Recently, my friend group and I had a relatively heated argument that I feel confident that anyone who has spent any time in Texas has at least flirted with: beans and chili. I’ve lived in Texas for most of my life and have many times been told how sacrilegious it is to have beans in my chili (but come on, kidney beans add a little something something). So, in celebration of National Chili Day on February 27th and being-true-to-my-career-by-researching, let’s dive into the debate we Texans love and hate: do beans belong in chili?
History of Chili
This is a complicated question, if only because there are a lot of variants. I read countless magazine articles, Wikipedia links, and life stories before a recipe to gather as much information as possible, and I’ve boiled it down to these two accounts that were repeated in multiple places.
In one account, the first written record of a chili recipe was by a Spanish nun in the 17th century, and Spanish colonists in San Antonio regularly made a Spanish “stew” that was a lot like what we now know as chili. It didn’t contain any beans. Instead, it was a mix of chilis and tomatoes that meat boiled in, giving it a rich flavor and heat.
However, in Robb Walsh’s The Chili Cookbook, he cites a Franciscan friar being the first to bring “carne con chili” to what is now known as Mexico City in the 16th century.
Still, chili is largely associated with Texas, and indeed, it IS our state dish! I think it’s true to say it was popularized in Texas because chili became very popular in Northern Mexico and Southern Texas, which, given the two citations above, supports that assertion. In the 19th century, two women of Mexican descent started selling chili in San Antonio and became known as the Chili Queens. We come by the association with chili honestly, it would seem!
Beans or No Beans
I know I started this by saying I was going to talk about beans, and then I languished in the history for a while, but it’s important groundwork, okay? And here’s why: chili is the shortened version of chili con carne, as established. It’s a chili-steeped stew that has meat of any kind mixed into it; no one seemed to argue it had to be beef over chicken, for instance. On that front, pretty much all of us can agree. It’s delicious and flavorful and meant to be eaten on a cold winter's day (I’m starting a new debate that’s not about what’s in the chili but when to eat the chili).
I think the true debate about whether or not beans belong in Chili really rolled around with the advent of chili cook-offs.
Chili Cook-Offs
In the 1960’s, the first-ever Chili Cook-off was held in Texas. It continued until 1970 when the International Chili Society was formed. And here’s the thing about that: though they are ironically sponsored by Bush’s Beans, they don’t allow beans in chili in certain categories. One category beans are not allowed in? “Traditional Red Chili.” I think this is where it began, all the way back in the ’70s. Someone who was alive before then can correct me, but I don’t know if anyone truly debated chili before the rules of the chili cook-off came to be and changed everything.
Anyway, I might not have answered the question properly, just gave some background information for your next debate, so you tell me: do beans belong in chili? Or better yet - what are the best toppings for chili?
Want even more chili? Try these cookbooks below!
Chili Cook-off in a Box Handbook
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