Just broadly can someone explain to me what the make-up of the dish I
think is known as "chilli" is.  Over here in Australia chilli is what
goes on top of pasta or a pizza as dry red flakes but for years I have
noticed on TV that it(the word chilli) is applied to an apparently
quite different foodstuff in USA being some sort of complete dish
eaten by itself, yes?? no?? Maybe I am way off the mark here?? Not
only a separate dish from what I observe on TV but also a highly
prized dish very popular over there that is the subject of discussion
on quality,  and arguments about where the best chilli can be found
and who makes it. Is it really highly prized and popular over there?
Is it universally eaten in large volumes or just by those in the
south-west states. Any opinions from anyone who eats it. No lenghty
answer required at all by the way, just a little enligtenment would do
fine!!

Hi John!

I haven't seen you around here lately!  Have you been hiding from us?
;)

The dish called "chili" in the US is very similar to a stew, but the
One True Recipe is very much in dispute - some say it should be made
only with meat, others say meat and beans, still others will howl that
truly good chili needs good meat, beans, and bits of tomatoes, peppers
and onions.

Me, I eat them all, but the chili I make myself is very much in the
third category.  My friend Mel, on the other hand, competes in Chili
Cook-offs in Texas, and tells me that us Godless Heathens up here in
Ohio have no clue about chili.  She's horrified that I make mine with
anything other than meat and chili pepper!

(I think Mel's nuts.  She eats that stuff that will set your hair on
fire.  Why eat if you can't taste it after the first bite??)

While chili is most often associated with the Southwestern US, it's
actually consumed all over the US - in some places, like Chicago and
New York, it's considered an ideal hot dog topping (oh, yum!), in
others, it's a terrific winter main course, served with cornbread and
butter.

To give you a good idea of the diversity of chili recipes out there, I
looked for several collections:

Chili Recipes : COLLECTION
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/mexican/chili-coll.html

Chili Recipe Database
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~gcaselton/chile/chili.html

Texas Style Chili (recipe links on the left)
http://www.texaschilispice.com/

As you can see, recipes vary wildly, but if you're careful not to
overdo it on the spices, you can make a great chili yourself!

If you try it, let me know how you like it!

--Missy

Search terms: [ chili recipe ]

Thanks Missy,  just what I was looking for, an excellent general piece
on "chilli".  I have not yet gone into the links you provided but with
expecting them to provide  info up to the level of your usual
respsonses I will  risk a five based on what I have read already.   I
have been overseas for a while by the way but I have kept up with GA
and have just returned to find that GA's favourite domestic engineer
is now offering great advice on all things sexual from female
orgasm/and the mechanics of, to other complex sexually related issues
which I just forget for the moment.

P.S I know you are famous at GA but I bet you did not know  that I and
my comments also  now appear as one of three testimonials chosen for
the introductory pages of GA to the world!!

  See ya again missymate,
       John From Melbourne

I'm not sure about Australia -- but seeing as Aussies share a fair
amount of language terms with us Brits it's a possiblity -- but in the
UK the dish that Americans call simply "chili" is commonly known as
"chilli con carne". That allows an easy distinction between this and
chilli peppers or dried chilli. However just to put a typically
British confusing spin on things, in pubs and restaurants you will
often see chilli con carne referred to simply as "chilli" and is
invariably served with rice.

I think I've just decided what I'm making for my dinner tonight!

Regards
iaint-ga

.....and thanks for that little extra piece too Iaint. I think you are
right with the term Chill Con Carne. Even so still not a term widely
known, or even in a small way in Australia; not in my part of the
country anyway, but I have heard the term before now that I think
about.
 
P.S Send us a portion over if your making chilli tonight. I will
presume your cooking talents are up to your research talents, based on
a very informative answser you gave me some time back.


 John From melbourne

I haven't seen the spelling chilli before ... but I often see:

chili -- which is usually "chile con carne" as mentioned above. 
  
The correct spelling for the pepper itself is chile, at least here
in New Mexico.  Here, if you order simply "chile", you may get something
you don't expect (like a bowl of ground up green chiles.)  One of New Mexico's
largest crops (and it's most appreciated) is the "green chile" -- which
is quite tasty, but usually not as hot as a jalapeno pepper.

