After the hog backstrap thread I was really looking forward to the Texas Chili thread . . . so after the joke it turns into the old argument . . . which should be settled by looking at a can of Chili which will say Chili or Chili with beans.  Makes it kinda clear to me that Chili doesn't have beans unless they are added to Chili which does not have beans.

OK, so now that that is settled . . . . . please post your favorite recipe for great Texas Chili (or Chili with beans, if you must).  Hold the rat!

It's gotta have beans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amen
I love beans in my chili..
not a lot, but 2 cans...

Amen
I love beans in my chili..
not a lot, but 2 cans...

wtf is a bean?

that's what separates chili from stew

1. meat


2. beans


3. ??????


4. profit!!!!
   
   

"Neighbor, how long has it been since you’ve had a big, thick, steaming bowl of Wolf Brand Chili?” [Dramatic pause] “Well, that’s too long!”

Winner of the 1984 Texas State Men's Chili Cookoff. Also won the 1988
Chocolate Bayou Chili Cookoff, York, PA. (Unfortunately, the CBCC has
gone the way of all great ideas that are not left alone.)

Ingredients:
3 pounds cubed beef
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons boullion, Beef granules
1 teaspoon boullion, Chicken granules
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons MSG
6 tablespoons chili powder
1 split jalapeno chili pepper

Briefly sear meat and then add chili pepper tied in cheese cloth sack, paprika, onion powder, cayanne pepper, boullion granules, tomato sauce and water to cover. Simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 hours or so. Add cumin, garlic powder, MSG, black pepper, and chili powder. Cook for another 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Remove cheese cloth sack with jalapeno pepper and serve. Beans, ( I have found pintos to be best) prepared and served on the side to be added after serving. Same with cheese, onions, or what have you.

and another,

This is the chili recipe that virtually won the west changing the way chili was judged in I.C.S. In 1978 this recipe won a regional chili cookoff held in Reno Nevada. Prior to this time most of the chili recipes were comprised of large quantities of vegetables and tomato sauce. This is the Texas style chili recipe that has won four world championships (over 100,000.00 in prize money) and numerous regional chili cookoffs.

5 pounds coarsely ground heavy beef chuck, round or brisket.
1/4 cup wesson oil or rendered kidney suet.
2 medium onions
5 level teaspoons of Cumin seeds
8 heaping tablespoons of commercial chili powder
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of msg  (optional)
5- 15 Chili pods, depending on heat level desired
(if pods are not available, use cayenne pepper to taste)
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Remove stems, membrane and seeds from chili pods, cover with water and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove pods and blend into paste.  Hold water.  Chop onions.  Crack cumin with rolling in or grind with mortar and pestle.  Brew 1 teaspoon oregano leaves in 1 cup of water  Brown meat in several batches, add black pepper while browning, Brown onions with meat then remove with slotted spoon and hold.  Combine browned meat, onion and add the following : cumin, 8 heaping tablespoons of commercial chili powder, 3 cloves garlic (pressed) and msg.  Cook ten minutes, using just enough pepper water to keep from burning. Stir constantly. This cooks the spices into the meat.  Add chili paste and half of oregano water.  Cook slowly, adding pepper water as necessary. Add additional oregano to taste, salt to taste. The meat should tender in around 1-1/2 hours.

*Make sure you get chili powder, not a chili mix or ground chili pepper!

Cooking Variations:
Add 1 to 2 cans of tomato sauce 8oz.
Hand cut meat to about the size of a navy bean. (A lot of contestants now use half chili grind and half hand cut)
Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar 10 minutes before serving.
Use white pepper instead of black pepper
Use masa flour to thicken (mix flour with cold water and whisk until smooth, then pour in while stirring)

You can have chili.
You can have beans.
You can have beans with your chili.

Just DON'T put beans IN your chili.  

When in doubt, check the official chili sanctioning body in Texas (CASI)  Official Rule Book  (No fillers (i.e. no beans) allowed.

 Keep that stuff out of my chili!  

Sorry, I just posted the recipes as I found them on the web.  I don't have any MSG in my house either.

