• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

chili debate

how to make chili

  • with beans

    Votes: 8 36.4%

  • no beans

    Votes: 6 27.3%

  • no tomatoes

    Votes: 1 4.5%

  • spoon must stand up in bowl

    Votes: 4 18.2%

  • must have tomato paste to look nicer

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • ya'll are too picky

    Votes: 2 9.1%

  • canned chile

    Votes: 1 4.5%

  • I hate chili

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    22
ecofarm said:
Yeah, but one must actually know something. There're no chili fests in S. Florida. North of the lake, probably.
Click to expand...

All the more reason to know how to make your own.
 
ecofarm said:
I'm just gonna stop. I don't know anything about chili. I was just having a lil' fun. I'll let people be serious. About chili.
Click to expand...


I’m just gonna let you gracefully retreat; :2wave:
 
Lovebug said:
Real chili is without beans. Ok, fine. The chili is better with beans though. To each his/her own. We like ours with black beans. Adds a more complex flavor.
Click to expand...

In order for that (bolded above) to be possible it's best to make the chile without any starch filler (beans, pasta or rice) and let folks add them to their serving (to personal taste) if desired. It is darned near impossible to pick those beans, noodles or rice grains out of your bowl of chili.
 
azgreg said:
This would be a great time to re-post this.

Notes from an inexperienced Chili taster named Frank, who was visiting Texas from the East Coast:

Recently I was honored to be selected as an outstanding famous celebrity in Texas, to be a judge at a Chili cook-off, because no one else wanted to do it. Also the original person called in sick at the last moment, and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the beer wagon when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides, they told me that I could have free beer during the tasting. So I accepted.

Here are the scorecards from the event:

CHILI # 1: MIKE'S MANIC MONSTER CHILI

JUDGE ONE: A little to heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.

JUDGE TWO: Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.

FRANK: Holy ****, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway with this stuff. I needed two beers to put the flames out. Hope that's the worst one. Those Texans are crazy.

CHILI # 2: ARTHUR'S AFTERBURNER CHILI

JUDGE ONE: Smokey, with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.

JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavor. Needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

FRANK: Keep this out of reach of children! I'm not sure what I am supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave of two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to walkie-talkie in three extra beers when they saw the look on my face.

CHILI # 3: FRED'S FAMOUS BURN DOWN THE BARN CHILI

JUDGE ONE: Excellent firehouse chili! Great kick. Needs more beans.

JUDGE TWO: A bean less chili. A bit salty. Good use of red peppers.

FRANK: Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting ****-faced.

CHILI # 4: BUBBA'S BLACK MAGIC

JUDGE ONE: Black Bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.

JUDGE TWO: Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods. Not much of a chili.

FRANK: I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills; that 300 lb bitch is starting to look HOT, just like this nuclear-waste I'm eating.

CHILI # 5: LINDA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER

JUDGE ONE: Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.

JUDGE TWO: Chili using shredded beef; could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.

FRANK: My ears are ringing, and I can no linger focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly from a pitcher onto it. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Freakin' Rednecks! ! !

CHILI # 6: VERA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETY

JUDGE ONE: Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spice and peppers.

JUDGE TWO: The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions and garlic.

FRANK: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulphuric flames. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that slut Sally. I need to wipe my ass with a snow cone!

CHILI # 7: SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILI

JUDGE ONE: A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.

JUDGE TWO: Ho Hum. Tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. I should note that I am worried about Judge # 3.

FRANK: You could put a #)$^@#*&! Grenade in my mouth, pull the #)$^@#*&! pin, and I wouldn't feel a damn thing. I've lost the sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my X*$(@#^&$ mouth. My pants are full of lava-like ****, to match my X*$(@#^&$ shirt. At least the during the autopsy they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful. I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the four inch hole in my stomach.

CHILI # 8: HELEN'S MOUNT SAINT CHILI

JUDGE ONE: A perfect ending. This is a nice blend chili, safe for all; not too bold, but spicy enough to declare its existence.

JUDGE TWO: This final entry is a good balanced chili, neither mild now hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge # 3 passed out, fell and pulled the chili pot on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor Yank.

FRANK: - - - - - Mama?- - - (Editor's Note: Judge # 3 was unable to report).
Click to expand...