Here, "green chile stew" is quite popular, which in many ways could be
considered similar to what the rest of the world knows as "chili".  It is
often made with pork or lamb, rather than beef, and uses the green chiles
rather than the dried red pepper powder.  (i think they are actually the
same pepper originally, but they redden as they mature ... and are then
usually ground into powders for sauces, etc.)

There are many "chili" cookbooks available -- a good one should have many
variations of chili-con-carne, along with green chile and vegetarian variations....

I need a chile fix.

Oh dear me, ahem.  Ok y'all, listen up here now.  I am a Texan.  This
alone is enough of a credential for the establishment of chili
expertise.  But for additional credentials, let me state I was (not my
fault) born in and grew up in Wisconsin as the daughter of an
expatriate Texan, so I have known all my (considerably long) life the
fine distinction between what misguided Midwesterners or Easterners
erroneously refer to as "chili," and what the real McCoy actually is.
Furthermore, I have traveled and lived throughout the United States
and witnessed many and various sad regional misinterpretations of the
classic definition of the world's greatest food.

It's time to set the record straight.  Now then, hear this: CHILI is a
stew of ground beef, tomato sauce and flavorings.  Period.  That's
all, y'all.  Sheesh.  The origin, identity and amounts of flavoring
(which can include, among others, onions, garlic, cumin and chili
peppers in various forms) are the main bones of contention within the
regional "cook-offs," and one might happily spends months trying out
various combinations, but the nature of chili is a given.

As to the word "chili," first of all it has one "l," not two. 
Secondly, it comes from the Spanish meaning "pepper," and is how this
dish is identified.  No peppers, no chili, entiende?  The
Spanish/Mexican origin of the word and the dish is why it is
indigenous to the Southwestern United States, despite what outward
migration has unfortunately done to its identity.

As to beans, tomatoes, macaroni or whatever other bits of foreign
comestibles the unenlightened attempt to add, if anything other than
beef, tomato sauce or peppers/flavorings are in there, it might be
nutritious, it might fill ya up, it might even taste good, but it sure
as shootin' ain't chili.

Beans are another subject altogether.  

Hope this clears everything up for y'all.  :-)

Byrd

As a nod to another Southwesterner (albeit a somewhat corrupted one),
I will concede the purist spelling of "chile" vs. "chili," though the
latter is the Texanized version used in identifying authentic
"Tex-Mex" food, of which chili is the rightful centerpiece.   :-)

AUSTRALIAN DINKUM CHILI (ORIGINAL RECIPE) 
Categories: Chili 
Yield: 8 servings 

500 g  Walleroo bacon
      2 T  Oil,vegetable
      1    Brown onion,medium,chopped
      1    White onion,chopped
      2    Celery stalks,chopped
      1    Green pepper,diced
      1 kg Kangaroo shank,red,coarse ch
    500 g  Kangaroo shank,gry,coarse ch
    500 g  Emu ham,ground
      2    Garlic cloves
 31 1/2 g  Tasmanian light red chile
 31 1/2 g  Wooroorooka chile
 26 1/2 g  Mount Isa dark red chile
    140 g  Oregano
      1 g  Cumin(fluid measure)
           Australian beer(740ml btl)
      1 cn Tomatoes,whole(4l ea)
           Brown sugar(3 fluid drams)
      1    Boomerang
 
  1. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Drain the strips on paper
  toweling and cut into 10cm dice and reserve.
  
  2. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions,
  celery, and green pepper and cook until the onions are translucent.
  
  3. Combine all the Kangaroo meat & Emu ham with the ground chile, garlic,
  oregano, and cumin. Add this meat-and-spice mixture to the pot. Break up
  any lumps with a fork and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is
  evenly browned.
  
  4. Add the beer, tomatoes, and reserved bacon to the pot. Bring to a boil,
  then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. Wave a
  boomerang over the pot 14 times each hour from this point on. Stir for 3
  minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings, and add more beer id desired. Simmer for
  2 1/2 hours longer.
  
