# Stuff and Things > Cooking >  It is CHILI Season ! Why Your Favorite is the Best!

## Rickity Plumber

I have been eating chili for ages, since I was a young kid basically. Mom would make it but it was just ok, nothing spectacular. Too many beans and huge hunks of tomatoes along with unimportant ingredients like celery. Now I know Mom was stretching the few dollars we had as kids so I ate it and never said a word.

Then I was on my own and experimented with different styles and types of Chile. I came to the conclusion that NO beans makes chili much better! You can place the good stuff that makes chili awesome in place of beans which makes chile more of a bean soup in my opinion. 

I like to make the "2 Alarm" brand chili that is in a box. The only thing in the box is your packets of spices. As much or as little as your taste desires. You add what you like the way you like it. 

Spread the cheer! Tell us what you like about your chili and your favorite!



I have also found that Longhorn Steakhouse Chili is tops in my book. Great flavor and texture and just a little heat. I love onions in the chili and the jalapenos that are added to the top. Sometimes when I go to Longhorn I get a bowl as an appetizer and a bowl along with my meal. After much searching, I have found Longhorn's recipe for chili. 

*LongHorn® Texas Chili*


*Servings: 4-6*

*Ingredients*


2 lb. ground beef (75/25 blend)11/2 finely chopped onion1 tbsp. finely minced garlic1/4 c. chili powder11/4 dried oregano1/2 tsp. paprika1 tsp. ground cumin18 oz. can tomato sauce1 12 oz. beer (Shiner Bock) or your favorite flavor1/8 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, depending on desired heat level2 tbsp. masa flourSalt to taste if needed 
*Directions*


Heat a heavy-bottom pot to med-high and cook the ground beef, stirring often until browned.Add the onion and garlic. Cook briefly. Add the chili powder,  oregano, paprika, cumin, tomato sauce, beer and salt to taste. Bring to a  boil.Cover and cook over very low heat for 1 hour.Add the cayenne pepper, masa flour and cook for 30 minutes longer.  As the chili cooks, skim the fat from the surface. Season with salt to  taste.Serve with favorite chips or cheese, if desired. 






Texas Chili | Fall Grilling Recipes

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Brat (11-07-2019),darroll (11-07-2019),Foghorn (11-07-2019),Garden House Queen (11-07-2019),RMNIXON (11-07-2019)

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## Foghorn

If you let it simmer too long you boil all the flavor out of pot, so timing is important.

Although we rarely have the time or foresight to do so, ideally you'd prepare it the day before and let it simmer about a half hour.  Then put it in the fridge for the magic to happen.  It will keep for several days.

------

In a pinch when on the road Wendy's chili is about the best quick fix in my opinion.

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Brat (11-07-2019)

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## Old Tex

First off I agree it IS THE SEASON FOR CHILI. Sadly I'm married to a yankee that that means unless I hint 5 or 6 time I get: rice hot dish, soup or stew. It took me 20 years but I've finally gotten butter beans & cornbread added to that list. So when I get in the mood for chili I have my old stand by Wolf Brand chili in the cabinet. I add onions, a squirt of mustard & a squirt of BBQ sauce to it & maybe crackers on the side. 

I'll add one other major accomplishment that I've made with my wife. She no longer thinks "Barley soup" in the winter. Now I eat most anything if it's well done & never say anything bad about it. But barley soup? Save the water & feed the barley to birds that you don't like. I still have to suffer through that stuff once a year or if I'm lucky once every other year.

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Brat (11-07-2019),Garden House Queen (11-07-2019)

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## Rickity Plumber

> If you let it simmer too long you boil all the flavor out of pot, so timing is important.
> 
> Although we rarely have the time or foresight to do so, ideally you'd prepare it the day before and let it simmer about a half hour.  Then put it in the fridge for the magic to happen.  It will keep for several days.
> 
> ------
> 
> In a pinch when on the road Wendy's chili is about the best quick fix in my opinion.


Yes, you bring up a great and very important point. Too much simmering and the flavor goes out the door and is replaced with a mild "burnt" taste. I have had that in my earlier younger days. 

Overnight in the fridge is the best thing you can do for chili and other dishes such as spaghetti and pasta. The flavors meld together sitting there in the cold environment better than they do on the stove. 

Thanks @Foghorn !