I thought Chili in Texas was meat only.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
Chili is like many Italian dishes. Whatever you like, whatever is in the refrigerator. Whatever...

Funny this poll was today because we had homemade chili tonight.. Wife made in a Crock-pot, with beans, and ground beef, lots of onions, peppers, etc.. It was damn good.
Click to expand...

Must be an east coast or NY thing. Exactly what I do.
 
Chili is, essentially, a beef stew seasoned with chili powder. Beans are certainly not required nor are they prohibited.

Luher's chili:

4# cubed beef
a couple of diced onions
about a half cup of good quality Ancho chili powder from Hatch chilis
about a quarter cup of good cayenne
a tablespoon of Habanero powder
a tablespoon or so of cumin
a tablespoon or two of smoked paprika
Garlic...don't be shy
2 big cans of crushed tomatoes
a couple of cans of cheap beer
a little cilantro and some lemon juice doesn't hurt but isn't necessary
Some people put a little molasses or brown sugar in the mix. I don't but...whatever

Set this up and let it simmer away for a few hours. Adjust seasoning to your taste and when it's just where you want it, add in a handful of Scorpion peppers or Ghost peppers. If you want beans in your chili add them now. Let it go for another couple of hours.

In a separate pan whip up a nice dark roux. When the beef chunks fall apart when you stick them with a fork mix the roux into the chili.

Serve the chili with diced raw onion and grated cheddar cheese.
 
I make a whole lot of different things that I call chili. The most unusual has pulled pork, beer and chocolate, I have gotten several catering requests for it.

There is nothing on that list that is a "has too" for me.
 
Having now read through this thread, I am now hungry. Very hungry. I don't have the patience to wait for a good chile dish, but I have some dried chiles hanging in the kitchen and I'm sure I can come up with something, it just won't be a chili. Spicy and hearty but not a chili.

BTW "It was featured at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 at the San Antonio Chili Stand. By the 20th century chili joints had made their debut in Texas and became familiar all over the west by the roaring '20s." Chilis themselves are fruit originating in Central America. Mexican hot chocolate was tempered with chilis instead of sugars, and was a beverage of the gods.
 
OldFatGuy said:
Having now read through this thread, I am now hungry. Very hungry. I don't have the patience to wait for a good chile dish, but I have some dried chiles hanging in the kitchen and I'm sure I can come up with something, it just won't be a chili. Spicy and hearty but not a chili.

BTW "It was featured at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 at the San Antonio Chili Stand. By the 20th century chili joints had made their debut in Texas and became familiar all over the west by the roaring '20s." Chilis themselves are fruit originating in Central America. Mexican hot chocolate was tempered with chilis instead of sugars, and was a beverage of the gods.
Click to expand...

Technichally the oldest know recipe for chili predates the civil war, using chilis and other spices mixed with dried beef in minimal water to mix it then left to dry as a trail food that could be rehydrated. What would really throw people off is that the basis for chili predates anything found in texas, the oldest use of the closest thing we call chili was in hungary called goulash, they made meat stews with caraway which was wild cumin, and when chili peppers started being exported to the eastern world, hungary was one of the first to adopt it adding it to goulash with the caraway, essentially goulash from around 1598 on became the predecessor of modern chili.
 
beerftw said:
Ok so arguments I have heard recently go as far as claiming real chili has no beans, real chili has no tomatoes, or real chili needs the spoon to stand up in it. Maybe these guys are right but then again maybe I believe they are appearance snobs who think the best looking chili must be the best tasting.

I always use beans in my chili, as well as rotel canned tomatoes or if not available fresh diced tomatoes with diced mild peppers,salt pepper and garlic, a chopped onion, chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, chipotle powder sometimes, with a mix of two or three beans, red amd black beans, sometime red black and pinto beans. The meat is either ground beef or a mix of ground beef and ground deer, the chili is slow cooked for hours. I will admit no one has hated my chili other than those who hate foods too spicey(I go super hot) and everyone who tries it keeps going back for seconds and thirds, it looks hideous but the taste is spot on.


