Culinary History: Chili Con Carne

One of the most divisive dishes in America is chili con carne. It is practically a religion and it has its zealots.  Aside from about three key ingredients anything you’ll add to it will have someone say that it doesn’t belong there.  So what is chili con carne's history, what is it's essence, and once we understand that, what exciting new variations on it can we create.

History

Though there are some similarities between chili and some Mexican dishes like Pozole or even Aztec recipes, it is generally accepted that chili is an American dish originating in Texas.  We know chili peppers were introduced to the American southwest in the late 1500’s and that transplants from the Canary Islands in the early 1700’s adapted their traditional cuisine using local peppers, garlic, onion, spices, and meat, but no one really knows exactly when or who created what we now think of as Texas red chili.  

Beyond these few inconclusive facts there are countless conjectures and legends.  It isn’t until the early 1800’s that cattle drivers coming out of Texas began popularizing the dish.  Originally dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers, and salt were pounded together into a brick that could be carried along a cattle trail and put into a pot of water to make a quick stew.  Another story goes that a range cook collected fresh herbs along the trail and cooked it with whatever meat he could get ahold of.  Supposedly he even planted chili ingredients along the way so that he would have them upon subsequent journeys.  The dish grew in popularity in Texas, especially in San Antonio where “chili queens” sold by the bowl in the market. It was widely introduced to the rest of the country in the 1893 Chicago world’s fair.  There are lots of other stories in the history of chili that you can read at this excellent site (http://www.chilicookoff.com/history/history_of_chili.asp)

Essence

I think the best way to think about chili con carne is in its name.  It’s chili peppers and meat.  Beyond that, you can do whatever you want with it.  But, I do like to start with this master recipe 

Texas Style Chili Con Carne

• 3 ancho chili pods (these are dried Poblano peppers)
• 3 New Mexico chili pods (also called California, these are dried Anaheim peppers)
• 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 2 tsp. dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 4 lbs. beef chuck roast cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 minced onion
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 4 small or 2 large minced jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, then minced (unless you want it extra spicy, then leave the seeds and ribs in)
• 1 cup of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Toast the chili peppers at 350 degrees for six minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut off the tops and shake out the seeds (unless you want your chili extra spicy). Transfer to a food processor and chop into small pieces.  Toast the cumin seeds over medium heat in a small skillet until fragrant. Transfer the chili pieces and cumin seed into a coffee or spice grinder (wipe it clean first) and process until it is a fine powder. Mix the chili powder, cumin, and oregano with 1/2 cup of water in small bowl and set aside.
2. Saute onion over medium high heat until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic and jalapeno and saute until fragrant. Add chili/cumin/oregano mixture and saute until fragrant. Add beef, crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, lime juice, and seven cups of water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat so that you get a gentle, but steady simmer and continue simmering for 2 hours.
3. Remove about 1/2 cup of chili (without any meat) and put in a small bowl with the cornstarch. Whisk it until smooth and then stir it back into the chili. Simmer until thickened (if you like a thicker chili just remove a little more chili without meat and add mix more cornstarch). Adjust salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, and/or cumin to taste. Serve immediately if desired, but it tastes much better if reheated the next day.

You will notice that it is pretty simple, cubed beef, chilis, onion, garlic, tomato, lime, cumin, oregano, and a little thickener.   I have also substituted the jalapenos for chipotles (smoked jalapenos) and smoked the meat on my grill for an hour before stewing it.  Like all chili, it comes together pretty quick, but tastes best after hours of stewing and then waiting a day to eat it so the flavors can meld.  Usually when I serve this I will keep other common chili ingredients like beans, cheese, sour cream, etc. on the side for those who need them, but keep the chili “pure” for those who are particular about that.

Variations

Now that we understand the core components of a classic chili con carne, what else has already been done with this dish. Well, other than what most northerners think of as "classic chili," (which uses ground meat and includes beans, or a regional variation like Cincinnati chili, White chicken chili is probably the most well-established. It was developed sometime probably in the 1970’s as a healthier alternative to red meat.  Chicken chili might seem completely different from a Texas chili con carne, but they are actually remarkably similar.  Both include the same kind of chilis, meat, onions, garlic, cumin, and lime.  The only notable differences are the inclusion of coriander, cilantro, scallions (all of which could be in Texas chili), the omission of tomato (which isn't always in Texas chili recipes), and the use of chicken stock instead of water. However, because it uses fresh chilis instead of dried, it has a much brighter and vegetal flavor than Texas chili.  

