Accidental Hedonist - Beans or no Beans: Chili and Such

Beans or no Beans: Chili and Such

11/18/05, by Kate Hopkins

8488 views • Categories: Chiles

If one is going to talk about Chile peppers, it's probably within the realm of good taste to talk about Chili.

Now I spent a great deal of my life believing that Chili was a stew of ground beef, tomato broth and beans. This is most assuredly due to the fact that I grew up in Western Pennsylvania, home of things most certainly not chili or chile related. Rolling Rock Beer? Yes! Primanti Brothers? Absolutely. Chile peppers? Eh, not so much.

But it could have been worse I suppose, where I could have grown up thinking that chili consists of beans, tomato sauce, and cinnamon over pasta.

That'd be Cincinnati chili by the way.

Chili con carne is almost assuredly a Texas creation, which I'll give them full credit for. It's not a Mexican dish as far as I've been able to discover. The basis of red chili comes down to meat, salt and dried chiles combined into a stew. It was a way to stretch meat for several days.

The question for me is whether pinto beans are part of the mix. Beans are a staple of Tex-Mex cuisine, but there are folks who state unequivocally that beans are not part of the chili experience. From the International Chili Society's Judging Criteria:

1. Traditional Red Chili is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats,cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients, with the exception of BEANS and PASTA which are strictly forbidden.

2. Chili Verde is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with green chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients, with the exception of BEANS and PASTA which are strictly forbidden.

I don't know which is more amazing; the fact that the International Chili Society has such an aversion to beans, or the fact that there's an International Chili Society.

When you search for recipes on the web, it's apparent that beans are an integral part of the Chili experience for many, many people.

I still am the belief that one can put beans into their chili, but I have come to understand that chile peppers should also be part of the mix. I'm a quick learner that way.

Technorati Tags: Food and Drink, Chili, Chile Peppers, beans

Permalink • 14 comments

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Comment from: nichole [Visitor] · http://www.madisonatoz.com/

I grew up where chili was stew meat, beans, vaguely "spicy" tomato broth, and, inexplicably, celery. Maybe that was just the house I grew up in.

So I feel like I've come a long way when I say Cincinnatti chili is a staple at my house now. It's not just cinnamon, though - I like making one a little like a mole sauce.

We sometimes pass on the noodles, and never add kidney beans on top (though I have been known to make a pot of chili-seasoned beans for vegetarian friends). Some 5- or 7-year cheddar on top (it's Wisconsin, after all) and yum.

Permalink 11/18/05 @ 06:47

Comment from: Kate Hopkins [Member]

· http://www.accidentalhedonist.com

Ah, you Wisconsin folk...looking for a reason to put cheese on anything.

How I envy you! ;-)

Permalink 11/18/05 @ 07:12

Comment from: Nick [Visitor] · http://www.hotsauceblog.com

I've done 'em all - from Cincinnati to New Mexico - with and without beans. I'm on the fence on the bean issue, I like it both ways.

Permalink 11/18/05 @ 08:17

Comment from: nichole [Visitor] · http://www.madisonatoz.com/

Ew, yeah, watery = awful.

Permalink 11/18/05 @ 10:52

Comment from: alan [Visitor] · http://maona.net/

I've come across pretty passionate people in the beans v. no beans debate. Either work for me. If I'm looking to stretch the food budget, beans are definitely in there. If I'm looking to win a chili contest, I skip the beans and use cubes of chuck. (Maybe that's why I never win. Judges like Kim above like beans in there.)

As for "other ingredients": dark beer in place of water, and as many different types of chiles as I can get my hands on, both dried and fresh.

Permalink 11/18/05 @ 15:14

Comment from: Nicholas Caratzas [Visitor]

The reason everybody says "Cincinnati chili isn't real chili" is because they're right -- it isn't. It's essentially a Greek stew called stifado with chili powder added.

I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain. Basically it comes down to boiled meat and vinegar.

I've never seen a history of Cincy Chili (not that I've spent my life looking) that points this out and I can't figure out if it's because the dish's roots are too obvious or too arcane.

