been suggested by some chili aficionados that there were probably ''two chili types'' made in the world, depending on what could be afforded and how frugal the cook was.

Many chili experts believe, however, that beans and chili should '''always''' be cooked separately and served on the side. It is then up to the consumer to stir his preferred quantity of beans into his own bowl. Some cooks prefer black beans or [[black-eyed pea]]s instead of pinto beans.

===Tomatoes===
Another ingredient considered anywhere from optional to sacrilegious is tomatoes.  [[Wick Fowler]], north Texas newspaperman and inventor of "Four-Alarm Chili" (which he later marketed as a "kit" of spices), insisted on adding tomato sauce to his chili, one 15-oz. can per three pounds of meat. He also believed that chili should never be eaten newly-cooked but refrigerated overnight to seal in the flavor. [[Matt Weinstock]], a Los Angeles newspaper columnist, once remarked that Fowler's chili "was reputed to open eighteen sinus cavities unknown to the medical profession". [Tolbert, ''A Bowl of Red'']

==Store-bought chili==
[[Willie Gebhardt]], originally of [[New Braunfels, Texas]] and later of San Antonio, produced the first canned chili in [[1908]]. Gebhardt also invented the first commercial [[chili powder]] in [[1896]], but very little else is known about him; he apparently sold out to a brother-in-law and disappeared from the scene. His chili powder nonetheless remains popular today.

Another popular chili brand is [http://www.wolfbrandchili.com/ Wolf Brand] chili, which was founded by rancher [[Lyman Davis]] near [[Corsicana, Texas]], in 1885. He also owned a meat market and was a particular fan of Texas-style chili. In the 1880s, in partnership with an experienced range cook, he began producing heavily-spiced chili based on chunks of lean beef and including rendered beef suet, which he sold by the pot to local cafés. In [[1921]], Davis began canning his product in the back of his meat market and named it for his pet wolf, "Kaiser Bill". Shortly after this, Davis sold the company, spurred by the discovery of large amounts of oil on his land.  Wolf Brand canned chili was a favorite of [[Will Rogers]], who always took along a case of it when traveling and entertaining in chili-less regions of the world.

Both the Gebhardt and Wolf brands are now owned by [http://wwwconagrafoods.com/brands/gephardt.asp ConAgra Foods]. In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], the most popular brand of canned chili is sold by [[Stagg]], a division of [[Hormel]] foods.

Another method of marketing commercial chili in the days before widespread home refrigerators was "brick chili", in the production of which nearly all of the moisture was squeezed out to leave a solid substance roughly the size and shape of a half-brick. Commonly available in small towns and rural areas of the American Southwest in the first three-quarters of the 20th century, brick chili has largely outlived its usefulness and is now difficult to find.
<!--- Someone needs to add more to the brick chili section. --->

== Quotations ==

* "Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili."
** Alleged last words of [[Kit Carson]], frontiersman

* "My feeling about chili is this: Along in November, when the first norther strikes, and the skies are gray, along about five o'clock in the afternoon, I get to thinking how good chili would taste for supper. It always lives up to expectations. In fact, you don't even mind the cold November winds."
** [[Lady Bird Johnson]], U.S. [[First Lady]]

* "Next to jazz music, there is nothing that lifts the spirit and strengthens the soul more than a good bowl of chili. Congress should pass a law making it mandatory for all restaurants serving chili to follow a Texas recipe."
** [[Harry James]], horn player

* (On the other hand...) "Put a pot of chili on the back of the stove to simmer. Let it keep simmering. Meanwhile, broil a good sirloin steak. Eat the steak. Let the chili continue to simmer. Then ignore it."
** [[Allan Shivers]], Governor of Texas

== References ==
* Frank X. Tolbert. ''A Bowl of Red: A Natural History of Chili con Carne.'' Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966. [Much of the material in this book originally appeared in the author's newspaper columns in the ''[[Dallas Morning News]]'' beginning in the early 1950s.]

* Charles Ramsdell. ''San Antonio: An Historical and Pictorial Guide''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1959.

* Joe E. Cooper. ''With or Without Beans.'' Dallas: W. S. Henson, 1967.

* H. Allen Smith. "Nobody Knows More About Chili Than I Do." Reprinted at the [http://www.chilicookoff.com/History/History_Started.asp International Chili Society] web site.

* Jack Arnold. ''The Chili Lover's Handbook.'' Privately published, 1977.

* Robb Walsh. ''The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos.'' New York: Broadway Books, 2004. [A very knowledgeable and very well-written "food history", including a long chapter on "real" chili, chili joints, and the San Antonio chili queens.]
{{cookbookpar|Chili con carne}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.chili.org/ Chili Appreciation Society International]

* [http://www.chilicookoff.com/ International Chili Society]

* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utsa/00029/utsa-00029.html UT San Antonio guide to the Gebhardt Mexican Foods Company Records, 1896-1988]

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[[Category:American cuisine]]
[[Category:Stews]]