Beans in chili is the work of the Devil.  Be gone foul, demonic beans!!!!

with Obama in office, we need to get used to beans in our chili,.wont be able to AFFORD MEAT ANYMORE BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR.

Obama and Texas Chili in the same sentence –– HERESY!!!!!!!

This is a recipe that I have used for years at Christmas for family gatherings.

Pedernales River Chili
This chili was the favorite of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States.

4 pounds chili-grind beef chuck OR venison
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
2 tablespoons chili powder (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
5 or 6 dashes Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
2 cups hot water
1-1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes, undrained
Put the meat, onion and garlic in a Dutch oven, and cook over medium heat until the meat is lightly browned.

Add the oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and Tabasco. Pour in the water and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour. Skim fat during the cooking, if desired.

If it is turning out to be a little too watery, you can add about a cup of masa harina (corn flour) slowly and gently stir it in.

Source of recipe: http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/Pedernaleschili.htm

OK I'll bite...Just WTF is MSG?  

No beans then it's sloppy Joe mix.

My East KY Deer Camp Chili:

Ingredients:
Two Pounds Ground Sirloin
One- Polish Kielbasa Sausage
One- Green Pepper
One- Onion (medium size)
Four – Stalks of Celery
Two- 16oz cans Diced Tomatoes
One- Can tomato sauce
4-6 Tablespoons Chili Powder
One Tablespoon salt
One Tablespoon sugar
One Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
One can Pinto beans
One can Black beans
¼ cup lime juice
Optional- 1 or2 tablespoons Tabasco Sauce

Directions:  Brown sirloin, drain grease.  Slice and dice sausage, pepper, onion, celery.  Put everything in crock pot.  Drink beer and watch football until pot bubbles.  

^
East Kentucky Stew.

It's not chili, man! WTH does celery have in common with anything remotely called chili?

monosodium glutamate (sp?) C5H8NNaO4

fermented starch for the most part

Hey, thanks to those of you who posted your favorite recipes!  

And all the beans/no beans humor, too.

Texas Chili recipe
well lets start with what a chili is.   it's a spicy red pepper.
now add meat to it and you get chili con carne
chili with beans or borrachos
how about vegetarian chili with no meat?
in the end it's all stew.  anyone who tells you different is trying to make something out of a simple cowboy dish.

here is how i make it... (about as simple as you can get)
slice your meat into 1/2" cubes.  beef, deer, elk...  its all good.
in a large stock pot brown the cubes in oil.  good old vegetable or olive or even in a dry pan.
now add enough water to cover the meat, bring to a boil then the following  
chili powder (to make it red)
cayenne  (to make it hot)
cumin. (to make it taste like "chili")
simmer, taste, simmer some more.
to thicken add a paste of either flour and water or corn starch and water. once you add it let it simmer some more...
once you get it where you like it heat and thickness wise eat a bowl and put the rest in the freezer/refrigerator and let it sit overnight.

well that is it.  think of it this way.  we are driving cattle on the trail.  a steer breaks it's leg so we hack off a weeks worth of meat.  we eat good on tenderloin and steak for about three days.  with no refrigeration its ether go back to hardtack or spice up the meat and cover up the fact it's starting to turn.  chili like sauerbraten is just a way to cover up sour meat.

HK940,

I have had your chili and it was more akin to cayenne flavored soup.



For the rest of you: Chili, invented in Texas, has no beans. Only Obama loving liberals who enjoy their own flatulence add beans.

Nothing like a chili thread to get things going around here.  

I agree with HK, in the end it's all a stew.  I've had a lot of damn good "chili," with beans and without, using recognizable meat and not, hot as hell and mild, the variations are endless.  The only rule I'll go with is that Texas Chili has no beans!

BTW, I've had kyreb's deer camp chili and it is awesome.

Alpine

...

Thanks for bringing this up again!  

We made up this one on Father's day.  Unfortunately all we had was ground beef and even draining the fat off fully ground is simply not good for chili, IMO.  Also, this needed a LOT more tabasco for my tastes . .  but then everybody else wouldn't have eaten it if we started hot.