Thread: Texas red chili law....

I prefer the no bean chili.

BTW...it goes great with scrambled eggs, Texas toast with jam and coffee for breakfast.

Also being a Michigander.. I grew up with Bean in Chili. I recently discovered the greatness of a true Texan chili when I was in Dallas on business. So I have turned on my heritage and make no bean chili. My wife and daughter also like it much better as it goes great over everything (eggs, potatoes, hot dogs, etc.. ). I know in the next month they will be having a chili cook off in my area and there is everything from beans to no beans to white chili that all compete together.

We make our chili without beans, but I love a bowl of beans with a large ladle of chili over them and a fist full of thick hot corn tortillas.

Beans are probably one of the healthiest food you can eat and are easy to store and cook, full of protein & fiber, which is why they have been carried by travelers and eaten by all cultures as a staple for centuries.

I enjoy all types of beans, but lately have been eating Peruvian beans in place of the standard Pinto Bean. Peruvians are a white or yellowish bean similar to a Pinto with a slightly sweet and buttery flavor. Soaking for a few hours in water does get rid of the gas that many complain of when eating beans and shorten the cooking time. We cook ours in a slow cooker with a couple of cloves of garlic and whole Jalapeños.

Chili & Beans, no matter how you cook em are great separately or together. And as Rick Bayles says are the original ”Ancient Comfort” foods.

Enjoy

Marty

I dont know about beans, but if you want to make chili really good, chuck some marmite in it..! Yum!

Works great in stews and bolognese sauce as well.

Originally Posted by Stubear

I dont know about beans, but if you want to make chili really good, chuck some marmite in it..! Yum!

Works great in stews and bolognese sauce as well.

Oy! You English and your yeast... enjoy my helping while you're at it, Stu!

I love marmite especially on buttered toast with a poached or scrambled egg on top. Ok....now I got to go make a pot of tea. I admit I chuckled a bit on that one. No offense meant though Stu,I love the english folk.Actually if you guys think about it,if you were to add a little marmite to the chili just before serving, it would enhance the beefy flavor and add some nice B vitamins.You would just have to cut the salt down a little is all. And It's funny now when I think about it. I am originally a native Michigander,born in Grayling n raised in Traverse City.I always ate chili with beans there.Now after living in Denver Colorado for the last 25 years or so,I can't even think of having a bowl O red with beans. But as I said before,unless I'm making my own or if I was in competition,I woudn't be snooty if offered a bowl of chili with beans. Tea anyone ?

Whoaaa...Easy now! ha ha

OK.... It's true... we Texans have been known to try "different" things and a hungry man'll eat might near anything, I reckon... but Armadillo.... Opossum??? I ain't never heard of such but, that don't mean it ain't happened.

Nightblade, since you started all this I'll let you know straight up, you are correct, sir. Competition chili in the great state of Texas requires it to be made with "no beans". That is not to say that there aren't competitions that have categories including beans. To clarify, however, if one wishes to win the State Championship, it must be with no beans.

On a personal level, I swing both ways... aww now... it ain't like that. What I mean is I like Chili with and without beans. Of course, then again, I like chili a lot of ways.

One of my all time favorite is Mesquite smoked Venison ground with fresh Jalapeno, Cilantro, Garlic, Onion, Red & Green Chilis, Tomatoes and a secret homeade seasoning mix. Occasionally, I'll toss in a peeled and seeded Lime for a little extra zing. Mercy, that's good stuff.

It is best eaten with some good friends and some good Scotch in hunting camp.

After everyone has had their fill, let the remaining chili simmer until there is little moisture left in the mix. The leftover mixes very well with scrambled eggs and skillet fried potatoes for breakfast burritos in the mornings. Just add a little Cumin (Comino) for some extra flavor.

Thanks for the fun post!
Later,
Jeff

Now your just messin with my emotions talkin all sweet like that haha.....That venison chili sound soo good !! Yeah..when it comes to A bowl O red,it's the same way I make my cajun food.I make it as if I had a native right with me missin home and I was gonna feed'em to make'm feel better.And I make no claim to be an expert,but just good at what I do and I'm a good study. And with fall comin on now,I can clearly see it's time to get the dutch oven out and start stewin thangs !! My favorite time of the year.It's that old northern Michigan blood O mine. Sooon as the leaves turn I get the call of the wild. I been gone from home wayyyy too long (snif). I meet the coolest people on this site !! And y'all bring the rustic out in me....

I can already feel my neck swellin'! The rut is upon us! HoOOowwwll!!

Originally Posted by Nightblade

My chili recipe is a combination of an original 1800's trail recipe and a competition winner and then I tweaked it with my own nuances.I like to thicken it with some Masa flour.And mexican oregano makes all the difference in flavor. Noe Beenz ! And interesting note.I was watching food network years back and they were talking about how back east a big thing to do is put chili over spaghettii . Actually looked pretty tasty.We need more yummy food icons on this site. And to answer Bkratchmer's question....Clearly possum as armadillos carry leprosy ewww !

Well as good as that Cincinnati stuff over spaghetti is, it is not
chili except for the name.

As for beans in chili or not it depends on the cook and the pot.

World class pinto beans do not need chili to improve them.

World class chili may or may not have beans except when
rules apply. There is no way to correctly cook beans without
soaking then and cooking them nearly for ever.

Beans and the old time cook pot would be a multiple day thing.

After serving a meal beans that had been soaking all day
would be added to the bean pot which was then slow
cooked for hours (all night) with bones and maybe meat for flavor.

Breakfast was heat and serve leftover except for quick biscuits
then up and load the wagon.

Dinner was not prepared hours in the kitchen.... because the
chuck wagon was moving during the day. Beans
and stew would have been cooked late in the
day and into the evening on slow coals...

Camp bread and biscuits are quick compared to
meat and beans. Meat was not common....
the old timers did not knock down a beef
or other "stock animal" except for an occasion.

Salt pork for fat was necessary because rabbit
is too lean to be healthy.

Camp greens.... hit and miss.

The closest you can come to old time cooking
is to visit a sheep wagon in Wyoming or Montana.
Sack of flower, can of Crisco, sack of beans and
a shoulder of mutton for the week. And a
sack of food for the sheep dogs. And
yes a tortilla press. And never enough firewood...