Permalink 11/19/05 @ 14:46

Comment from: Nicholas Caratzas [Visitor]

Barbara,

I will go through my books and if I find something, I will either post it here or in my blog for you
If you do track down that story its author deserves an "attaboy/attagirl!" Many articles describe Cincy Chili as being based on "a Greek stew," but stifado is pretty distinctive; enough so, that I think being more specific better informs readers familiar with one but not both dishes.

That said, one might think I don't like Greek food. That isn't true--I love it
Anybody overhearing my typical comments on Greek food would be conviced I despise it. Traditional Greek cuisine can break 21st-century U.S. rules of accepability pretty regularly but the end result usually works for me. Still I am frequently pleasantly surprised by how widespread its fans appear to be (and I'm not talking about people who "love Greek food" but whose knowledge is limited to gyros and cheeseburgers deluxe! :) )

Permalink 11/21/05 @ 21:53

Comment from: Steven B. [Visitor]

I find it great that there is such a passion behind chili. It truly is amazing how good chili can taste if you make it correctly. I have made a thousand pots of chili, and they all tasted different.
Some ingredients I use: beans, diced tomato, jalapeño, bourbon!, ground sirloin, Onion, BROWN SUGAR!, touch cinnamon, crushed red pepper, black pepper. Sometimes my wife makes me put celery in it.

Permalink 02/18/08 @ 09:44

Comment from: William [Visitor]

Well, it is actually pretty simple, if it has beans in it, it is most definately not Chili, it is more of a stew. Spicy Beef Stew or whatever else you want to call it. But definately not beans.

Permalink 11/16/08 @ 12:48

Comment from: gern [Visitor]

No beans or pasta because its considered filler, not because its tradiiton.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chili/ChiliHistory.htm
Read down and you'll see "plate of chili and beans"
Its a stew for goodness sakes!!
Anything goes in! I doubt people were so xenophobic about "foriegn" chili ingredients way back when. I'm from Texas

Permalink 12/16/08 @ 10:56

Comment from: Graham [Visitor]

One interesting thing to note that the rules for a chili cookoff sponsored by the International Chili Society do say that judged chili may not contain beans or pasta, HOWEVER if there is a peoples choice contest at the event the chili in that category muct include beans or pasta. So what the hell is up wiht that?

Permalink 01/15/09 @ 15:48

Comment from: Cornelius [Visitor]

Chili is definitely a stew. However, it is a stew with fairly specific ingredients and seasonings. It is not supposed to be a spaghetti sauce. Beans, yes, pasta, no.

The rule banning beans applies to competition chili, not traditional chili. Traditional chili often included beans. Why? Because it originated in the southwest, where beans were a staple. Why? Because beef was not alway plentiful. Got some chilies, some meat, a heap of beans, and a bunch of hungry people? Make chili. "Oh, I'm not supposed to put beans in it, and so most of these people will go hungry? What are you, nuts?"

On the other hand, the rule banning pasta is just common sense. You make stew by putting a bunch of ingredients in a pot and cooking it all together, usually for hours. Try that with pasta sometime. Stew is a meal you eat from a bowl, not a sauce you pour over something.

I don't have a problem with celery, as long as it is used in moderation. Stews often contain fillers; in the real world, if you have enough prime ingredients, you make steak or roast beef with the fillers on the side, you don't chop everything up and make stew. However, if all you have is a little chewy meat and an assortment of fillers, you make stew.

A case could even be made for using carrots instead of sugar. provided they were first sweated and then liquified, so no little orange chunks were left.

But, as far as I am concerned. "Cincinnati chili" is an oxymoron. Cincinnati calling itself the "Chili capital of the United States" is about like Florida calling itself the snowboarding capital. First, whatever you are claiming yourself to be the capital of has to actually exist. "Weird spaghetti sauce capital of the United States" I could accept.

Permalink 02/06/09 @ 02:05

Comment from: lungile [Visitor]

· http://www.saymail.co.za

i need a recipie for a creamy samp whith no beans.

Permalink 11/02/10 @ 04:53

Comment from: Aurora [Visitor]

I grew up with beans in my chili. The only time I didn't have them was when my family didn't have enough money for the beans. I think chili is inherently better tasting with beans, yet I respect (and like) all other styles of chili. Including additives like corn, celery, spicy, mild, and everything in-between.

Permalink 11/04/11 @ 23:54

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