What goes with Chili?

[Greg Who Cooks]

I too think serving chili over plain white rice is a good one. As Jonny said, a more complicated rice would detract from the chili.

If I served chili over rice I'd want to have chunk style chili, not ground meat chili.

 

[Addie]

Every so often I will buy freshly made (daily) corn tortllas, make a reasonably mild thick chili, wrap the tortilla around a hot dog and top with the meatless chili. Better than having it with a bun. I use to be able to eat hot foods. Loved hot Italian sausages where there was more red flakes than meat. Not anymore. Every Sunday night, my second husband and I would settle down with a big panful of hot sausages that had been baked with hot cherry peppers and watch "Mission Impossible." By the end of the show, the pan was empty.

 

[CraigC]

More and more I'm finding these cumin flat breads Karen makes to be great with many a main dish. Chili just being one.

 

[joesfolk]

Did anyone mention that some folks put it on spaghetti noodles? They also may add cheese, onions and well, other stuff. If you google Skyline chili I think you will be able to see what I mean.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Add onions? Chopped onions over chili????? Man, I thought that was required!!! Cheese is popular too.

I'll pass on the spaghetti. I'm from the US Southwest. Spaghetti is from Italy. However, what about spaghetti Westerns? Italy and the Southwest sure went together well there, thanks to Sergio Leone. That right there makes me wonder if I should try chili over spaghetti.

Maybe even with cheese... But definitely with onions!

 

[salt and pepper]

When I'm on a chili "kick" it seems to be an all day affair. I like to make chili , not chili con carne ( with beans added to the chili ). The beans ( pinto , kidney or red ) are always served on the side, as is chopped onion, shredded cheese, jalapeño cheese bread and tortillas. Its cooked in a large ( 9 qt cast iron dutch oven ) started on the stove top. Then, when all ingredients are to my taste, it goes into a 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. There are only 2 people in my house, so it goes a long way. Everyone knows "its always better" the next day as the flavors blend. Thats when chili dogs are served! It freezes well. If Cincinnati chili is in order, I add red gravy to the chili and ladle it over spaghetti. Or just add canned tomato's to it. I don't go by any particular recipe. I mix my own spices and just start with the basics, bacon, onions, chili's, tomato's, garlic, etc. As for the meat, if I'm not in a rush, I'll use whole beef, pork, wild game (elk, deer , buffalo etc.) cut into 1/4 inch cubes. For quick chili, it's ground beef.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

When I'm on a chili "kick" it seems to be an all day affair. I like to make chili , not chili con carne ( with beans added to the chili ).

Not to be difficult, but con carne litterally translates to - with meat.

Con queso - with cheese

Carne Asada - meat, roasted, dressed, grilled

con - with

carne - meat

So, chile con carne means chili with meat.

Just so's you knows.

Your chili sounds grand.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Addie]

Not to be difficult, but con carne litterally translates to - with meat.

Con queso - with cheese

Carne Asada - meat, roasted, dressed, grilled

con - with

carne - meat

So, chile con carne means chili with meat.

Just so's you knows.

Your chili sounds grand.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I love this site. I get an educaiton in foreign languages. Thanks.

 

[salt and pepper]

Chili con carne :highly seasoned dish of beef , chillies or chili powder with beans and tomato's.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Chili con carne :highly seasoned dish of beef , chillies or chili powder with beans and tomato's.

All I can say is, talk to someone who speaks hispanic, or look up the individual words in a Mexican dictionary. The word chili refers to the peppers, con litterally means "with", and carne means "meat". Chilli con carne means chilli with meat. Though the dish often contains beans, onions, other seasonings, celery, and tomatoes, it doesn't need those items. It does have to have chili peppers, and meat.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[salt and pepper]

I agree with you Chief, it does mean meat. However Chili is not Mexican, it is a Spanish dish and comes in many forms throughout the country. Modern chili or chilli is regional , such as Texas Chili (no beans) or Cincinnati chilli (red). Chili con carne in modern cooking usually has meat, tomato's and beans. Its kind of like the battle of BBQ, it changes throughout the country. I guess it all depends on where you live. All in all, we all like our chili no matter how its made or where it comes from. Thank for your imput and I wish you a good day.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

It's hard to grow up in SoCal as I have and not learn at least some Spanish (and that's despite the fact I had 2 years of Spanish in high school). I find it easy to imagine parts of US with minimal Latino population, and not surprised that the meaning of chile con carne is not obvious to all.

