The great chili debate of 2015. Beans or no beans?

[shooterg]

Castalot is right - we need to judge the product . Need at least 3 judges, looks like me and Castalot just need one more volunteer. We can map out all the entrants and slowly traverse the country while impartially judging all the chili. To be fair we will award a prize for best chili and also best chili w/beans, plus an overall Champion Chili winner, who will wear the Champion Chili Cap for one year before defending his/her title. None of us can be bribed with money, maybe you could slip us a few pounds of type metal or pure under the table for extra points...

[Kent Fowler]

Putting beans in chili is a hanging crime in Texas.

You'd have to call it something else if you put beans in it.

People who put beans in chili don't know beans about chili.

[rondog]

I think there's as many ways to make chili as there are colors of paint, everybody has their own recipe. I grew up eating chili with beans, so beans it must have. I'll eat it without, but I miss them. Since I've had gastric bypass surgery, I have to concentrate on eating as much protein as possible, and beans have protein! So, gimme beans.

This'll really tweak the Texans, but I likes my chili with crackers and a shot of apple cider vinegar in it as well! So there.

[DLCTEX]

Good chili don't need no stinkin beans!

[jaysouth]

I am a former member of the International Chili Society and judged a number of Chili cookoffs in Virginia and NC. chili samples that contained beans or visible sign of tomato were not judged.

Having said that, I had a 10 gallon steam kettle in a restaurant that I owned and operated that cooked off at least one batch of chili daily. Texas style chili with NO beans. However, there was a pan of cooked pinto beans on the steam table that could be ladled over your chili if you so chose. I also served the same chili over spaghetti (chili-mac) a bowl of Fritos (Chili pie) or rice (Corpus Christi style)

The most ordered was chili mac with raw onions, pinto beans, grated cheddar and sour cream (called 5 way on the menu). Served on the table with corn bread squares and a bottle of pepper vinegar. There were also several dozen brands of hot sauce on a shelf around the dining room. I also sold a lot of buttermilk and beer to go with the chili dishes. There was actually one other chili dish called "wet shoes". it was a large order of boardwalk style fries covered with chili, cheese and onions.

I also got a lot of sales from a dish called the "Rochester Garbage Plate". It was two hot dogs on buns smothered with a large ladle of chile, boardwalk fries, from scratch baked beans and from scratch cole slaw. However it happened, Saturday was a big day for the 'garbage plate'.

Bottom line, it is OK to put beans over chili, if that turns you one, but NO, you do not cook the two together.

[nicholst55]

Good chili don't need no stinkin beans!

Totally agree! It's called chili con carne, not chili con frijoles!

[fragman]

Like beans in mine. In fact like more than one kind of bean.

[Lonegun1894]

A question for ALL Vets that have served in the last 50 years or so?

Did the military ever serve you Chilli WITHOUT beans?

The military served me all kinds of things that were misnamed for the sake of us trying to eat them anyway. I mean, the only things they were honest about were when they labeled things as "MRE"-- Depending on who you ask, that usually stood for "Meals Rejected by Everyone" or "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians". And yes, I ate MREs and liked them too. Like I said, after eating my own cooking, I will eat about anything. But I know the difference between chili and bean soup.

[Lonegun1894]

Be sure to have him pin his address on him BEFORE he tries it.... we'll want him back to bury proper in the right spot.

Next you'll be wanting proof that his life insurance is paid up and his wife has a good copy...

[triggerhappy243]

Red or green?

[Col4570]

Enjoyed my meal last night,I will not give it a name but here goes.Ground Steak browned in the pan,Onions just softened,4 chopped Cayenne peppers seeds and all,1Can of Red beans drained,1 Can of Cannellini Beans drained,1 can chopped Tomatoes,simmered and stired,Salt,Pepper,served on a bed of long grain Rice.Nice background heat without scalding the Tonsils.

[6bg6ga]

I am a former member of the International Chili Society and judged a number of Chili cookoffs in Virginia and NC. chili samples that contained beans or visible sign of tomato were not judged.

Having said that, I had a 10 gallon steam kettle in a restaurant that I owned and operated that cooked off at least one batch of chili daily. Texas style chili with NO beans. However, there was a pan of cooked pinto beans on the steam table that could be ladled over your chili if you so chose. I also served the same chili over spaghetti (chili-mac) a bowl of Fritos (Chili pie) or rice (Corpus Christi style)

The most ordered was chili mac with raw onions, pinto beans, grated cheddar and sour cream (called 5 way on the menu). Served on the table with corn bread squares and a bottle of pepper vinegar. There were also several dozen brands of hot sauce on a shelf around the dining room. I also sold a lot of buttermilk and beer to go with the chili dishes. There was actually one other chili dish called "wet shoes". it was a large order of boardwalk style fries covered with chili, cheese and onions.

