Chilli has beans!

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I saw a regional poll a week or two back where folk were arguing whether or not chili has beans or not. Having lived in Texas and North Carolina and visited a lot of places in between I will say:
If you don't have beans in your chili you are missing out!
 
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I guess I’m one of the few who isn’t crazy about 5lbs of beans in a small pot of chili. While I love the taste of chili, I’d rather have a bowl with no beans, and scoop it up with chips.
 
I_load_my_own said:
Depends on what type chili you are talking about. Chili for a hotdog, does not have beans. Chili that you eat from a bowl on a cold day, has to have beans!
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For sure! But Chili from a bowl with a spoon...gotta have beans!
 
Traditional Texas Chili has no beans.

According to the ICS, these are their categories and rules for each:

Traditional Red​

Traditional Red Chili is any kind of meat, or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients. Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice and pasta are not allowed. Preference is not given to either cut meat, ground meat, shredded meat or cubed meat.

Homestyle Chili​

Homestyle Chili is any kind of meat, or combination of meats, and/or vegetables cooked with beans, chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients. Homestyle chili may be any color. Beans are required. Preference is not given to either cut meat, ground meat, shredded meat or cubed meat. Seafood is allowed.

Chili Verde​

Chili Verde is any kind of meat, or combination of meats, cooked with green chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients. Non-vegetable fillers such as rice and pasta are not allowed. Preference is not given to either cut meat, ground meat, shredded meat or cubed meat.
 
I’ve made it without and made it with.

I experimented with different types of beans.

I finally settled on a small about of black beans adding to the flavor in a good way instead of thinking “ugh, bean”.

So now when I make chili I add black beans. About half the quantity of beans that most people put in chili.

Edit to add: And chopped up chunks of lamb in regular chili is fantastic. But brisket chili is the best.
 
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Chdamn said:
I’ve made it without and made it with.

I experimented with different types of beans.

I finally settled on a small about of black beans adding to the flavor in a good way instead of thinking “ugh, bean”.

So now when I make chili I add black beans. About half the quantity of beans that most people put in chili.

Edit to add: And chopped up chunks of lamb in regular chili is fantastic. But brisket chili is the best.
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Of starchy beans, I like black beans the best. When Diana was working at the moose lodge, she sent me home with a whole prime rib that she had cooked and was leftover. After being in the freezer for awhile, we cubed it up and made a stew with some, and chili with some. Holy shit was it good. Brisket is just as good
 
My basic ingredients are for a 3 gallon pot:
2 lb hamburger
1 pound sausage
One sweet onion
Red Pepper
Orange Pepper
Pimentos
diced garlic
Roasted tomatoes
Tomato sauce
chili powder
Mexican chili powder
a dash of Chipotle powder
a pinch of sugar
can of light red Kidney Beans
can of black beans
 
Dammit ya'll....

Chile​

Chile with an "e" at the end is the most common Spanish spelling in Mexico and other Latin American countries. It is also used in some parts of the United States and Canada when referring to the spicy pepper. The plural is "chile" or "chiles."


In the American Southwest, "chile" is also a condiment made from either the red or green pepper. This is popularly used as a hot dog topping to create chile dog. Although the spelling is the same, the South American country of Chile has no relationship with the chile pepper.



Chili​

Chili with an "i" at the end is the Americanized version. This version began with the name of the dish carne con chili meaning "meat with chile," referring to the popular spicy meat and bean stew. That evolved into chili con carne and was then shortened to just "chili." Many Americans use "chili" to refer to the pepper as well, though.


The term ending with an "i" is also used when referring to a hot dog topped with chili con carne, or the chili dog. This is well-loved throughout the U.S. but much different than the Southwest's chile dog.



Chilli​

The third version, "chilli," is the preferred spelling in Britain. It's also used in other countries, including Australia, Singapore, India, and South Africa, to name a few. The double "l" and "i" date back to the Romanization of the language. The plural is "chillies."



Other Accepted Spellings​

To add to the confusion, there are additional spellings of "chile" out there. You may come across "chilly," " chilie," or "chillie" when reading about this spicy fruit.



Chili Powder vs. Chile Powder​

There is also a distinct difference between the spices labeled as chili powder and chile powder. Generally, if a container says "chili powder," you're buying ground, dried chile peppers mixed with other spices. "Chile powder," on the other hand, should be nothing but dried chile peppers.









🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
 
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Our chili has beans. typically kidney and navy beans. We also serve over a bead of rice, sprinkled with shredded
cheddar, and a spoon of sour cream.
We usually use ground beff and occasionally sausage, but I like the idea of combining both.
We LOVE Snow Creek Sausage from Seneca, SC.
 
Snal~ said:
Our chili has beans. typically kidney and navy beans. We also serve over a bead of rice, sprinkled with shredded
cheddar, and a spoon of sour cream.
We usually use ground beff and occasionally sausage, but I like the idea of combining both.
We LOVE Snow Creek Sausage from Seneca, SC.
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I also am a huge fan of "over rice" with cheese. My wife prefers the over Fritos scoops and cheese on top!
 
