BS: proper mexican chili recipe

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Jun 03 - 10:57 PM

We had a tamle seller w/pushcart in Winfield as late as the mid '60's. His name was Jim....I remember him well.....wow, good tamales.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 26 Jun 03 - 05:47 PM

We have something which we call hamburger soup- hamburger, chopped vegetables including onions, garlic, bay leaf, canned broth, often pot barley, etc. We often add some chile because we like the flavor.

A real quicky main course- Pinto beans, not cooked to mush, are available in cans under the label Eden Organic, Eden Foods, Clinton MI. (Other brands we have tried are not as flavorful).
Empty a can of beans (or two) in a pot. Put in left-over roast, cooked ham, etc. cut-up. Add some red chile, oregano, and garlic. Add a little water and heat. Serve with chopped onion and grated cheese, which one can add according to taste. Serve with a good bread or whatever. Not the real chile con carne y frijoles, but cheap, filling and almost as good.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Kim C
Date: 26 Jun 03 - 05:23 PM

When I was a kid and my mom made what she called "chili," it was more like a soup with ground beef, beans, and - curses - spaghetti. Several years ago in Nashville we had a place called Empress Chili, which served "Cincinnati style chili." It was nice and thick and had cinnamon in it, and was often served over spaghetti. It was good. It was great on a hot dog.

I like beans, but I prefer them not in my chili. I don't presume to know what "real" chili is or is not, I only know the way I like it best. When my friend Vernell, who is fron Texas, makes chili, there's no tomatoes and no beans. When I make chili, I toss in a can of diced tomatoes, just because I happen to like them.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Jun 03 - 01:15 PM

"...The tamale sellers used to be a familiar sight in New Mexico towns "

Q..you remind me of the tamale vendors in Sallisaw, Okla. in the mid-1940s...little carts like ice cream wagons with the corn-husk tamales in layers inside...must have cost, oh, 15¢..(Ice cream bars were 6¢!)

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: artbrooks
Date: 26 Jun 03 - 07:04 AM

GUEST,Q: if you want to e-mail me a name and address at [e-mail], maybe we can set something up.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Jun 03 - 12:50 AM

I can get dried green jalepeno powder--want some? Or, I could try dehydrating some of my fresh ones from my local grower. Never tried before because I didn't need to........have LOTS of pureed paste in the freezer, willing to try.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 11:11 PM

Never seen dried green. I think the Canada Dept. Agriculture would require me to have a license to import fresh produce. Can't grow the peppers here (Zone 3) but some come in from British Columbia to markets in the fall. Some have nice flavor, but they ain't the right kind.
Another memory - Roasting fresh green chiles on top of the stove produced the most wonderful odor.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: NicoleC
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 10:42 PM

My goodness. This time of year, the produce sections here are positively bursting with all kinds of peppers I can't even identify. I suspect the ones you are getting in your local grocery store are picked to soon and too old by the time they reach you. Can you grow your own? Some mature very fast. I've been told that these guys have excellent seed.

Maybe you need a care package of whole dried peppers from someone in luckier climes :) They'll go stale slower than ground, and keep practically forever in the freezer.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 10:34 PM

Of course not. Look for Las Cruces #9, Chimayo, NuMex, Big Jim. We are fortunate to have a local grower so that we don't have to grow them ourselves. Med hot, and realllll good. Got Chimayo rojo molido too, from a friend who goes every few years. Love the damn stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 10:24 PM

Sorcha, the green chiles sold here under the name Anaheim have nothing like the flavor of the chile peppers we used to get in New Mexico. I am sure that you get a better product down in the States than the wimpy stuff sold under that name in the Safeways here.
We use some of the green chile powder from New Mexico, but it is expensive and a poor second choice to fresh peppers.
A couple of websites offer cans of New Mexico chile peppers but won't send to Canada. Only the "mild" is sold in cans here and it is without taste. Oh, well, such is life.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 10:10 PM

Chimayo is the original home of a variety of chile, medium hot, now more widely grown, that we use exclusively. We bought 10 pounds of the pure chile powder (molido) there last year (Ortega's shop) because it is cheaper than in Canada where we live now. Also bought a ristra (the string of sun-dried chile) for decoration. The dried chile may be pulped and used but (as I noted before) use gloves if you are sensitive. Don't wipe the sweat off your brow with chile-covered hands!