Now every so often someone argues it is not chili because it can't have beans or tomatoes or some other crap, some of these people arguing such look like they threw a crapton of water corn starch and chili powder in a pot to make something that looks pleasing but lacks any flavor.
Click to expand...

Canned chile? Seriously? If you are not like me and can get it frozen locally all year, you can order green chile bags fresh and roast them yourself.
 
FreedomFromAll said:
Canned chile? Seriously? If you are not like me and can get it frozen locally all year, you can order green chile bags fresh and roast them yourself.
Click to expand...

Not so much canned chili but rather rotel which is canned tomatoes mixed with mild green peppers, I can get very lazy in cooking, and sometimes going to the farmers market and buying the good tomatoes and prepping them is just too much work when a can of rotel does good enough.
 
beerftw said:
Technichally the oldest know recipe for chili predates the civil war, using chilis and other spices mixed with dried beef in minimal water to mix it then left to dry as a trail food that could be rehydrated. What would really throw people off is that the basis for chili predates anything found in texas, the oldest use of the closest thing we call chili was in hungary called goulash, they made meat stews with caraway which was wild cumin, and when chili peppers started being exported to the eastern world, hungary was one of the first to adopt it adding it to goulash with the caraway, essentially goulash from around 1598 on became the predecessor of modern chili.
Click to expand...

Gulyas, the Hungarian word for goulash, were a beef herder or shepherd's cooked and dried food. Cubed meat boiled with wild onions, garlic, caraway seeds when available, paprika made from Indian or Turkish cherry peppers, not chilis. The stew would be cooked until the liquid boiled away, dried, stored in a dried sheep stomach, when hungry, the herder or shepherd would heat some with water, reconstituting the dried food into a stew or soup, possibly adding other wild vegetables, mostly cabbages.

Only after new world root vegetables and fruit, potatoes, tomatoes and chilis reached eastern Europe, were they included in the ingredients. Usually served with fresh flat breads, pan cooked on the trail, hearty dishes. Only in the US are goulashes flavored with chili. Stews are common around the world, and hot spices are introduced in many cultures. Cherry peppers, under many different names have been found in recipes from Asia, India, eastern Europe, Africa for more than a 1,000 years, well before chili left Central America.
 
beerftw said:
Ok so arguments I have heard recently go as far as claiming real chili has no beans, real chili has no tomatoes, or real chili needs the spoon to stand up in it. Maybe these guys are right but then again maybe I believe they are appearance snobs who think the best looking chili must be the best tasting.

I always use beans in my chili, as well as rotel canned tomatoes or if not available fresh diced tomatoes with diced mild peppers,salt pepper and garlic, a chopped onion, chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, chipotle powder sometimes, with a mix of two or three beans, red amd black beans, sometime red black and pinto beans. The meat is either ground beef or a mix of ground beef and ground deer, the chili is slow cooked for hours. I will admit no one has hated my chili other than those who hate foods too spicey(I go super hot) and everyone who tries it keeps going back for seconds and thirds, it looks hideous but the taste is spot on.


Now every so often someone argues it is not chili because it can't have beans or tomatoes or some other crap, some of these people arguing such look like they threw a crapton of water corn starch and chili powder in a pot to make something that looks pleasing but lacks any flavor.
Click to expand...

The way I see it, American chili and Mexican chili are two completely different dishes, and that it doesn't make sense to enforce a purist 'true chili' recipe on someone who actually wants something that's centralized around beans and meat. Personally, I like a hybrid of the two. Peppers are my main concern, and that's actually what the original dish is supposed to be all about, with it being called, 'chili', and all. I still like my beans and meat though, I just tend to have more peppers in mine than most do.
 
DH Kirkwood said:
The way I see it, American chili and Mexican chili are two completely different dishes, and that it doesn't make sense to enforce a purist 'true chili' recipe on someone who actually wants something that's centralized around beans and meat. Personally, I like a hybrid of the two. Peppers are my main concern, and that's actually what the original dish is supposed to be all about, with it being called, 'chili', and all. I still like my beans and meat though, I just tend to have more peppers in mine than most do.
Click to expand...

Lots of peppers for us too.
 
