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

[MT Gianni]

GWPercele, the Chile Verde I am familiar with is a pork shoulder roasted slow, then cubed into 1" squares. It is served in tortillas, burritos or over rice in a green chile sauce that elevates the heat level to your liking. It might have a few tomatillos in it but never a red tomato. If it needs liquid add chicken stock. The only other alternative to cubed is roast until it is falling off the bone. Most restaurants don't have that kind of time.

[WILCO]

I always get hungry reading this thread.

[gwpercle]

GWPercele, the Chile Verde I am familiar with is a pork shoulder roasted slow, then cubed into 1" squares. It is served in tortillas, burritos or over rice in a green chile sauce that elevates the heat level to your liking. It might have a few tomatillos in it but never a red tomato. If it needs liquid add chicken stock. The only other alternative to cubed is roast until it is falling off the bone. Most restaurants don't have that kind of time.

Thank's for Chili Verde recipe ... Appreciate the info and guidance .
Tomatilios may the the secrete + salsa verde ... got it !
Gary

[Eddie Southgate]

I love Chili period . In my part of the country there is even a Southgate brand of Chili made by the same people who make Vietti and Varallo made on Southgate Avenue in Nashville Tennessee. Southgate Avenue was the drive for my great great grandfathers farm house until sometime after he died in 1908 . Not much of a canned Chili fan but I do eat it at times. My favorite chili has beans and can be made with steak or ground meat , that said I really love good Chili Verde and will eat the Colorado version but it is my least favorite. Prefer Chili Verde with steak cooked medium but also like it with pork , no Chicken or Turkey and no vegetarian fake meat Chili. Not much on exotic Chili recipes just Meat , beans, Chili powder, Tomatoes and sauce , a bit of garlic and an onion cooked up in my cast iron pot and attended at the table by lots of peppers and maybe (most likely ) some Mcilhenny Tabasco sauce. Crackers are good but corn bread is better and usually what's served. Wife likes hers over rice with no peppers , thats why the peppers are on the table instead of cooked in the Chili like they belong. NO MACARONI !

[elmacgyver0]

As long as it's hotter than the hinges of Hell, I'll eat it.

[Idaho45guy]

[ebb]

When eaten as a soup or meal, yes beans, when used as a condiment no beans.

[Chill Wills]

American beef Chili with tomato sauce, yes beans.

Southwest or Mexican Green Chili, pork based, NO, never beans

Two different items....

[imashooter2]

And now, we wait.

[.429&H110]

My wife, second generation Swede is making Chili right now, on a slow New Year's Day
I re-read this whole post and I know my wife of 43 years.
Any way she makes it will be correct.

This thread is almost nine years old after 429 posts this Yankee still has a question.
A few recipes mention cumin, smells like dirty socks, ok.
I dump in Cholula sauce to get to heat, my Swede thinks tomato soup is hot.

But what about cilantro on post 352?
Is cilantro necessary?
Some people love it, to me it tastes like soap.

Crossroads Church in North Pole has chili competitions. We ponied up $20 each for the Pastor to buy a gift certificate or two, and we all had a secret ballot to pick the best chili. That's where I hit the cilantro. Whose idea was that?
You could not win without moose chili- beans or no beans.
We froze up the leftovers in ziplock bags, handed them out.
A church with a freezer full of chili is a fine thing.
"Feed my sheep" He said.

The church would smell of chili for a month, we got visitors walking in following the smell.
Surely are a lot of chili recipes out there!
Happy New Year!

[txbirdman]

Made some venison chili today. I had received some Hatch diced chili peppers as a Christmas gift so I added some of them to the mix but no beans. Took it over to my son’s house around lunch time and came back with an empty pot so I guess it was pretty good. Certainly was a little spicey.

[gwpercle]

I think ... no , I honestly believe you should make chili to suit your taste .
I like chili flavored with Cumin ... To me it doesn't taste like chili without the cumin ... but I don't care for Cilantro , so I don't use it . I do add a little oregano because I like the way it taste .
So the bottom line is if you doing the cooking , you can use the flavors you like ...everyone else can either cook their own pot or eat a Spam sandwich and keep their yap shut .
I go both ways with beans ... I like chili with and without and make according to what I feel like that day .

I have really enjoyed this thread ... 22 pages and still rolling along .
Every year on Christmas eve , for the last 50 years I make a big pot of chili at home . This year Wife and I went to my Daughter's for Christmas in Florida , she made the chili this year ... Well ... I must have taught her well because I swear her chili tasted better than mine ! She claims she just used my old recipe ... but I think she got the old man bested in the chili cooking dept . ! But I'm good with that !

Happy New Year to all you Chili Heads !
Gary

[Eddie Southgate]

I cooked Chili for our family get together on Christmas eve. Tried the Cumin, better without it in my opinion.

[Winger Ed.]

I think cumin is what gives tacos their distinct flavor.
I wouldn't put it in chili. It just sounds wrong.

[elmacgyver0]

I am probably considered a heathen, but I haven't found any chili that I found as bad, some's just better than others.

[Winger Ed.]

I am probably considered a heathen,

Nah,,,, but my Southern Belle Grandmother might say you had the taste buds of a hog.

[imashooter2]

I am probably considered a heathen, but I haven't found any chili that I found as bad, some's just better than others.

Like sex, when it’s good, it’s really really good. And when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good!

[imashooter2]

I think cumin is what gives tacos their distinct flavor.
I wouldn't put it in chili. It just sounds wrong.

Prepared chili powder has cumin in it. Some like a little more. If it wasn’t there, you would miss it.

[gwpercle]

Like sex, when it’s good, it’s really really good. And when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good!

It's like Chili ...
some is just better than others ...
but ... I honestly have never had any I didn't enjoy and appreciate !
Gary

[1I-Jack]

Personally I like cilantro. Salsa just ain't right without it. My wife hates it so a lot of cooking is done in two pots. I ran into this bit of info (below) and told the wife she had a genetic defect...that went over well.

Why Cilantro Tastes Like Soap
Researchers at the consumer genetics firm 23andMe performed a survey, asking about 30,000 people whether they liked cilantro and what they thought it tasted like. They found that those people who said cilantro tastes like soap share a common smell-receptor gene cluster called OR6A2. This gene cluster picks up the scent of aldehyde chemicals. Natural aldehyde chemicals are found in cilantro leaves, and those chemicals are also used during soapmaking.

While the OR6A2 gene may cause some people to taste soap when they eat cilantro, there are at least three more genes that seem to be involved. One codes for smell receptors, and the other two affect the taste of bitterness — so even if you don't have the OR6A2 gene, other genetics could play a factor in your cilantro hatred.

Other studies have shown that this genetic trait varies geographically. And, interestingly, places where cilantro is popular, like Central America and India, have fewer people with these genes.

But the 23andMe study also tested whether the soap-tasting gene is passed down through generations and found that it wasn't, so it's unclear why regions with cilantro-heavy cuisines show less cilantro loathing.