In most of the Spanish colonial villages (Chimayo dates to about 1680) the crops were blessed but the produce sold is not considered "holy." Visitors should look for the old part of the village, built out of adobe, around a square in fortress style. Partly in ruins and partly used, it is, I believe, the only one left in New Mexico. Some of the locals try to discourage visitors, much to the despair of the family trying to run a B & B at one corner of the little square, and a little grocery on another corner.

Chimayo chile is available from specialty stores (one in western Canada where I live) and by mail order (of course in New Mexico, many grocery stores have it).
Try NMcoffee and enter chile in Search. Then click on dried ground chile (NOTE: enter chili and you get the answer that there are "no products that contain chili"). There are other sources in Google that may be better, I have not tried any of them.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 09:30 PM

Well, originally, Chile was an Aztec food, not 'Mexican'. If you prefer the term 'soup' to 'gravy' OK with me. Mole (chile, chocolate, peanutbutter sauce) is an Aztec dish. Served over chicken or turkey with rice.

Real green chile (made with New Mexico/Anaheim green chiles) goes well with pork and chicken, but beef prefers the red. I've got loads of great recipes if anybody is interested. Lived in New Mexico a few years and green chile seems to be one of the things that any one who has ever lived there takes away with them. Green Chile Rellenos are super!

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 08:48 PM

You must go to Chimayo, New Mexico, home of a sacred shrine. And there you will also find holy chilis in wreaths, clumps, etc. I always wanted some. They are blessed I think. mg

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 06:44 PM

The tamale sellers used to be a familiar sight in New Mexico towns with their large lard pail filled with tamales in corn shucks kept moist and warm with towels. They were much patronized by the shopkeepers and workers in town. Often the sellers were old men, grandfathers, etc., who no longer could do physical labor.
They still are found in La Paz and the San Jose-San Lucas towns of Baja California; I haven't really looked for them in other parts of Mexico.

At Fiesta time in Santa Fe, posole, chile, etc. are sold from booths in the Plaza, but the health watchdogs have banished the street-sellers, and the old town center has been taken over by tourist-oriented and upscale shops and hotels. The old sense of community is gone.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: curmudgeon
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 06:26 PM

My former wife and her family were from East Texas and regarded chlili as "jail food." This was a way to serve meat that would not otherwise be edible. Their recipe was simple:

Take a large chunk of the toughest, cheapest beef you can find. Throw it in a pot of water to which you have added chili powder to taste and boil it down to a paste. You can add cornmeal to thicken if necessary. It was like eating thick spicy gravy, very filling, good though -- Tom

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: M.Ted
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 06:06 PM

Talk about the right way to fix chili/chilli/chile seems to generate reactions that make religious and political discussions seem tame--the stories are as good as the recipes, though, and it would be a shame to let the truth get in the way of either a good story or a good meal--Still, here is something to think about concerning San Antonio's Military Plaza(note that "Chili and Beans" are served:

San Antonio in the nineteenth century is well known for the "Chili Queens" that sold chili con carne from their chili stands at the plaza. An authoritative early account is provided in an article published in the July 1927 issue of Frontier Times Magazine. In the article, San Antonio Commissioner Frank H. Bushick reminisces about the Chili Queens and their origin at Military Plaza before they were moved to Market Square in 1887.

According to Bushick, "The chili stand and chili queens are peculiarities, or unique institutions, of the Alamo City. They started away back there when the Spanish army camped on the plaza. They were started to feed the soldiers. Every class of people in every station of life patronized them in the old days. Some were attracted by the novelty of it, some by the cheapness. A big plate of chili and beans, with a tortilla on the side, cost a dime. A Mexican bootblack and a silk-hatted tourist would line up and eat side by side, [each] unconscious or oblivious of the other."