White Chicken Chili

• 3 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
• 4 small or 2 large minced jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, then minced (unless you want it extra spicy, then leave the seeds and ribs in)
• 3 fresh poblano chilis
• 3 fresh anaheim chilis
• 1 onion, minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp, ground cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp, ground coriander
• 2, 14.5 oz. cans of drained and rinsed white beans
• 3 cups chicken broth
• juice from 1 lime
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 4 scallions sliced thin
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Process the poblanos, anaheims, and onion in a food processor into a puree.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat and saute chicken skin side down until golden brown. Using tongs, turn chicken skin side up and saute until golden brown. Remove the chicken. Add the chili/onion puree, jalapenos, garlic, cumin, and coriander to the hot oil and saute until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown.
3. Transfer 1 cup of the cooked vegetables to the food processor with 1 cup of beans and 1 cup of broth and puree until smooth. Transfer this mixture back to the pot and add the remaining 2 cups of broth and the chicken breasts. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add remaining beans to pot and simmer for 10 minutes. When chicken is cool enough to handle shred it with your fingers into small pieces. Stir shredded chicken, cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into chili. Adjust salt, pepper, cumin, and/or coriander to taste and serve.

Experiments

With these two chilis under my belt (because I ate them) I started thinking about what new places I could take this dish, which can seem a little daunting at first. For both iterations I decided to use the Texas chili con carne as the foundation and make changes from there. The important thing to remember is that the process stays the same and I am either substituting, omitting, or adding ingredients. I substituted different kids of meat for beef, I added additional spices along with the garlic and chili peppers, I omitted ingredients that didn't seem to fit into a particular cuisine. But in the end, I sauteed some ingredients, added liquid, stewed for two hours, then adjusted the seasonings to taste at the end.

The first thought I had was that chili is just a few ingredients shy of being a curry. I substituted lamb shoulder for beef, omitted the oregano, and added cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, and ginger to taste in addition to the cumin and chili powder.  Because lamb shoulder is hard to get off the bone I stewed whole bone-in shoulder steaks, making it much easier to cut the meat off the bone after it was already tender. The inclusion of American chili powder definitely kept it in a chili framework, but the spices made it taste similar to a Tikka Masala without the dairy.

Indian Style Lamb Chili Curry

• 3 ancho chili pods
• 3 New Mexico chili pods
• 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp. turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. coriander
• 4.5 lbs. bone-in lamb shoulder chops
• 1 minced onion
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 small or 2 large minced jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, then minced (unless you want it extra spicy, then leave the seeds and ribs in)
• 1 cup of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Toast the chili peppers at 350 degrees for six minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut off the tops and shake out the seeds (unless you want your chili extra spicy). Transfer to a food processor and chop into small pieces.  Toast the cumin seeds over medium heat in a small skillet until fragrant. Transfer the chili pieces and cumin seed into a coffee or spice grinder (wipe it clean first) and process until it is a fine powder. Mix the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and turmeric with 2/3 cup of water in small bowl and set aside.
2. Saute onion over medium high heat until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and saute until fragrant. Add chili/cumin/oregano mixture and saute until fragrant. Add lamb, crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, lime juice, and seven cups of water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat so that you get a gentle, but steady simmer and continue simmering for 2 hours.
3. Remove the shoulder steaks, separate the meat from the bone, and cut into 1/2" cubes. Remove about 1/2 cup of chili (without any meat) and put in a small bowl with the cornstarch. Whisk it until smooth and then stir it back into the chili. Simmer until thickened (if you like a thicker chili just remove a little more chili without meat and add mix more cornstarch). Adjust salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and/or turmeric to taste. Serve immediately if desired, but it tastes much better if reheated the next day.

My final chili experiment was my favorite, a Thai pork chili.  I substituted fish sauce for salt, thai curry paste for chili powder, and pork shoulder for beef chuck. I omitted cumin, oregano, and tomato and added ginger, mint, cilantro, coconut milk solids, and sriracha to taste.  This dish had the meat to sauce ratio of Texas chili, but otherwise was worlds different. The fish sauce, mint, and cilantro were bright, reminding me more of my chicken chili, and the coconut milk solids gave it a unique orange color. If you want this dish to be more like chili I would leave out the sriracha and replace with it chili powder. But, it was amazing and I will definitely be adding it to my regular rotation.

Thai Style Pork Chili

• 1 minced onion
• 1 4 oz. jar of thai curry paste
• 4 lbs. pork shoulder cut into 1/2" cubes
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 small or 2 large minced jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, then minced (unless you want it extra spicy, then leave the seeds and ribs in)
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 cans of coconut milk, refrigerated overnight.
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves
• fish sauce to taste
• sriracha to taste

1. Saute onion over medium high heat until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and saute until fragrant. Add curry paste and saute until fragrant. Add pork, lime juice, and seven cups of water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat so that you get a gentle, but steady simmer and continue simmering for 2 hours.
2. Pour out the liquid from the refrigerated coconut milk and add the solids left in the can to the chili. Remove about 1/2 cup of chili (without any meat) and put in a small bowl with the cornstarch. Whisk it until smooth and then stir it back into the chili. Simmer until thickened (if you like a thicker chili just remove a little more chili without meat and add mix more cornstarch). Add mint, cilantro, fish sauce to taste, and sriracha to taste. Serve immediately if desired, but it tastes much better if reheated the next day.

So what about you? Do you already do something interesting with chili? Are you inspired to try something new? Let me know if you have any good ideas.