Compendium of Cooking Cant 17 – Chili

Why hello there, and welcome to Kitchen Catastrophe’s ongoing segment, the Culinary Compendium of Cooking Cant, whose name we had to shorten in order to make the titles not get too long. Today, we’re talking about the meat-mash that Jon made a mini-mess of on Monday, Chili.

CHILI

1. (n) – Chili or Chile peppers refer to the spicy Capsicum peppers discovered in Central and South America by explorers. The Nahuatl word Chili referred to the spicy peppers found in the area, translated into Spanish by conquistadors as chile.

CHILI CON CARNE

1. (n) – A Stew, first appearing in the 1800’s, that consisted of dried beef pounded with peppers, suet, and salt, to form a dried brick that could be carried while travelling, and broken down in a pot by later cooking. Translated, the name means “Pepper with Meat”.

This early history forms the basis of most chili debate: while the original Texan chili recipes do not include several prominent ingredients popular in various regions (most notably beans or a tomato product), it’s also worth noting that the name of the dish implies that the meat is conditional as well, implying the potential of a “pure” chili that was simply a broth derived from fat, peppers, and salt. Many large chili cook-offs forbid the use of beans or other fillers in chili, and a bowl of “Texas Red Chili” (a modern recipe derived from the same principles of Meat, peppers, seasoning), is very popular in the region

Travis is one of those names I inherently associate with the Midwest.

As such, notable variations have emerged as different regions approach the ingredients in different ways: Texas, for instance, almost always uses chunks of beef, while other regions prefer Ground Beef. CHILI VERDE uses different colored peppers, and pork chunks. The rest of the post is intended to explain the distinctions of the varieties you can find in America.

CHILI MAC

1. (n) – An ungodly mess of etymology, history, and detail.

2. (n) – A Midwestern dish consisting of a mixture of Macaroni noodles, and seasoned ground beef and… A LOT Of variables. According to some reports, the original “Chili Mac” dishes were served over Spaghetti, and are the first CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI. Others point to the existence of a dish called “American Goulash”, which is a mixture of a riff on Hungarian style goulash (a paprika-seasoned meat stew that incorporated some starches and tomatoes) and macaroni noodles. I suspect both traditions influenced each other, as did the sheer caloric needs of Midwestern winters, and thus Chili mac, with ground beef, beans, pasta, sauce, and cheese, was born.   

CHILI PARLOR

1. (n) a Restaurant that specializes in serving Chili Con Carne or Chili-based dishes.

CHILI VERDE

1. (n) – A variety of Chili con Carne that replaces the traditional beef with Pork, and the typically red peppers used for green ones. Popular in New Mexico, the dish is notable for having a naturally wide range of heat levels, given the number of different green peppers (though sometimes yellow or orange peppers are also used. The general rule is simply to avoid red peppers.). Part of the constant New Mexican Chile war

2. NEW MEXICAN CHILE WAR – The Chile Peppers  that grow in New Mexico start green, but turn red as they ripen. They can be harvested and processed before full ripening, giving differing flavors. This has led to a (mostly) joking rivalry in the State of New Mexico between the two varieties: Green or Red? In almost any instance where you would get a chili-based sauce, or actual chilis, you may be asked to choose a color.  Some people prefer one, some prefer the other, and many prefer one for some dishes and the other for others. Given mild differences in climate, in general Red chiles are associated with Northern New Mexico, and Green Chiles with Southern.

Men have fought and died over this meaningless tourist designation.

CHILLI

1. Because we weren’t having enough fucking problems with spelling in this damn post. Chilli with two Ls is the preferred spelling of the pepper in several Commonwealth nations (ie, the UK and its former colonies), and one other notable region: Illinois

2. (n)  also known as “Springfield Chilli”, A style of Chili Con Carne from Illinois that uses Ground beef as the meat, and often includes beer in the recipe. Many ‘classic’ Springfield recipes still include Suet, as the dish was based off TEXAS STYLE chili. The Two Ls are used, it is believed, because it was an optional spelling at the time, and because the creators felt it fit better with the double-L Illinois.