OldFatGuy said:
Gulyas, the Hungarian word for goulash, were a beef herder or shepherd's cooked and dried food. Cubed meat boiled with wild onions, garlic, caraway seeds when available, paprika made from Indian or Turkish cherry peppers, not chilis. The stew would be cooked until the liquid boiled away, dried, stored in a dried sheep stomach, when hungry, the herder or shepherd would heat some with water, reconstituting the dried food into a stew or soup, possibly adding other wild vegetables, mostly cabbages.

Only after new world root vegetables and fruit, potatoes, tomatoes and chilis reached eastern Europe, were they included in the ingredients. Usually served with fresh flat breads, pan cooked on the trail, hearty dishes. Only in the US are goulashes flavored with chili. Stews are common around the world, and hot spices are introduced in many cultures. Cherry peppers, under many different names have been found in recipes from Asia, India, eastern Europe, Africa for more than a 1,000 years, well before chili left Central America.
Click to expand...

Cherry peppers are chili peppers fyi, they range from low to medium on the heat scale, and until around the 1700-1800's paprika was made extremely hot, then after they started making it milder.


Well if you bring up peppers being used far further back then the origins of chili could go farther, however the goulash used chili peppers when introduced and often caraway which is extremely similar to cumin which also grew wild there. Todays average chili is chili peppers and cumin, and goulash was wildly variable anything from just meat and sauce to meat sauce and potatoes to anything they could fit in the pot.
 
DH Kirkwood said:
The way I see it, American chili and Mexican chili are two completely different dishes, and that it doesn't make sense to enforce a purist 'true chili' recipe on someone who actually wants something that's centralized around beans and meat. Personally, I like a hybrid of the two. Peppers are my main concern, and that's actually what the original dish is supposed to be all about, with it being called, 'chili', and all. I still like my beans and meat though, I just tend to have more peppers in mine than most do.
Click to expand...

I put too much of the pepper ingredient in mine, I do not have a set recipe for measurements, I just take the different chili powders turn them upside down and load the chili up until I decide it tastes right.
 
beerftw said:
Cherry peppers are chili peppers fyi, they range from low to medium on the heat scale, and until around the 1700-1800's paprika was made extremely hot, then after they started making it milder.


Well if you bring up peppers being used far further back then the origins of chili could go farther, however the goulash used chili peppers when introduced and often caraway which is extremely similar to cumin which also grew wild there. Todays average chili is chili peppers and cumin, and goulash was wildly variable anything from just meat and sauce to meat sauce and potatoes to anything they could fit in the pot.
Click to expand...

No biggie. Same genus. Cherry peppers are sweeter for the most part, with a closer relation to the bell and other sweet peppers. Different American chilis hold more of the chemicals that create the heat when dried. When viewing measurements on the Scoville heat scale the differences become more apparent. Of course there are exceptions, and then peppers like north Indian black long peppers with a very different flavor and heat presence.

All that really matters is does the end result taste good to you. Happy New Year.

My maternal grandmother was Austro-Hungarian. She made a decent paprika chicken, but a truly horrid goulash. Decent stuffed cabbage, terrific spun sugar pastries and had trouble with hard boiled eggs for her chicken soup with egg yolks.
 
beerftw said:
Ok so arguments I have heard recently go as far as claiming real chili has no beans, real chili has no tomatoes, or real chili needs the spoon to stand up in it. Maybe these guys are right but then again maybe I believe they are appearance snobs who think the best looking chili must be the best tasting.

I always use beans in my chili, as well as rotel canned tomatoes or if not available fresh diced tomatoes with diced mild peppers,salt pepper and garlic, a chopped onion, chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, chipotle powder sometimes, with a mix of two or three beans, red amd black beans, sometime red black and pinto beans. The meat is either ground beef or a mix of ground beef and ground deer, the chili is slow cooked for hours. I will admit no one has hated my chili other than those who hate foods too spicey(I go super hot) and everyone who tries it keeps going back for seconds and thirds, it looks hideous but the taste is spot on.


Now every so often someone argues it is not chili because it can't have beans or tomatoes or some other crap, some of these people arguing such look like they threw a crapton of water corn starch and chili powder in a pot to make something that looks pleasing but lacks any flavor.
Click to expand...

Only a non-chile bafoon will limit what goes into a chili dish...
 
