The other night at dinner, I told a friend that I was planning on making chili. His response, “you mean, chili con carnie?”
I had no clue what he was talking about. Was it the British accent? Or was chili con carnie something I had never heard of? I explained I was making good ol American chili. The type that you top with sour cream and cheese…where you ladle over chips.. where you pair with spaghetti. He looked at me just as confused – he had only had chili con carnie over rice. After a few back and forths, where I would repeat “chili” and he would again, questioningly ask me, “chili con carnie?”, we pulled out the smart phone.
He typed “chili” into the search box, and to his credit, the search results all came up “chili con carne” (in my Californian accent, con “car-nay”)! How did I manage to live in Texas, and be an avid chili lover (on fritos, with bread, in lasagna, on spaghetti, vegetarian, turkey style…) and not know it was actually called chili con carne?
Have I just found my idea for a food stall in London? Chili con carne on spaghetti, anyone?
You might think that Im unqualified to share this recipe since I didnt even know the proper name it, but I promise, its really delicious and healthy. Its based on this Whole Foods Colorful Chili Recipe. The main difference is that I havent found much (any?) love for turkey here, so Ive replaced it with ground beef (aka beef mince).
Im curious about your experiences, and would really appreciate if you could please tell me in the comments below: 1) do you call the dish “chili” or “chili con carne”, and 2) do you serve chili with any of the following, or something else: bread, rice, chips, pasta?
Chili con carne is chili with meat, usually beef. Chili as a generic term usually refers to chili con carne but not all chili has meat. IOW most chili is made with beef and red Chile powder. But chilis can have beans and no meat, or any other meat.
Have I just found my idea for a food stall in London? Chili con carne on spaghetti, anyone?
– 1 tablespoon olive oil – 500 g (1.1 lbs) beef mince – 1 medium onion, diced – 2 cloves of garlic, minced – 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped – 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped – 2 (400 g or 15 oz) can chopped tomatoes (or less for a more chunky chili) – 1 cup diced white mushrooms – 1 (400 g or 15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed – 1 (400 g or 15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed – 2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste – ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste – ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste – ⅛ teaspoon paprika
Im curious about your experiences, and would really appreciate if you could please tell me in the comments below: 1) do you call the dish “chili” or “chili con carne”, and 2) do you serve chili with any of the following, or something else: bread, rice, chips, pasta?
The other night at dinner, I told a friend that I was planning on making chili. His response, “you mean, chili con carnie?”
He typed “chili” into the search box, and to his credit, the search results all came up “chili con carne” (in my Californian accent, con “car-nay”)! How did I manage to live in Texas, and be an avid chili lover (on fritos, with bread, in lasagna, on spaghetti, vegetarian, turkey style…) and not know it was actually called chili con carne?
And finally, that is how the word “chili” – from humble vegetable to famous stew – actually made me think of the dish pictured at the top of this post: Picadillo, a stew of ground meat originally from Spain (hence, no beans), adopted all over Mexico (probably including Coahuila y Tejas), with additions of whatever is available regionally (such as peppers) … Could chili (con carne) be Picadillo’s long-lost Texan child?
I personally have a newly found appreciation for Texan cuisine; I must confess I grew up hearing that Tex-Mex was “just fake Mexican food”, and only very recently, I learned that chili has its own geo-culinary region in the Western area of Texas [5]. I like “chili con carne y frijoles” (with beans), the way most Canadians make it, but now I imagine a Texan “bowl o’ red” (no beans ever!) as being equally delicious.
The picture above shows the flavourful dish I have chosen to pair with my mild chayote side dish. While checking out recipes, I came across a very interesting article about how the earliest cultivated varieties of Capsicum annuum were definitely grown in Mexico, with carbon-dating placing them back to between some 6000 and 9000 years … What? I assure you, there will be a logical conclusion, but this was a very illuminating process that I wanted to share. Both that scientific name, and the Spanish word chile, include all the sweet and hot vegetables known in English as peppers. The researchers used a consensus model, in which traditional archaeological and genetic evidence was combined with local Linguistics and Ecology components [1]. The fascinating principle of the consensus model is to look at the larger picture, to place scientific findings in a cultural context; I have tried doing that with the word chile itself. It comes from the Nahuatl word chilli; the first European explorers called it pepper, confusing it with black pepper (Piper nigrum). I have always wondered how they could possibly make that mistake, but say they looked at these dried fruits:
Following this thread, sometime in the 1800s, a dish called “chili con carne” (“peppers with meat”) appeared in San Antonio, Texas; the name was shortened to “chili” in the second half of the 1900s, and it became so famous that was named “State Food of Texas” in 1977, and has its own “National Chili Day”, February 22 [2]. According to the National Chili Day website, the earliest written reference to the dish, although not mentioned by name, can be attributed to JC Clopper in his “Journal and Book of Memoranda from 1928”, where he describes a “… kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat – this is all stewed together.” [3]
Piquín are exactly the same variety as Chiltepín, but different growing conditions have made them slightly bigger and elongated. From this example, it is easy to see the progression of a few wild varieties to the thousands of different types of chiles around the world, in every shape, colour and level of spiciness. In terms of Linguistics, the name evolved back to chilis, chillies or chile peppers in English (although some sweet varieties are generally referred to as bell peppers.) In Great Britain, it is still common to call hot peppers by their actual Nahuatl name chilli (brilliant!) However, more often they are called hot peppers, if they are spicy, or sweet peppers, if they are mild, at least in Canada and the US, probably because the word “chili”, has been popularized as the name of a particular dish, not the vegetable.
The SHOCKING SECRET to great chili
FAQ
Is American chilli just chilli con carne?
Do Mexicans eat chilli con carne?
What is the difference between chili con carne and Texas chili?
What’s the difference between Cincinnati chili and chili con carne?
What is the difference between Chili and chili con carne?
The difference between chili and chili con carne is that chili is a type of pepper used in cooking, while chili con carne is a spicy stew made from meat (usually beef), chili peppers, and other ingredients such as tomatoes and spices. Chili can be used as an ingredient in chili con carne, but they are not the same thing.
What can I substitute for chili pepper?
There are many varieties of chili peppers that have varying levels of heat. Typically, the larger the pepper, the milder the heat. If you don’t have chili peppers for the spicy kick needed in a dish you can substitute cayenne pepper or hot paprika. Start with small amounts to taste, then add more if the dish is not spicy enough. For individuals who don’t like spicy food, a mild sweet paprika works as a replacement, or simply use less chili pepper than the recipe calls for. You can also try bell peppers if you are looking to replace nutrients lost by removing chili pepper. For those who are allergic to peppers in general, the appropriate substitution will depend on the specific recipe. Many times chili pepper can be left out of a recipe. Experimentation is best way to find out what works.
What does Chili con carne taste like?
Unlike traditional chili, chili con carne does not typically contain beans or tomatoes. Instead, it focuses on the flavor of the beef, which is often slow-cooked with chili peppers, onions, and garlic. The result is a thick, hearty stew that is packed with meaty flavor. 1. Can I make chili and chili con carne vegetarian?
Is chili con carne a mix-in?
Chili also includes mix-ins, depending on the recipe, ranging from beans to corn, to butternut squash! It’s a very flexible dish that has come to include a lot of variations. Chili con carne, though, is a more traditional recipe. It’s made simply, with two main ingredients: chilies and meat.