I'm interested in opinions about what constitutes a minimal chili (or chilli, depending on regional variation). For sure it has to have chili peppers. It ain't chili without them. For sure it doesn't need meat or otherwise chili con carne would be a superfluous term. And I'm damned sure it doesn't need beans. (My own chili always has meat and never has beans.) Tomatoes are probably optional although I usually include them. Some additional spices are necessary or IMO you'd have a pretty one dimensional chili.

So what is the minimal chili? Chili peppers plus spices plus one of either meat or beans? (I can't imagine any chili that doesn't include one or the other, and by meat I mean beef, chicken, pork, lamb, seafood, snake, whatever...)

 

[CraigC]

I agree with you Chief, it does mean meat. However Chili is not Mexican, it is a Spanish dish and comes in many forms throughout the country. Modern chili or chilli is regional , such as Texas Chili (no beans) or Cincinnati chilli (red). Chili con carne in modern cooking usually has meat, tomato's and beans. Its kind of like the battle of BBQ, it changes throughout the country. I guess it all depends on where you live. All in all, we all like our chili no matter how its made or where it comes from. Thank for your imput and I wish you a good day.

I always thought chilis were native to the the Americas. The dish probably has roots in the Mayan and Aztec cultures. If that is the case, then it is a dish that has origins with the native people of Mexico, using the beef brought by the Spanish.

 

[Addie]

If I remember my history, Montezuma used to spice up his chocolate with chili peppers. The Spanish, when they showed up, found the drink very unpleasant due to the heat and lack of sugar. Chili peppers, corn (maize), potatoes have been found throughout excavations of digs in South America.

And Greg, I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone spoke Italian except me. And Son #2 married a girl from Naples. She flunked Italian in high school. Her mother has been here for more than 40 years and still can't speak English. When she shops, she buy food by the pictures on the product. Go figure.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I too recall that chili peppers are native to the Americas, brought back to Europe and subsequently to India, Asia, etc. several centuries ago after the New World was discovered. Since I am no authority, and history was one of my worst subjects, I've found the following article to support this (although Wikipedia is by no means authoritative):

Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC. There is archaeological evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador that chili peppers were domesticated more than 6000 years ago, and is one of the first cultivated crops in the Central and South Americas that is self-pollinating.

Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to encounter them (in the Caribbean), and called them "peppers" because they, like black and white pepper of the Piper genus known in Europe, have a spicy hot taste unlike other foodstuffs...

From Mexico, at the time the Spanish colony that controlled commerce with Asia, chili peppers spread rapidly into the Philippines and then to India, China, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. They were incorporated into the local cuisines.

An alternate account for the spread of chili peppers is that the Portuguese got the pepper from Spain, and cultivated it in India

Based upon the above I'd say that chili peppers were native to the Americas and began spreading around the world as a result of the rediscovery of America by Columbus. (I say rediscovery because the Americas were discovered many times by many cultures before Columbus discovered it for European culture.)

I don't find it entirely unreasonable that chili as a dish may have been "invented" in Spain with chili peppers brought from the Americas. I'll leave that discussion for the rest of the forum members to discuss. I wouldn't argue either for or against it.

I find it difficult to imagine my favorite cuisine Thai food without chili peppers, and the impact of chili has been transformative to many cuisines around the world. It's interesting to realize that Thai cuisine (or any Old World cuisines) didn't have any chili peppers at all before the late 15th century.

And Addie, just because I took Spanish in high school doesn't mean I can speak it. I can read it at a very low comprehension level, and have absolutely no problem at all reading Mexican restaurant menus!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Beans = Frijoles

Chjili con Frijoles = Chili with Beans

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

So tell me about chili sin frijoles o carne. ¿Que es?

 

[Andy M.]

So tell me about chili sin frijoles o carne. ¿Que es?

Chili without beans or meat. I guess it's pepper stew.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I was just pointing out the Frijoles are beans, something nobody had seemed to note before. No meat, no beans you have sauce = salsa.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Good answers! I guess if you don't like your chili sin frijoles o carne with tomatoes or onions you can call it red hot chili peppers! Maybe chili con nada...