Is chili still chili without....?
By April
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
Defuniak Springs, Florida
January 17, 2022 2:24pm CST
I have been talking to @CarolDM in the comment section of her post about the chili cheese dogs she made for dinner.
I asked her if there was meat in the chili, and she said yes but no beans. Which made me start thinking of all the different kinds of canned chili one can buy at the supermarket. Which also got me thinking of what makes it chili?
Is it the meat? Not really, because lots of people make/eat chili without meat. You can also buy chili with no beans. So it can't be the beans either. Maybe it's the actual chili seasoning. The chili powder or whatever.
You know what. What we need at a crucial time like this. Google. Google will have all the answers. Well as one would expect googling the definition of chili brings up the actual pepper. It does say that chili con carne is chili with meat. Which anyone who ever took Spanish 1 in high school could of told you that.
So I guess it is up to the people (us) to define what chili is.
In my humble opinion it isn't chili unless it has meat in it. Even chili dog chili needs meat. So I guess I am team chili con carne.
I want beans in my chili too. If we are having chili for dinner, I make it homemade. So it's got multiple different types of beans in it. I would rather have homemade chili than canned any day of the week.
The only time I can remember having chili without beans is Castleberrys canned chili that I used to by for chili dogs.
So what's the verdict in myLot land. Beans, no beans? Meat, no meat? What makes it chili to you?
5 people like this
5 responses
Mine was made in my slow cooker.@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
17 Jan 22
I make it in the insstant pot most of the time.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
17 Jan 22
un- american!
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
17 Jan 22
@Scrapper88 Then its just meat in sauce. Like a spaghetti sauce but spicy lol
1 person likes this
@Scrapper88 (5980)
• United States
17 Jan 22
@thislittlepennyearns I like the taste of chili without beans better.
. However I do prefer to have meat AND beans - or at least in most cases I guess I expect it.
@Vikingswest1 (7443)
• United States
17 Jan 22
I understand how people like chili without beans or without meat but to me, unless it has both, it's not chili.
I like several beans and sometimes I'll use steak or stew meat instead of ground beef.
I do not eat canned chili anymore.
I vote with you. Chili, to me, must have meat AND beans.
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
17 Jan 22
The kids won't eat it unless I make it homemade. The only time that I get away with it, is when we do chili dip with velveeta.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (127180)
• United States
17 Jan 22
My understanding is that "real" chili is all meat and no beans. Somewhere along the way I made up my own chili recipe and it has ground beef and 4 kinds of beans: red kidney beans, pink kidney beans, black beans, and chick peas. I suspect the addition of beans to chili recipes was to stretch the expensive meat with cheap beans.
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
17 Jan 22
That would make the most sense to me. I do kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans and then chili beans. Meat, and a can of rotel. LOL
1 person likes this
