I feel that one would expect chilli in a chilli cookoff. Or am I missing something?
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I make chili with no chili peppers because Iām not a big fan of capsaicin; I am on the āwrongā side of history in this way, in the world of chili competitions.
Thatās fine with me. My chili is one of the few meals my older two children will actually consistently eat- so popular, in fact, Iāve made my second batch in as many weeks just the other day.
My chili is also mostly beans, which is practically illegal in Texas (but not where I live)
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Iām confused about where this notion comes from. (No internet discussion of chili seems complete without it.)
I grew up in Fort Worth, where thereās quite a lot of celebration of cowboy history. Most chili I ate there had beans in it. No shortage of meat, but no shortage of beans, either.
Chili is trail food. You need spices to cover up not very tasty meat, and you fill it with beans because they are cheap, can be dried, stored, and reconstituted easily, and bulk out the meal and make you full.
The only chili without beans Iāve ever had in Texas was on a hot dog (and, imho, beans are a great topping for those, too).
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I think the no-beans thing originates in a Texas subculture: we donāt need to cover up bad meat with cheap filler like Them, we can use good meat.
Iād probably call that a stew. But hey, it works.
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Yes, I am familiar with that kind of thinking.
This spring, work forced me back to Texas for the first time since my grandmotherās funeral, about a decade ago. I said hi to many of the species of plant I missed, and what animals I could spot in downtown Austin.
I found that I hadnāt really missed the people.
Anyway, chili! Yum!
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