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Brat (11-07-2019),Foghorn (11-07-2019)

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## Rickity Plumber

> First off I agree it IS THE SEASON FOR CHILI. Sadly I'm married to a yankee that that means unless I hint 5 or 6 time I get: rice hot dish, soup or stew. It took me 20 years but I've finally gotten butter beans & cornbread added to that list. So when I get in the mood for chili I have my old stand by Wolf Brand chili in the cabinet. I add onions, a squirt of mustard & a squirt of BBQ sauce to it & maybe crackers on the side. 
> 
> I'll add one other major accomplishment that I've made with my wife. She no longer thinks "Barley soup" in the winter. Now I eat most anything if it's well done & never say anything bad about it. But barley soup? Save the water & feed the barley to birds that you don't like. I still have to suffer through that stuff once a year or if I'm lucky once every other year.



Your butter beans and corn pone are great together. Unfortunately I do not like butter beans but use a good baked bean in place of the butter bean. Bush's or B&M baked beans are two of my favorites.

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Brat (11-07-2019),Foghorn (11-07-2019)

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## Old Tex

I'll add a semi proud moment in my life. At a base we were at there was a chili cookoff contest. We won the best "MILD" chili award. That's because my wife stood between me (with peppers & seasoning in hand) & that chili. A Texan winning for mild chili. I was so ashamed! 

Another FUNNY story: We were at an A.F. event at the Rec Camp. There was a chili cookoff. They tried to get me to be a judge. I've had chili at those things before & I passed BUT my wife didn't. Her stomach wasn't prepared for what Texan's consider "hot" chili. Afterward I never got her mouth, throat & stomach cooled down but I did get her drunk enough on beer that she didn't mind the volcano inside her as much. (wink).

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Brat (11-07-2019),Foghorn (11-07-2019),Rickity Plumber (11-07-2019)

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## Rickity Plumber

> I'll add a semi proud moment in my life. At a base we were at there was a chili cookoff contest. We won the best "MILD" chili award. That's because my wife stood between me (with peppers & seasoning in hand) & that chili. A Texan winning for mild chili. I was so ashamed! 
> 
> Another FUNNY story: We were at an A.F. event at the Rec Camp. There was a chili cookoff. They tried to get me to be a judge. I've had chili at those things before & I passed BUT my wife didn't. Her stomach wasn't prepared for what Texan's consider "hot" chili. Afterward I never got her mouth, throat & stomach cooled down but I did get her drunk enough on beer that she didn't mind the volcano inside her as much. (wink).



I envy a chili judge's job!

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Brat (11-07-2019)

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## Foghorn

Some of the best debates while drunk are over chili and over BBQ.

And the good news is everybody is right.

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Brat (11-07-2019),darroll (11-07-2019)

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## wbslws

I love Skyline Chili even though it's not the same thing as regular chili.  

Skyline.png

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## Rickity Plumber

> I love Skyline Chili even though it's not the same thing as regular chili.  
> 
> Skyline.png



What's the dif? I never had Skyline. Why is not like "regular" chili?

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## Old Tex

> I envy a chili judge's job!


Rickity in my younger days I could sit down & eat jalapeno's & drink coffee (my wife saw me doing that when we were dating & it freaked her out). And sometimes I would go a little hotter but that's about it so I guess I'm a light weight. I've been foolish enough to try all sorts of chili (usually after a few beers) at events & some of them would remove paint & tarnish the metal underneath it. On at least 2 occasions I've been suffering enough to wish that someone would just shoot me to end the pain. Now that I'm older I limit myself to a couple of blackened jalapenos with dinner or green ones on my dinner. 

We have a local Mexican food chain that we tried once. Good food & good price & it was nothing really different going down. We finished eating about 4pm & by 6pm both my wife & I were popping Tums & we continued popping them until she went to bed at midnight & I fell asleep (sitting up) some time after that. That was a shoot me time. I have no idea what spice they used (it wasn't jalapenos for sure) but it damned near killed us both. I haven't gone back.

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Brat (11-07-2019)

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## wbslws

> What's the dif? I never had Skyline. Why is not like "regular" chili?


Skyline Chili comes with spaghetti and cheese and you can add onions and beans.   They also serve  Coneys.   A very Cincinnati food item.

https://www.skylinechili.com/

3-Way-menu.png

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## Foghorn

> We finished eating about 4pm . . .


Early bird special?

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## darroll

Last night we had Chili made in the croc pot.
Delicious

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## RMNIXON

My recipe is rather basic, but I do enjoy making a pot in the Winter months as you can let it simmer on low and it heats the place up nicely and smells so damn good. 

And if you have guests you can make a serve yourself with some good bread and cheese.

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Foghorn (11-07-2019),Rickity Plumber (11-07-2019)

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## Foghorn

I'm bracing for some serious blowback, but here goes . . .

When making plain old mild chili I'll add a bunch of kidney beans to the mix, juice and all.  That's pretty much against the law here in Texas so only the immediate family get the plain old recipe.  But I have a secret ingredient that rounds out the whole assortment of flavors just right - refried beans.  Plus they tend to thicken things up as well.