The Chili Queens and their stands became famous well beyond the city limits of San Antonio, and were known even outside of Texas. According to Bushick, a sign in front of a booth at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 invited hungry visitors to "The San Antonio Chili Stand."

Copyright © 1999 Lone Star Junction

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 02:57 PM

I couldn't care less how traditional, original or otherwise my recipe for chilli con carne is but it tastes good.

1/2 pound minced beef
large onion
several cloves of garlic
2/3 chopped green chillis (seeds removed)
chilli powder to taste (we like it hot but tone down for guests)
tin chopped tomatoes
tomato puree
mixed herbs (parsley sage rosemary thyme bay oregano)
tin red kidney beans
beef stock
2 glasses red wine (1 for the pot and 1 for the cook)

We usually eat it with rice but sometimes with grated cheese and creme fraiche flavoured with lime in a tortilla wrap

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 01:54 PM

In my recipe for chile con carne, I gave fresh pork and ham, beef and mutton as possible meat ingredients. I also indicated that the recipes were based on old time Spanish colonial cooking in the northern provinces of Spain in North America. The idea was to indicate that these pioneering settlers used what was available. We have great freedom in our choices.

The use of ham as part of the meat reflects that fresh pork and other fresh meats (I didn't mention venison, bison, hare, etc.) were not always available. Dried meat and cut-up sausage also were used- I haven't tried it, but with proper pre-treatment, the dried meat might be passable.
Try a bit of ham along with the beef or pork sometime - once you have tried it, you may like it.

The "red or green" has meaning in New Mexico (and a couple of places in Arizona that I have tried), where decent green hot chile peppers are raised, especially in the Hatch area. The canned green chili peppers sold in most areas are almost tasteless. Used as a "gravy" over tamales, enchiladas, etc., I like the taste of the green, but the rest of the family prefers red. Some people like thick sour cream on top of this melange. Most restaurants top with melted, oily, second-rate cheddar, which I usually scrape off.

Drift- One morning early in Albuquerque, my daughter feeling queasy and tired of this fare, we looked for a cafe that had "Anglo" food. We looked in several, but all they served were burritos and other Mexican fare. We looked further, and saw the old Posada de Albuquerque hotel. Their fine dining room served "American" as well as the local fare, and we were able to get fresh fruit and hot cereal. I abandoned chile for a light, low-cal breakfast of fruit, an egg, pancakes and real maple syrup, and sausages.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 01:00 PM

Well, while we're at it, let's add in another regional chili recipe known as Cincinnati Style Chili. There are about a zillion joints in Cincy all serving this flavor of chili, the best known being "Skyline Chili." Note the addition of things like nutmeg, cinnamon, cocoa, and allspice. It's an acquired taste, but probably half of the chili I make now is done in this way, I just add a little habanero pepper sauce to mine to give it a bit more kick. The ways of serving "traditionally" in Cincinnati are listed as well below.

Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
2-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 quart cold water
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 large onions (diced)
1-1/2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp Lea & Perrin Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic (crushed)
2 tbsp chili powder
5 bay leaves
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
Salt & pepper to taste


Instructions
In a heavy gauge pot, heat oil, add beef until brown, add onions and water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add tomato paste and all other ingredients and let simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Adjust with salt & pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves before serving.

In Cincinnati the true enthusians have their Chili 1 to 5 ways:

1. Plain 2."Two Way" - Spaghetti & Chili
3."Three Way" - Chili, Spaghetti, and Cheddar Cheese
4."Four Way" - Chili, Spaghetti, Cheddar Cheese, and Onions
5."Five Way" - Chili, Spaghetti, Cheddar Cheese, Onions and Kidney Beans


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: artbrooks
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 12:49 PM

BTW, New Mexico is the only state in the US that has an "official state question." It is, and you will get this asked in many restaurants, "red or green?" This refers to the color, flavor and degree of hotness of the chili sauce (and, as Sorcha said, it resembles gravy more than anything else) that you want on your meal. Adventurous souls looking for a challenge reply "Christmas," and get both. Wimps and Texans say "on the side."

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: ossonflags
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 11:58 AM

This thread justs get better and better!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Billy the Bus
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 01:29 AM

Years ago I came across a recipe for 'Vegitarian Chili con Carne'! No meat? Duhhh...

Cheers - Sam

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Ely
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 10:11 PM

New Mexico--who in God's name puts ham in chili?? ;)

I learned that green chili recipe in Colorado, minus the beans. It's fantastic. I'm a wuss, though, and I usually eat it either over rice or over eggs and hash browns. You can't beat chili over eggs and hash browns. Chili with corn bread (real corn bread, not the sweet kind) is a winner, too.

I'm no purist, though--I grew up with beans-and-tomatoes chili in Colorado, then was introduced to meat-and-meat chili in Texas. I like both.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 08:41 PM

Someone always argues about the spelling of chile. I was raised in an area where Spanish was common, thus chile. Webster's prefers chili. If you go back to the origin, that is usually rendered chilli (Nahuatl).
It ain't the spelling that's important, it's the taste. If it's good, who cares?

Old Style Enchiladas- not rolled.

Corn tortillas
Chile con carne (meat and chile only, no beans or tomatoes)
Chopped onions
Cheese, old cheddar, grated
Deep fat fry lard.
Sauce if desired.
Medium Hot oven

Deep fat fry tortillas. Lay hot fried tortillas on a flat pan that will hold several. Ladle on steaming chile con carne. Add a layer of grated cheese. Add a layer of chopped onion. Add another fried tortilla. Add another chile-cheese-onion layer.
Put in hot oven until cheese is melted, and serve.

While everyone is eating the first ones out of the oven, they should assist the cook to prepare the next batch.

Serve with frijoles and guacamole on the side, with Dos Equis and/or Corona beer.
Some top the enchilada with a fried egg.

Is Bertha's still operating in Houston?

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: NicoleC
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 08:02 PM

Ah, yes, chili with pork! Far superior to some old ground beef.

Nicole's Chili Supremacy Meat Ladder:

---- (ah! yes!)
lamb
----
venison
----
pork
---- (very acceptable)
beef
---- (maybe you should make something else with that meat, but in a pinch...))
turkey
----
chicken
---- (better without than with!)
TVP
----
Tofu

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 07:30 PM

The most famous chili from New Mexico for many of us was Mom Unser's Green Chili, a tradition at Indianapolis when she was alive. The matriarch of one of the best known families in racing, "Mom" would have her chili feed the day before "Carburetion Day" every year and to be able to get an invite for a taste was the dream of many of us. Got mine in 1977. From Little Al, her grandson ....Here's her recipe:

Mom Unser's Chili

1pound boneless lean pork tenderloin, cubed

1-each: medium onion, chopped, and garlic clove, minced

2pounds tomatoes, stemmed, or 1 (32-ounce) can tomatoes with liquid

Pinch of oregano

Salt to taste

3(4-ounce) cans chopped green chilies or 1 (32-ounce) can for "high octane" chili

Water

Cooked pinto beans (optional)

Sauté pork, onion and garlic in large skillet with lard. Squeeze tomatoes through fingers and add with juice. Add oregano and salt. Add chilies and simmer over low heat at least 35 minutes or as long as all day, if celebrating. Add water as necessary. Add beans, or serve with beans on the side. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Mark Ross
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 07:21 PM

Glad to hear that Connie's Mexico Cafe is still going. Their all beef burrito was my favorite when I lived in Wichita. Also Arthur Bryant's in KC is wonderful. But to get back to chile, my favorite is chile verde, green chile. Chunks of pork simmered with tomatillos, onions, garlic and serrano peppers. I could live on that stuff, and frequently do. In fact in about 15 minutes I'm heading around the corner for a chile verde burrito!

Bon Appetit!
Mark Ross

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 06:40 PM

Bill D, sounds good! Too many burritos are loaded with beans, which are best as a side dish. Good burrito recipes are carefully guarded. The burrito as we know it, however, with meat and vegetables, may be fairly recent on the border. In various forms, it is a Mediterranean staple, but is not mentioned in the old recipes from the northern provinces in North America- except in the following form, which has almost disappeared (obviously a dish for hard-scrabble, pioneers).
Take a rather thick tortilla, made with white corn masa, but with a little flour added to make working them easier (say, 2 cups masa to one cup flour). Fill the center with chicharrones and bake at about 350 degrees F.
Chicharrones are prepared from the fat under the skin of the hog, especially the part where the bacon is cut. Cut into small pieces and cook slowly in the oven, stirring often, until the lard is rendered out and the color becomes a light brown. Then strain. Served salted as a nibble by people who are into the old cookery.
Or take one burro, cut into small pieces.....

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 05:15 PM

I have traveled a lot, and eaten chili, BBQ...etc. in many places. It is possible to find GOOD 'stuff' made with or without beans, mild or hot, and good BBQ can be dry OR wet...(just do NOT dump cole slaw over it!!! arrrrgghhhhh)

I have eaten at Bryants BBQ in Kansas City, made famous by Calvin Trillan in a Playboy article years ago...and their BBQ is almost greasy...but YUM! I LOVE slow smoked baby back ribs, with slightly tangy sauce....but I also love chopped pork with HOT sauce.

I have eaten every kind of Tex-Mex food known to man, and 30 years ago, found a little place in Ft. Worth in a converted gas station, where the entire family (Mexican) was picking the beans for next days refried...and it was top-notch!

but...if you are ever in Wichita Kansas, try

Connies Mexico Cafe         
2227 N Broadway St         
Wichita KS 67219-4415
316-832-9636

It has been in business for 30-40 years, and I have eaten there most of those!..amazing food from a family who still do it the old way..(potatoes and peas in the burritos, along with hand chopped beef)...YUM! not mild, either...but tangy and RIGHT... People still go there and buy burrito filling to freeze and take with them, and for gifts to needy friends *grin*

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 05:01 PM

Sounds like you folk in New Mexico have some sort of inferiority conference.

Remember, size doesn't count so don't worry!

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 04:54 PM

What a lot of hogwash from Texans! They come to New Mexico to get the true chile con carne. Here is a recipe from the famous cookbook by Erna Fergusson, Univ. New Mexico Press, 1945. Titled "Mexican Cookbook," the recipes mostly are from New Mexico. They reflect the cookery of the settlers from Spain and Mexico in the northern provinces of Spain in America.

But remember, in these recipes- Nadie sabe lo que tiene la olla mas que la cuchara que la menea.

CHILE CON CARNE

2 pounds (mutton) or beef
1 pound fresh pork or ham shoulder
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons lard or drippings
3 bay leaves
( one quart ripe tomatoes- see notes)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chile pulp or- 6 tablespoons Chimayo or other New Mexico PURE chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon comino (wild cumin)
(1 pint ripe olives)

New Mexicans leave out the tomatoes except in season. Fresh pork was used only at killing time, ham is usual. I have never seen olives used, but apparently they were brought in semi-dried in the old days and were a rare treat. We always make it without tomatoes, olives, or fresh pork, using only the flavorful ham shoulder. Mutton is in disfavor and seldom used.

Cut the meat into small cubes. Brown onion and garlic in fat. If using chile powder see below- prepare and add. Add meat. Cover and steam thoroughly. (Rub tomatoes through colander, add to meat), stir in chile pulp- see below- and cook for 20 minutes. Add seasoning and cook slowly for 2 hours. (cut olives from pits, add and cook for another 1/2 hour).
If chile powder is used, mix with one tablespoon flour, stir into the fat in which the onion and garlic were browned, stir until smooth. Then add meat and proceed as above. Pulping the chile from the dried ristras of chile is favored by the purists, but use gloves if you have sensitive hands.

Serve with frijoles (always pinto beans in New Mexico). The dried beans are washed and cooked with ham shoulder to flavor, and may be simply salted or with some chile if preferred. Never overcook to mush (or refried) the way Tejanos do. Pintos cook more quickly than Red and some others.

FRIJOLES

2 cups pinto beans
1/3 pound salt pork or salt-cured pork shoulder
One pinch oregano.
(a little chile, or season to taste)

Pick and Wash beans carefully. Soak overnight. Drain and cover with cold water. Add pork and oregano, and boil slowly, until tender, about 4 hours (watch carefully). If more water is needed, add hot, never cold. We generally cook a pound of beans at a time.
Beans used to be sold by the sack. More or less weight was added with bean-sized pebbles, hence the admonition to pick carefully.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Rapparee
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 03:43 PM

Words of advice:

If you eat HOT chili (defined as whatever is too hot for your own taste), washing it down with beer or any alcoholic drink will help. So will eating a fat, such as butter, sour cream, guacamole, etc. The capiscums are dissolved in alcohol or fat and rendered much more edible thereby.

Water won't work. Milk and beer will.

Further words: when visiting a New Mexican restaurant, ask what color the hot chili of the day is. Then order the other one. You only get the choices of red and green, so it's not hard to chose.

As for beans in chili, originally no. No tomatoes, either. But that's all changed over the years. When I make chili, I don't use beans but I do put in rice.

Eat what you like. They are YOUR insides.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: MMario
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 03:37 PM

yes.

But clam chowder don't got no 'maters in it!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 03:36 PM

Tough crowd.   How do you like your ribs - dry or wet?

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: NicoleC
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 03:30 PM

Texans can't get chili right to begin with, so don't listen to them. Instead of flavor, any chili cookoff is about how hot it is.

The only thing worse is Southerners from different parts of the south arguing about THEIR chili, which can range anywhere from bean soup to something which more closely resembles Cajun gumbo.

I, on the other hand, make the world's most perfect chili. :D

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 03:23 PM

If you haven't seen this piece before, it's worth a read!
****************************************************************
Chili Judge


Copyright 1997 W. Bruce Cameron
Please do not remove the copyright from this essay

Recently I was honored to be selected as an Outstanding Famous Celebrity in my Community 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 directions to the beer wagon when the call came.

I was assured by the other two judges that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted this as being one of those burdens you endure when you're an Internet writer and therefore known and adored by all.

Here are the scorecards from the event:

Chili # 1: Mike's Maniac Mobster Monster Chili

JUDGE ONE: A little too heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.
JUDGE TWO: Nice, smooth tomato flavor Very mild.
CAMERON: Holy smokes, what is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway with it. Took me two beers to put the flames out. Hope that's the worst one. These people are crazy.

Chili # 2: Arthur's Afterburner Chili

JUDGE ONE: Smoky (barbecue?) with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.
JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
CAMERON: Keep this out of reach of children! I'm not sure what I am supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. Shoved my way to the front of the beer line. The barmaid looks like a professional wrestler after a bad night. She was so irritated over my gagging sounds that the snake tattoo under her eye started to twitch. She has arms like Popeye and a face like Winston Churchill. I will NOT pick a fight with her.

Chili # 3: Fred's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili

JUDGE ONE: Excellent firehouse chili! Great kick. Needs more beans.
JUDGE TWO: A beanless chili, a bit salty, good use of red peppers.
CAMERON: This has got to be a joke. Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been sneezing Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now and got out of my way so I could make it to the beer wagon. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. She said her friends call her "Sally." Probably behind her back they call her "Forklift."

Chili # 4: Bubba's Black Magic

JUDGE ONE: Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
JUDGE TWO: A hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
CAMERON: I felt something scraping across my tongue but was unable to taste it. Sally was standing behind me with fresh refills so I wouldn't have to dash over to see her. When she winked at me her snake sort of coiled and uncoiled—it's kinda cute.

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.
CAMERON: My ears are ringing and I can no longer focus my eyes. I belched and four people in front of me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed hurt when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue by pouring beer directly on it from a pitcher. Sort of irritates me that one of the other judges asked me to stop screaming.

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. Superb.
CAMERON: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous flames. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except Sally. I asked if she wants to go dancing later.

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 threw in canned chili peppers at the last moment. I should note that I am a bit worried about Judge Number 3, he appears to be in a bit of distress.
CAMERON: You could put a hand grenade in my mouth and pull the pin and I wouldn't feel it. I've lost the sight in one eye and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My clothes are covered with chili which slid unnoticed out of my mouth at some point. Good, at autopsy they'll know what killed me. Go Sally, save yourself before it's too late. Tell our children I'm sorry I was not there to conceive them. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful and I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air I'll just let it in through the hole in my stomach. Call the X-Files people and tell them I've found a super nova on my tongue.

Chili # 8: Helen's Mount Saint Chili

JUDGE ONE: This final entry is a good, balanced chili, neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge Number 3 fell and pulled the chili pot on top of himself.
JUDGE TWO: A perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili, safe for all, not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
CAMERON: Momma?
*********************************************************************

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: ossonflags
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 03:19 PM

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusssssssssss ArtBrooks, just checked out the recipes on that chili site, them goodoleboys asses must glow in the dark!!!!!! can't wait to try one or six out.

Thanks y'all very informative.Best wishes from all the boys in "Punch the Horse"

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 01:49 PM

LOL at Wesley!!!

Wes, ain't that the truth???? And I'll go you one better on BBQ! When I was the Southern Divisional Director for Sun Electric I had to eat BBQ from the Virginia Tidewater to the Rio Grande and all ppoints in between. And all of it was sworn by it's local proponents to be the "Best gawdam barbecue ya' kin git anywhere." I, of cousre knew this to be false as I make the best gawdam barbecue ya' kin git anywhere!

Just like chili where Mario nailed it, ask 300 folks and you'll get 300 answers!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: artbrooks
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 01:43 PM

Texans don't know nothin' about chili. Chilis are peppers. Calling a dish with chilis in it "chili" is kinda like referring to beer as "hops."   More here.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 01:16 PM

I've never heard of chile originally being a gravy.   Every history I've read of the dish centers around cooks on the cattle drives making a dish with chili peppers, spices and meat. Chili con carne literally means "peppers with meat".    It is true that Spanish cooks used chili peppers in other dishes, but they would not be considered what we know as "chili".

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Wesley S
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 01:10 PM

The easiest way to get an argument started here in Ft Worth is

A - Tell someone where the best B-B-Q can be found

B - Tell someone where the best Tex-Mex food can be found

C - Tell someone that chile has/doesn't have beans in it

PS - The answers to the above questions are Angelos, Benitos and it really doesn't matter that much as long as you have something cold and wet to wash it down with.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: Sorcha
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 12:57 PM

Nope, chile was originally a gravy made with broth and ground chiles poured over stuff like tamles and enchiladas. True Texas chile con carne has no beans either.

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 12:54 PM

True chili is not a Mexican dish and most of the original recipes do not contain tomatoes.

Ron

Subject: RE: BS: proper mexican chilli recipe
From: MMario
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 12:54 PM

ask three hundred people about chili and you'll get three hundred opinions!

But histories I've read about "Chili con carne" - (which is texan rather then mexican in origin) mostly agree that the "first" chili was beef and chili peppers and not much else

Subject: BS: authentic mexican chilli recipe
From: ossonflags
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 12:43 PM

i met a bro'from Texas the other day who told me there were no tomatoes in proper Chilli.Can any of our American comrades put him/me right?
Being a singer I believe that chilli taken in sufficiantly large doses is very good for the vocal chords.