CINCINNATI STYLE

1. A Mediterranean-influenced variety of “Chili” that almost never includes beans, instead relying on ground beef, tomato sauce, and several warm spices such as cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg to flavor it, often making it seem “Sweeter” than other chilis.

The dish is served in “ways”, denoting how many components of the “full” dish you desire: Just the chili itself would be “bowl”, or no way specified. “Two Way” indicates you want the chili served on top of Spaghetti. “Three Way” is a two way topped with shredded Cheddar Cheese. The number 4 can be confusing, as it can refer to onions, beans,  your CHOICE of onions or beans, or need to be specified at the order (“4 way Bean”) with 5 being both Onions AND Beans. 5 Ways are the ‘Traditional” complete dish, though some local parlors may add a “6th way” for their house special.

Shit, I forgot to mention the Oyster crackers. They’re not a “way”, they’re just…there, sometimes.

There are two primary varieties of commericial Cincinnati Chili, Skyline or Gold Star, after two early companies. While many in the area will label one or the other inherently superior, the differences are not notable to most outsiders.

FIVE ALARM CHILI

1. (n) A very spicy bowl of Chili. Typically an X-Alarm Chili means that it includes X distinct varieties of Chili peppers: A Three – Alarm chili might include Poblanos, Jalapeñoes, and Habaneros, for instance.

2. Based on the Fire Alarm System, wherein Fires are ranked by the number of “alarms” they require. This is NOT technically based on, as many believe, the number of fire stations that respond to the alarm, though that method is used in some places. In general, the number refers to the number of times help must be called for: A one alarm fire is handled by the first unit of trucks sent to the scene, a 2-alarm fire is when that unit requests back-up, a three is when THOSE units request back-up, etc.

FRITO PIE

1. (n) Also known as a “walking taco”, a Frito Pie Iis a dish consisting of Chili con Carne served on top of Fritos Corn Chips, sprinkled with cheese, and often topped with chili/taco toppings such as diced onion, sour cream, sliced jalapeñoes, etc. Often served in the single-serving bag of Fritos

It’s why they call it a “walking taco”: You can eat it while walking, without worry the wind will blow out the fillings.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHILI

1. (n) A very loosely defined Midwestern Chili variety, that I have most prominently seen take a more bitter/complicated approach, or one that relies on game meat (Elk, Bison, Deer, etc) instead of beef. One recipe I’ve seen substitutes Elk for Beef, and includes both bittersweet chocolate AND coffee.

TEXAS CHILI

1. (n) “A Bowl of Red”, Texas style chili can use ground beef, but often opts for stewed chunks of beef instead. The sauce typically foregoes tomatoes, instead relying on more chili powder/chiles for its coloration.  

VEGETARIAN CHILI

1. (n) arguably, as I mentioned sometime ago, a more ‘pure’ form of chili, given the con carne designation. Varieties of Chili that seek to replace the meat with more vegetables. Come in a WIDE array of ingredients and flavors. Arguably one of the areas of chili currently most open to pushing and experimenting with flavor boundaries.

WHITE CHILI

1. (n) A form of chili con carne that uses white meat, typically poultry, as its base, along with white beans and green chili peppers. Seen as a lighter, more healthy way to get the complexity and spirit of chili than CHILI VERDE or standard CHILI CON CARNE.  

And yes, it does look fairly green, but Chili Verde stole that name, so we had to do SOMETHING.

And that should be enough of a coverage of the many varieties of US Chili. I mean, I didn’t know about like, 4-5 of these before I started researching this post, so I at least learned something.

MONDAY: JON MAKES SOME KIND OF SOUP, BECAUSE IT’S COLD, HE FEELS A LITTLE SICK, AND TO HAVE FUN WITH A TECHNICAL HICCUP THAT HE’LL EXPLAIN LATER

THURSDAY: JON TALKS ABOUT SOMETHING.