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## Rickity Plumber

> Rickity in my younger days I could sit down & eat jalapeno's & drink coffee (my wife saw me doing that when we were dating & it freaked her out). And sometimes I would go a little hotter but that's about it so I guess I'm a light weight. I've been foolish enough to try all sorts of chili (usually after a few beers) at events & some of them would remove paint & tarnish the metal underneath it. On at least 2 occasions I've been suffering enough to wish that someone would just shoot me to end the pain. Now that I'm older I limit myself to a couple of blackened jalapenos with dinner or green ones on my dinner. 
> 
> We have a local Mexican food chain that we tried once. Good food & good price & it was nothing really different going down. We finished eating about 4pm & by 6pm both my wife & I were popping Tums & we continued popping them until she went to bed at midnight & I fell asleep (sitting up) some time after that. That was a shoot me time. I have no idea what spice they used (it wasn't jalapenos for sure) but it damned near killed us both. I haven't gone back.



I know just how you felt @Old Tex ! When I was young (& dumb) a friend and I were shooting the shit about jalapenos. Our wives at the time coerced both of us into a jalapeño eating contest. Of course this was after the wives had at least way too many margaritas so it was no sweat off their backs.


The waitress brought us a good size bowl of jalapeños and we commenced to devour those bad boys one by one. I swear to the Good Lord that those peppers were brought to the table by the devil himself. There was nothing, I mean nothing I could do to "cool" my lips, tongue and mouth! Even my sweat from my forehead was contaminated by the capsaicin running down my face. Only by gulping large mouthfuls of milk was I able to put a dent in the fire! Both of us conceded to the "contest" all the while our wives were laughing their asses off on our jalapeño madness. 


To this day I have never had such fiery jalapeño peppers. Habanero and ghost peppers yes, but never a jalapeño. 

Never succumb to a margarita induced contest of anything!

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## Rickity Plumber

> Skyline Chili comes with spaghetti and cheese and you can add onions and beans.   They also serve  Coneys.   A very Cincinnati food item.
> 
> https://www.skylinechili.com/
> 
> 3-Way-menu.png



Ok, I have heard of this before. Sort of popular up north but not so much down here.

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## Rickity Plumber

> Last night we had Chili made in the croc pot.
> Delicious



Care to share or show pics?

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## Rickity Plumber

> I'm bracing for some serious blowback, but here goes . . .
> 
> When making plain old mild chili I'll add a bunch of kidney beans to the mix, juice and all.  That's pretty much against the law here in Texas so only the immediate family get the plain old recipe.  But I have a secret ingredient that rounds out the whole assortment of flavors just right - refried beans.  Plus they tend to thicken things up as well.



Refried beans in chili MAY be a good thing!

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## DLLS

I tried some rattle snake chili at a chili cook off in Arizona.  The person serving said it tasted just like chicken.  Apparently there are people in the world that can really screw up chicken.

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Rickity Plumber (11-10-2019)

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## Old Tex

Never succumb to a margarita induced contest of anything!

Rickity when I was 17 I had a good supply of naturally grey/silver hair on my head. Because of that I passed for much older than I was. So I did a little bar hopping & my first drink was Tequila for some reason. And I stuck with tequila for years. Then I found rum (& later whiskey) but the thing about tequila (at least for me) was that one moment you were stone cold sober & the next moment you could barely walk (& talk). I guess that I'm older & wiser now days. I have a few whiskey's & feel ok & then I just naturally taper down on the whiskey & keep that ok feeling.

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Rickity Plumber (11-10-2019)

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## Old Tex

> Your butter beans and corn pone are great together. Unfortunately I do not like butter beans but use a good baked bean in place of the butter bean. Bush's or B&M baked beans are two of my favorites.


Bush's are a little too sweet for us so my wife has started adding a can of some other type of bean with 2 cans of Bush's & I like them a lot better.

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Rickity Plumber (11-07-2019)

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## Retiredat50

> I love Skyline Chili even though it's not the same thing as regular chili.  
> 
> Attachment 46391



Skyline "chili" is nasty.  When I first moved to Ohio a friend told me about how great it was, so of course, I tried it. No, just no!

It has no tomato base as chili should, it is just meat, water and spices, and those spices are not what you get with an actual chili.  They include cinnamon, which has no place in chili and a few other things that just don't work.  It tastes overly sweet and just off.

Oh, and there is a reason all the photos show just a lot of cheese on top of the spaghetti or chili dogs, that reason is the "chili" itself looks like... Well, something that came out of you when you were sick (pick the exit, both work).

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Rickity Plumber (11-10-2019)

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## fmw

Good recipe.  I can almost taste it.