I also got a lot of sales from a dish called the "Rochester Garbage Plate". It was two hot dogs on buns smothered with a large ladle of chile, boardwalk fries, from scratch baked beans and from scratch cole slaw. However it happened, Saturday was a big day for the 'garbage plate'.

Bottom line, it is OK to put beans over chili, if that turns you one, but NO, you do not cook the two together.

I think anybody that orders chili over macaroni or spaghetti needs their head examined. I've eaten hundreds of meals in greasy spoons over the country. Many try to pass off their home made type of chili as a good wholesome meal. Most tasted like **** but the people living in the area must of gotten used to it or had cast iron stomachs. Bottom line ...if you find a chili that suites your needs then eat it.

[rosewood]

Guys, I have to say, I thought Chili was supposed to have beans. At least that is the way we usually see it here in GA and so I developed my recipe using red beans in mine. I guess I don't see where the bulk of a dish comes from when you don't have beans and diced tomotoes. What goes in the chili other than meat? And how can you have chili without meat? To me, the bulk is beans, tomatoes, and meat, the rest is just spice and flavoring.

So how about giving us some of those bean less recipes so I can try them out and get the "Texas" side of the debate.

Thanks,

Rosewood

[Lloyd Smale]

I guess its what your used to. Real spaghetti donesnt have tomato sauce in it either. We had an old Italian that lived next door to us as kids that barely spoke English and hed cringe when you called what we call spaghetti Italian. I guess chili like pulled pork varies from region to region. Just like cornbread, Gumbo and many other things. Sorry but that doesn't make yours right and someone else's wrong, just different. Id about bet youd find some Mexicans that would claim that Texans don't know how to make it either and id bet theres even a taco bell or two in tx and az . Who would want to live in a world where everyone ate the same thing? Part of the fun of eating is trying new things.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Guys, I have to say, I thought Chili was supposed to have beans. At least that is the way we usually see it here in GA and so I developed my recipe using red beans in mine. I guess I don't see where the bulk of a dish comes from when you don't have beans and diced tomotoes. What goes in the chili other than meat? And how can you have chili without meat? To me, the bulk is beans, tomatoes, and meat, the rest is just spice and flavoring.

So how about giving us some of those bean less recipes so I can try them out and get the "Texas" side of the debate.

Thanks,

Rosewood

Rosewood,
Take this with a grain of salt,
but this Native Minnesotan suspects,
that it's a highly prized Texas sized secret


.
.
.
.
.
psst ....Big secret is...

meat and chili peppers ...the vegetable, not the powder

[quilbilly]

Oh man, it has to have beans. We like a combination of black beans and kidney beans.

Ditto's although I occasionally will throw in some pinto's. When I have some, buffalo makes the best.

[JB Weld]

When Mrs. Weld makes chili, there is no telling what she will throw in the pot. It always has some kind of bean in it.
I don't have to cook it, so I just eat it and tell her how good it is!

My responsibility is to fill the freezer up with ground venison.

[Bad Water Bill]

A TRUE TEXAS CHILLI RECIPE

1 Gal of red ditch water
Peppers so hot even dry ice melts instantly

Heat over a low flame just long enough to find someone foolish enough to try it.

Have at least 3 teams of paramedics standing by at all times.

[rosewood]

I guess its what your used to. Real spaghetti donesnt have tomato sauce in it either. We had an old Italian that lived next door to us as kids that barely spoke English and hed cringe when you called what we call spaghetti Italian. I guess chili like pulled pork varies from region to region. Just like cornbread, Gumbo and many other things. Sorry but that doesn't make yours right and someone else's wrong, just different. Id about bet youd find some Mexicans that would claim that Texans don't know how to make it either and id bet theres even a taco bell or two in tx and az . Who would want to live in a world where everyone ate the same thing? Part of the fun of eating is trying new things.

This is true. Tomatoes are a New world food. Before the Columbus Exchange, Europe had never seen tomatoes. However, I do believe after it was introduced to Europe, the Italians did begin using it in their dishes. Same thing for Potatoes, but bet the Italians eat them now.

[Lloyd Smale]

yes they use them now but you see more of them in chunks in pasta dishes then as a sauce. You also see more white sauces in real Italian food then red sauces. Allot of the pasta is eaten with nothing but garlic and butter. Another thing that's a bit different then here is we tend to use burger in spaghetti and for meat balls and they tend to use sausage more. We all know that a good Italian pasta dish is much better then some firery hot green chills with some burger thrown in. If I want that taste in my mouth I can light off a bic lighter in there Some good burger or sausage in a tomatoe sause with some mild yellow and red peppers, a pinch of a good hot pepper and so chunks of tomato and some BEANS have a much more complex flavor then a bic lighter in the mouth

This is true. Tomatoes are a New world food. Before the Columbus Exchange, Europe had never seen tomatoes. However, I do believe after it was introduced to Europe, the Italians did begin using it in their dishes. Same thing for Potatoes, but bet the Italians eat them now.