I've always added a can of kidney beans to give it a break in texture as the kidney beans hold together well during cooking. Eating the same texture gets old to me. I'll sometimes throw in some chopped onion right towards the end so that it cooks almost through but still has a bite to it.

Put a dollop of sour cream in the middle and serve with chopped pickled & candied jalapeno and cheddar corn bread.

Be wary of "Cincinatti chili". I don't know what that stuff is but it's not close to traditional chili from most other parts of the US. Full of cinnamon and served over pasta.
 
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I like chili, period.

I really like to hear people argue about beans or no beans.

Why?

Because while they're in each other's face arguing over it, I'm the one ladling out all the chili behind their backs and eating it while they provide the entertainment.

I make chili with beans. My wife does not. I make chili lots of ways. My wife only one. And I'll eat them all.

I fixed chili for dinner at my in-laws once and Dad said "You Northerners sure know how to ruin a perfectly good chili by putting beans in it!" I said "It just means more for me, Dad!"
 
In a large skillet
Two pounds of ground Chuck. Salt pepper to taste
Two large onions
Cook then drain. The combine in to pot.

In a large pot combine
Two cans of storebrand chilli beans mild or hot depending on how hot you like your chili.
Canned Mushrooms drained ) if you don't like mushrooms leave them out) we use 2 large cans
1/2 cup of BBQ sauce.
Two table spoons chili powder
Half a small bottle of Texas Pete
Chopped Green peppers to taste
Half a jar of Mrs Campbell's hot mountain Chow Chow
I can tomato sauce
Cook the combind meat and beans till the peppers are tender about twenty to thirty minutes on medium heat.
As is this chili is very hot but by adjusting ingredients you can adjust the heat
Makes enough to serve 6 to 8
This has been our go-to recipe of 30 years
Edit' to reduce heat cut Texas Pete to 1/4 bottle
Or/ and use Mrs Campbell's mild chow chow
 
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S4f said:
In a large skillet
Two pounds of ground Chuck. Salt pepper to taste
Two large onions
Cook then drain. The combine in to pot.

In a large pot combine
Two cans of storebrand chilli beans mild or hot depending on how hot you like your chili.
Canned Mushrooms drained ) if you don't like mushrooms leave them out) we use 2 large cans
1/2 cup of BBQ sauce.
Two table spoons chili powder
Half a small bottle of Texas Pete
Chopped Green peppers to taste
Half a jar of Mrs Campbell's hot mountain Chow Chow
I can tomato sauce
Cook till the peppers are tender about twenty to thirty minutes on medium heat.
As is this chili is very hot but by adjusting ingredients you can adjust the heat
Makes enough to serve 6
This has been our go-to recipe of 30 years
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Wow! Interesting, especially, the mushrooms. That looks worthy of a try. Where do you get the chow chow? is it a local product?
 
I used pinto beans and ground beef most of the time, but sometimes will add chicken or polish sausage to mine (or a combination of 2 or 3).

The slower the cook, the better, but I'm not the most patient person, and I find myself sampling from the pot once its been simmering about an hour.
 
I generally bring chili to work for Goodie Week, just before Christmas and I've had several people ask for the recipe. I make it from memory of how Mom used to make it when I was younger. Except I NEVER put macaroni in it like she occasionally did (that's "chili-mac", not "chili").

I start with browning ground beef, put it in some tomato juice in the crock pot, add diced onion, beans of some kind (usually kidney beans or black beans), cayenne pepper (ground for immediate flavor/heat, whole for long term heat), chili powder (regular and Mexican style), and a bit of cumin. All generally "to taste".

Then I keep adding more tomato juice as it slowly cooks down all day, to thicken up a bit. Occasionally I'll add some tomato paste if I want to thicken it sooner.

Here are the guidelines I posted one year:
  • Three pounds of ground beef, or diced pork loin, browned. Or maybe 4 pounds. Heck, go for it and drop 5 or 6 pounds in!
  • A couple decent sized onions, chopped. Or one really biggun. Or if you’re a glutton for punishment, a ton of little bitty ones.
  • One big ole can of kidney beans. Unless you’re from the South, then screw that ‘cause “Northerners sure know how to mess up a perfectly good chili by putting beans in it!” News flash…this chili has beans in it. More for me if you don’t like it! ‘Bout any ole type of bean works. I like black beans, too, for example. Heck, mix it up and put different types in! But alas, there ain’t no black beans in these two batches.
  • Couple big cans of diced tomatoes. None of that fancy Italian, garlic enhanced stuff. Unless, of course, you WANT that fancy, garlic enhanced stuff. I didn’t. This time.
  • Tomato juice. Or V8 (The juice, not the engine. Because it would take a lot more cookin’ if you used a small block 350).
  • Tomato paste. Any amount (or none at all, depending). I use it when time is of the essence in order to thicken the chili a wee bit more. Otherwise, I just keep adding more tomato juice every couple hours or so as the chili cooks down. It’ll get thicker…it just takes longer. The advantage of longer cooking is better flavor…and a house that smells TOTALLY awesome!
  • Cayenne pepper. For quicker batches, use the ground stuff. It’s also easier to control the heat with the ground pepper. For longer cooking times, I like to use some whole red peppers, too…it has the effect of slowly adding more heat to the chili the longer it cooks…so be careful! How much? Heck, beats me. I just add until I can get a little bit of heat…not everybody likes HOT chili, so I keep it on the mild to medium side. Want more heat than what this chili has? Use some hot sauce!
  • Chili powder. I like to mix half-and-half regular McCormick chili powder and hot Mexican style chili powder. Actually, the best I’ve found is homemade by my sister-in-law, Cheryl. However, she hasn’t made any this season so you’ll have to settle for McCormick’s today. How much? Beats me, as I never measure anything when I’m making chili. I just add stuff until I think it’s enough. Add some without overdoing it, let it simmer a bit and see what it smells and tastes like. Add more if needed.
  • Cumin. Sprinkle a couple teaspoons on top until you see a nice brown dusting on top and let it simmer. Just kidding! Dump that stuff in and stir the heck out of it! If it doesn’t pass the taste test, add some more!
The most important thing to remember when adding all this stuff is that it’s all gotta fit in that crock pot! These are 7-quart crock pots, nothing near the size of the pressure cooker pot Mom used to make chili when I was growing up. Yeah…we had tons of the ultimate leftover food whenever she made chili!