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## Rickity Plumber

> Good recipe.  I can almost taste it.


Which one?

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## MrogersNhood

I just found out 2 years ago that my favorite chili (made by my cousin's mom) was made with venison.
She took a deer every year with a Browning gold semi-auto 30-.06.
 :Smiley ROFLMAO: 

No wonder I can't duplicate it! It has just right tomato, kidney beans, green peppers and onions, and deer!

Still my favorite chili. :Tongue20:

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## tiny1

I make Keto Chili Con Carne.
If anyone wants, I'll tell 'em how.

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## MrogersNhood

According to the way I grew up, 2 lbs of venison is required in chili.

Kidney beans, onions, Cream of musroom, and tomato.

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## tiny1

I love Chili.  I make several different recipes.  Chili, to me, is like a blank canvas is to an artist.  I have a Chili Verde that I love.  I make steak Chili after I butcher a whole Beef Tenderloin.  I use the ends and Chain muscle for the meat.  Depending on my mood, I can opt for Beans, or Texas Style.  
I make Chicken Chili, and Smoked Pork Chili.  And even to my disbelief, I learned to make Vegan Chili, for one of my Daughter's Friends.  My wife likes my Steak Chili, the best.

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Rickity Plumber (11-19-2019)

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## Rickity Plumber

> I make Keto Chili Con Carne.
> If anyone wants, I'll tell 'em how.



My wife is trying to get me into keto stuff now. I would like to see a simple recipe for it..


Thank you ahead of time @tiny1 !

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## tiny1

It would be an honor, Rickity.

I like to use Steak Trimmings or some Sirloin cut  into bite size strips, but feel free to use Ground Beef, or any meat you like.  Venison works well, or a Combination of meats.
If you want beans in your chili, you need to pick up a couple of cans of Black Soybeans.  If they don't have em in the store, you may try Netrition.com.  Once you have them, pour 'em in a freezer safe container, seal and FREEZE.  Thaw, before making the chili.  Makes em tender as a Mother's Love.
Anyway, Brown your meat in a Sauce pot, and I use Lard.  REAL lard.  Remove the Meat.  Put in 1 whole diced onion, 1 diced Green and 1 diced red Bell Peppers.  When the Onion is getting translucent, add some sliced or diced jalapenos.  Add a few tablespoons of Chili de Arbo or other mild chili powder, 1 tbsp. garlic powder and 1 tbsp. smoked Paprika.  Add back the meat and if using, the soybeans.  Once all that is "happy", add 1-14 oz can of Stewed tomatoes, and 2-3 tbsp. tomato paste.  Adjust salt, and pepper and other spices.  Add Beef Stock to get the proper consistency.  Simmer, for 3 hours.  If you want the best, Refrigerate and reheat the next day.  Flavors marry overnight, and make it twice as good.
The Beans and Tomatoes are what add the Carbs.  By using half the tomatoes, and tomato paste, you avoid the excess carbs, and make this a Low Carb Dish.  The Soybeans are Keto Friendly.

I crumble Pork Rinds on top, and use a Dollop of Daisy, Sour Cream.  Enjoy.

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## Rickity Plumber

> It would be an honor, Rickity.
> 
> I like to use Steak Trimmings or some Sirloin cut  into bite size strips, but feel free to use Ground Beef, or any meat you like.  Venison works well, or a Combination of meats.
> 
> I crumble Pork Rinds on top, and use a Dollop of Daisy, Sour Cream.  Enjoy.




 
Thanks! This does not sound much different than regular chili. I omit beans and diced tomatoes anyway. The lard is a good trick.

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## Dan40

Had a couple of chili recipes published in TODAY years ago.(knew the food writer)  One was so silly.  Started by simmering steak in broth until it could be shredded.  That was the base meat.  Had skinned seeded tomatoes as a sauce base.

Wonder if anyone was dumb enough to try it?  I actually made it and it was good, but way, way too much work.  Chili is an easy dish.

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## Dan40

dupli

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## ruthless terrier

> I have a secret ingredient that rounds out the whole assortment of flavors just right - refried beans.  Plus they tend to thicken things up as well.


same with my ground pork chili. no tomatoes but a can of smashed bush great northerns to thicken it up. also chili powder and smoked paprika and sauteed onions. your choice of pepper. good stuff.

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## tiny1

> [/SIZE] 
> Thanks! This does not sound much different than regular chili. I omit beans and diced tomatoes anyway. The lard is a good trick.


That's what it is, actually.  Using the Soybeans and tomato paste makes it low carb.  But for me, the Tenderloin Trimmings make the chili.  Chili d'arbo is great too, but if you want 4 alarm, add Cayenne.

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Rickity Plumber (12-10-2019)

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