  5. Add the brown sugar and simmer for 15 minutes longer, vigorously waving
  the boomerang over the pot.

http://www.recipeland.com/generated/gen8/1/3bccb77d5c256449.epl

Oh, geez, John, now you've got the Texans involved. I knew that this
question would be a bone of contention the second it came up on the
queue.

My husband and I both love our chili HOT: 3 fire alarms for me; my
spouse adds habanero peppers (they make chili peppers taste like
toddler's milk). We add ground beef, black beans, chili beans, onions,
green peppers, corn, and LOTS of minced garlic, chili powder, and
crushed red peppers to a thick tomatoey sauce.

Sadly, we have lived in various places in the U.S., and about the only
place you can find REALLY good Mexican or Tex-Mex food is indeed in
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California. What passes for
"spicy" in the rest of the country isn't worth discussing.

The Australian version sounds good. My spouse spent an exchange year
at the U of Sydney. We'd love to try this; doubtful we will be able to
find any fresh kangaroo in the U.S.

The new recipe suggestions are much appreciated!

aceresearcher

There is no other question that one could ask that will yield so much
controversy as what is chili.  It is worse than talking politics or
religion in a beer joint or pub.  You could borrow a person's brand
new car easier than you could get his chili recipe.
Typically, what you'll get is the true answer from a Texas or a
closely-true answer from a New Mexican, or a bunch of well-intentioned
misinformation from anybody else.
Chili, with one 'l' is the meat stew.  There are only two basics to
it; meat and chile pepper.  During hunting season, venison chili is
very very popular.  Beef us usually a coarse grind call chili grind. 
It has a bit of suet which is included in the tradional chili.  Ground
beef is acceptable but don't brown it first; that makes it sweet. 
Sort of saute it until it's grey.
Chile, with an 'e', is the pepper.  They range from mild, as in New
Mexico, to hot, as chile de arbol or jalapeno.  Most common in Texas
is jalapeno.
Other seasonings are acceptable if they are cumin, oregano (Mexican is
best), salt, and maybe paprika (not Hungarian) for color.
Onion is perfectly acceptable, as is garlic
Argumentative seasonings are tomato products.  Many old timers don't
consider tomato sauce as suitable and never, never tomato paste (being
Italian in nature, it is too sweet for chili)
Absolutely prohibited are beans of any kind.  Especially the hated
Kidney bean.  You might get away with your life if you use Pinto beans
but they do not refrigerate well if you make a big pot of chili and
wish to save it for the week.
I am told that people from the North US also add extraordinary gook
such as cinnamon, chocolate, catsup, turkey meat, sugar, bacon and
whatever else comes to mind as the result of too much wine.  That's
not chili.  Remember, we're not trying to get rid of left-overs here,
we're trying to create the ultimate stew!
As far as beer goes, I always cook with beer but be careful not to put
any of it in the chili.
Good chili is medicinal as well; it will clear your sinuses and
palate.  Quickly.
Enjoy.
Richard

Well thanks everyone for your contributions on this subject. By sheer
co-incidence I did find a can of what was labelled the authentic
article on my supermarket shelf earlier today, after taking a special
look at the foreign foods section.  It actually came from Texas and
was in a black and red can, but a very small can; you may know the
brand, yes?? I purchased it, took it home straight away and ate it. It
was not very spicy hot but was extremely tasty to the point that I
think I will buy another one if still on display. May not have suited
the purist however as it certainly contained a mass of dark reddish
beans. We have a specialist U.S.A food mini-mart nearby which I may
seek advice from also.

John!

I'm shocked - SHOCKED! - that you ate that stuff out of a can!  How
could you do that to yourself?

Dearie me, I see we're going to have to ship a cook down there for
you.  That stuff in the can is only good for hot-dogs.  Do yourself a
favor, my friend, and follow one of the recipes for homemade chili.  I
promise it will taste ten times better than the canned stuff!

-Missy

Missy,
        I am DEFINATELY going to make my own chili/chile/chilli, and very soon; 
  I also shy away from anything in a can usually.


 John