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

[Ron in PA]

I like beans and some corn in it to

[edler7]

Either way, it's all good.

Except for that Cincinnati chili stuff...bleahhhhh

[Bad Water Bill]

Except for that Cincinnati chili stuff...bleahhhhh

I accidentally stopped into one of their chilli (Boston type) dumps and ordered a bowl.

Yup a medium sized bowl of colored water.

.50 for black beans
.50 for pinto beans
.50 for meat
.50 for green peppers

Now add that to the $3.00 for the bowl of colored water and you will know why I walked out.

Yes the waitress also said I did not know what REAL chili was.

[Lloyd Smale]

got to be some traitorous southerners here cause the beans are winning two to one!

[WILCO]

Yes. Beans seem to be popular.

[Lonegun1894]

got to be some traitorous southerners here cause the beans are winning two to one!

Nah. But how do you expect this poll to come out half way accurate when there's just one Texas and 49 other States that only some of the population of which knows how to make chili correctly? We're kinda outnumbered a bit.

Besides, putting beans in chili isn't traitorous, just misguided. I mean, it's not like they voted for O'Zero!

[triggerhappy243]

You mean obambi?

[Lonegun1894]

I mean the current Traitor-in-Chief, regardless of what name we use for him. But this being a family site...

[wills]

Everything you need to know about Chili is covered by Frank X. Tolbert in his book ​A Bowl of Red.

ORIGINAL TEXAS-STYLE CHILI
from A Bowl of Red by Frank X. Tolbert

• 3 lbs. lean beef, preferably stewing meat
• 2 oz. beef suet (or substitute vegetable oil)
• 3-6 Ancho chile pods, boiled 5 minutes, cooled, stemmed, seeded and chopped, cooking water reserved. (or 3-6 Tbsp. chili powder or ground chile)
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 Tbsp. crushed cumin seed
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
• 2-4 minced garlic cloves, to taste
• 2-4 extra Ancho chile pods
• 2 Tbsp. Masa Harina or cornmeal

Cook suet until fat is rendered. Remove suet. Sear meat in fat in 2 or 3 batches. (Use oil for low cholesterol, less grease.) Place meat in large pot with pepper pods and as much of the pepper liquid as you think you'll need to keep the meat from burning. About two inches of water rising above the meat is usually right. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Add rest of ingredients except Masa and extra Anchos. Simmer 45 minutes more, covered. Stir only occasionally. Skim off grease. Taste and adjust seasonings. If not hot enough to suit you, add extra Ancho pods which have been stemmed and seeded, but not chopped. Add Masa Harina to thicken liquid. Simmer for another 30 minutes until the meat is tender. Variation: Wick Fowler made his prize-winning chili basically the same way, but he did not use suet and added 15 oz. of tomato sauce. He never served the chili on the day of its conception, but kept it in the refrigerator overnight and skimmed off the grease the next day, then added Masa Harina upon heating the chili if it was too thin.

http://www.abowlofred.com/FXTChili.htm

[wills]

Okay potato soup on tomorrows menu...

Speaking of Potato Soup, I had some in New Mexico,where they call it Green Chili,

[triggerhappy243]

What you had, more than likely, was green chile stew. It has taters in it.

[bikerbeans]

Can I change my vote to "no beans"? I have had kidney problems most of my life and dialysis is in my future and my new doc says no beans! On second thought maybe I will stick with beans and find another doctor. Ain't getting old fun, done complaining

BB

[country gent]

I made potato soup a week ago was good and like chilli the left over gets better each time its heated up. I make a very simp;e potato soup. A package of ham shanks and 3 peeled patatoes in the slow cooker the night before. In the morning remove shanks and mash the potatoes with a little mik and butter in the broth. remove bones and shread meat adding back to pot. Peel and dice a potato add in. finely diced sweet onions a small grated carrot. salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook all day in the slow cooker.

[Dale in Louisiana]

The percentage of people eating chili with beans still tops chili without beans according to the poll.

I eat chili with beans, I just don't COOK the beans in the chili. I make a pot on the side. Add 'em if you want 'em.

dale in Louisiana

[TXGunNut]

Leftover the next 2 nights, good thing for tomorrow with PT. She found my left scapula has froze up, probably scar tissue from torn tendons in the car accident and likely the source of my shoulder and arm pain on the left side.

God bless PT's and massage therapists. They know what's working like it should and tell us what's amiss....so we can tell the docs.

[TXGunNut]

I made blackeyed peas today. Can of Rotel was the only chiles in sight, needed garlic. If you want to know what real chili tastes like re-read Will's post of Tolbert's recipe.

[Blanket]

I make my chili pepper spiced pot of bean soup, have never had a bowl of real Texas chili. On the other hand don't think I want to

[Bad Water Bill]

If you REALLY want to know why them Texians are loosing here Well it is real simple.

No it is not because the other 56 (B H Os count not mine)states are picking on them.

So far we have had 29,987 replies from Texians and no two can agree on the same recipe.

And now you know the rest of the story.

[crawfobj]

You can always tell a Texan. It's just hard to tell 'em much!

[km101]

Now please tell us how your chili was prepared when you were in the Army?

I do have the recipe that was used in the mess for over 20 years.

Presented to me by a retired Army cook over 50 years ago and it DOES have 2 types of BEANS in it.

They MAY have deleated the beans today because some would be offended by the noise or fragrance of passing toxic gasses.

Not many REAL men left out there today.

Bill, I never saw any chili the entire time I was in the Army. At least not anything I recognized as chili. But there were LOTS of things on the chow line that I did not recognize, and so would not eat.

I really did not know that Army cooks made chili! If I had known that it was supposed to be chili, I might have tried it just for reference.