Chili…one of the most awesome dishes ever, because there’s gotta be a million and one ways to make it and I haven’t found any I don’t like yet. Maybe next year I’ll learn how my wife makes her chili and bring some of that. It’s all meat, no beans (remember that Southern aversion to beans in chili?). And THICK, too! Actually, it reminds me of that Manwich kinda stuff I used to have when I was younger.
 
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RedneckFur said:
I used pinto beans and ground beef most of the time, but sometimes will add chicken or polish sausage to mine (or a combination of 2 or 3).

The slower the cook, the better, but I'm not the most patient person, and I find myself sampling from the pot once its been simmering about an hour.
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and it's always better the next day! if it makes to the next day....
 
The beauty of making chili is that it's incredibly easy to make and absolutely does not require anything complex.
 
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If I put beans in chili, I use black beans. Start with dry beans. Soak for 24 hours. This helps break down the fart starches.
Then I let the beams cook in the chili. That way they absorb more if the chili flavor.
The peppers I use depends on how spicy I'm making it.
For Bourbon chili, I only use jalapeños. I reduce a 5th of Bourbon and use that in place of most of the tomato sauce. Has a nice spicy Bourbon flavor, but no alcohol.
If I use pork in a Bourbon chili, I call it Anti-Terrorist chili because these "devout" people aren't supposed to drink booze or eat pork.
 
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Hot Dog Chili.

The closest recipe I have found to ENC red hot dogs at the corner stores. Pay attention to the cooking method.

This is not mine and is an adaptation of Jeff’s hot dog chili. Jeff's Hot Dog Chili Recipe (allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound of lean ground beef (you’re not really able to drain the fat off so use lean) deer or bison will work as well.
  • 1/2 cup water (more if you want to cook it longer)
  • ½ (10 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 ½ teaspoons chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder (sometimes I’ve used dehydrated or fresh)
  • 1-2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Directions:
In a smallish round pot just big enough for it all (as tall as it is wide as you want to submerge as much of the meat in water as possible) put the water and beef in and begin to cook together using a wooden spatula or potato masher to break it up. Cooking it in the water makes the beef break up better, creating a smoother chili vs cooking it by itself, draining and then adding water. This creates a rougher chili.

After it begins to turn from pink, stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, chili powder, salt, black pepper, sugar, garlic, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce.

Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat until beef is cooked, and chili thickens, about 20-30 minutes.

Additions:
This is the basic recipe, and you can add to it as you like as it is pretty flexible. Things I’ve added before but not all together I just tried several flavor variations:
  • Small spoonful of bbq sauce.
  • A small can of pork n beans (scandalous I know!)
  • More onion and garlic,
  • Small bit of adobo sauce from chipotles n adobo
Storing:
I bought the little clear plastic 2oz condiment containers with lids (think Japanese hibachi white sauce containers).
  • I divide it up into these 2oz containers and freeze.
  • One of these is good for 2 hot dogs.
  • They only take about 45 seconds to thaw in the microwave.
  • I also freeze larger 6-8oz size for bigger meals.
 
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for sure on a hot dog or a hamburger (mustard, chili, slaw) "no beans". as others have said: That's a condiment.
But for sure, in a bowl, as a meal, eaten with a spoon...gotta have beans!
 
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I make a spicy chicken, black bean and chilies stew that I enjoy. But for chili give me a bowl of red. I also dislike using ground beef. The chopping is tedious, but the result is fantastic!

Green chili pork stew is one of my favorite meals.
 
Chili and chili beans are two different products to me. I recently had a burger up in Wilkes County and asked for it all the way ATW (mustard, chili, slaw, and onions). The chili on the burger had beans and to me it didn't taste correct. So, I think if you are eating chili on its own, I prefer beans in it, hence (chili beans). If I have it as a condiment on my burger or hotdogs, I prefer no beans, just chili.
 
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