OldFatGuy said:
No biggie. Same genus. Cherry peppers are sweeter for the most part, with a closer relation to the bell and other sweet peppers. Different American chilis hold more of the chemicals that create the heat when dried. When viewing measurements on the Scoville heat scale the differences become more apparent. Of course there are exceptions, and then peppers like north Indian black long peppers with a very different flavor and heat presence.

All that really matters is does the end result taste good to you. Happy New Year.

My maternal grandmother was Austro-Hungarian. She made a decent paprika chicken, but a truly horrid goulash. Decent stuffed cabbage, terrific spun sugar pastries and had trouble with hard boiled eggs for her chicken soup with egg yolks.
Click to expand...

Austrians can't make chili...
 
beerftw said:
Ok so arguments I have heard recently go as far as claiming real chili has no beans, real chili has no tomatoes, or real chili needs the spoon to stand up in it. Maybe these guys are right but then again maybe I believe they are appearance snobs who think the best looking chili must be the best tasting.

I always use beans in my chili, as well as rotel canned tomatoes or if not available fresh diced tomatoes with diced mild peppers,salt pepper and garlic, a chopped onion, chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, chipotle powder sometimes, with a mix of two or three beans, red amd black beans, sometime red black and pinto beans. The meat is either ground beef or a mix of ground beef and ground deer, the chili is slow cooked for hours. I will admit no one has hated my chili other than those who hate foods too spicey(I go super hot) and everyone who tries it keeps going back for seconds and thirds, it looks hideous but the taste is spot on.


Now every so often someone argues it is not chilli because it can't have beans or tomatoes or some other crap, some of these people arguing such look like they threw a crapton of water corn starch and chilli powder in a pot to make something that looks pleasing but lacks any flavor.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think chilli should be a lot of ground beef, a lot of Spanish onions, a lot of crushed garlic, a bunch of chopped bell peppers and a bunch of diced jalapenos, a can of crushed tomatoes, and a whole lot of cumin, Mexican oregano, paprika, Ancho chilli powder, and cayenne pepper. I thicken it slightly with a little bit of masa flour. Eat that on top of grits, pasta, or rice with a lot of grated cheddar and thinly diced sweet onions.

If I am cooking for vegetarians, I'd probably use black beans. I'd have to stew the sauce for a while though, then add the beans right before they broke down too much or use dried beans.
 
FieldTheorist said:
Personally, I think chilli should be a lot of ground beef, a lot of Spanish onions, a lot of crushed garlic, a bunch of chopped bell peppers and a bunch of diced jalapenos, a can of crushed tomatoes, and a whole lot of cumin, Mexican oregano, paprika, Ancho chilli powder, and cayenne pepper. I thicken it slightly with a little bit of masa flour. Eat that on top of grits, pasta, or rice with a lot of grated cheddar and thinly diced sweet onions.

If I am cooking for vegetarians, I'd probably use black beans. I'd have to stew the sauce for a while though, then add the beans right before they broke down too much or use dried beans.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you make chili your way, which is acceptable, as chili is no uniform recipe and people like me put taste over presentation. If that is how you like chili then make it that way, and ignore anyone who tells you that is not real chili.
 
beerftw said:
Sounds like you make chili your way, which is acceptable, as chili is no uniform recipe and people like me put taste over presentation. If that is how you like chili then make it that way, and ignore anyone who tells you that is not real chili.
Click to expand...

Looks like a great recipe to me. I am looking forward to trying it - possibly with the addition of a skosh of dark chocolate
 
Northern Light said:
How about... there are different ways to make chili according to region, culture, family or personal tradition, and there isn't a "right way"?
Click to expand...

If you are serious, then you just killed the fun in this thread stone-dead.

Anyway: chili should have both beans and ground beef. Not sure about tomatoes, its been a very long time since i last made it. But one thing I know for sure: no carrots. I learned it the hard way.
 
beerftw said:
Ok so arguments I have heard recently go as far as claiming real chili has no beans, real chili has no tomatoes, or real chili needs the spoon to stand up in it. Maybe these guys are right but then again maybe I believe they are appearance snobs who think the best looking chili must be the best tasting.
Click to expand...

I have voted for the beans just now! :)
 
Btw: Now is the time for a good hot chili!
In winter - not in summer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom