“Chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak, apologetic imitation of the real thing. One of the first things I do when I get home to Texas is to have a bowl of red. There is simply nothing better.” –Lyndon B. Johnson
The Best Chili: Historic Chili Stew
The best chili comes from the days of the Oregon Trail crossings; our early U.S. cattle drives and Wild West settlements that sprung-up west of the Mississippi River during the 1800’s. Originally, chili was a spicy stew that was never made the same way twice. Fresh meats, dried beans, and wild or garden vegetables were blended into zesty concoctions that were designed to feed crowds of wagon train families, ranch hands, or gold camp laborers at irregular times throughout the day, as needed.
The Best Chili From Canned Goods?
How to Make the Best Chili Recipe
Can openers were first used by the British Navy in 1813. By 1858, these handy devices had arrived in America, but were only used at the grocery store by a clerk after the new canned goods item had been purchased. The best chili recipes will never suggest that their canned goods ingredients must be carried home on horseback after being opened at the grocery store to achieve the right flavor and consistency. Instead, all really good chili recipes will simply suggest that you start from scratch for the best tasting authentic stews.
Not The Onions!
America is a blend of all nationalities. Many of the best chili recipes omit onions on the ingredient lists due to early superstitions about illnesses. Many people believed that cut onions would attract illnesses into the food that they were flavoring, or otherwise cause distemper problems around their homes. When European negative onion beliefs were confronted with the Native American use of onions to help in curing colds; onions were left out of the best chili recipes so that all nationalities would eat chili at mealtimes.
Why Strong Spirits Are Hiding In The Best Chili Stews:
Original chili recipes were made in places that did not always have a healthy clean water supply. When small amounts of liquids were needed for cooking, these were often taken quickly from previously processed drinking supply sources such as the wide-variety of common alcohol jugs, seasonal mason-jar fruit juices, or from the rationed coffee or tea water barrels. Darker flavors of beers or strong flavored wines are always included as the necessary cooking liquid in the good chili recipes.
The Best Chili Recipe:
- Large ‘Dutch Oven’ campfire pot (or, cast iron pan with tall sides and lid)
- 3 to 5 pounds of meat that is cut into chunks
- Enough oil or lard to coat the cooking pot
- 1 or 2 onions (Optional)
- 4 to 12 cloves of minced garlic depending upon pan size and taste
- 2 – 3 high-quality 12 ounce dark beers (Note: After cooking, chili has zero alcohol content.)
~ Chili Flavoring Mixture:
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4-12 fresh hot peppers of your choice (okay to mix varieties)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (malt or flavored vinegars are fine)
- 2 – 12 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 – 3 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 – 3 tablespoons chili powder (or, a mixture of garlic powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, and hot pepper powder)
1. Chili starts with a large cast iron pot that has been heated in the over or over the fire.
2. All types of meat can go into a chili stew. Original chili is made from fresh meat that is cut into chunks, and not from processed ground meats. Small crumbs of meat will lose their natural flavors during cooking very quickly.
3. After the cast iron pot is hot, place it on top of the stove or near the edge of the fire where it is easy to access.
4. Add enough oil or lard to the pot to swirl over the sides and bottom of the container. Do not let this oil or lard get hot enough to smoke.
5. Put small amounts of the meat chunks into the pot to brown on all sides, removing them to cool on a paper towel as you go. Meat is not being cooked in this process; the browning action seals the juices into the meat chunks. Add more oil or lard as needed during this process, but never more than a light layer on the pot at once.
6. Those optional onions go into the cast iron pan next. They are chopped into bite-sized pieces and cooked over a low to medium heat until they are translucent. Remove the cooked onions from the pot and set them aside with the browned meat chunks.
7. Over a medium to high heat, place a few drops of oil or lard and the minced garlic into the pot and cook until it starts to sizzle.
8. Add chili flavoring mixture to the garlic and stir briskly for about 45 seconds while turning the heat down to a medium or high-low position..
9. Add enough beer to form a nice liquid base in the pot. (About: 2 ¼ bottles.) Stir until the foam on the beer inside of the pot subsides.
10. Add the meat and optional onions back into the pot. If other vegetables such as green peppers, potatoes, or cooked dried beans are wanted in the chili, they go into the pot now.
11. Cover the chili pot and bake in a 350 to 400 degree oven at least 60 minutes. Longer cooking times can create a better tasting stew. At lower temperatures over a campfire, the chili can just keep cooking all weekend if you would like. Stir occasionally.
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