Chili: With or without beans?
That eternal query about this dish of meat, sauce and peppers is the subject of Austin Answered this week.
Not universally, but many Texans today tend to eschew beans and even tomatoes in their chili con carne.
Where did this tradition arise?
Native American, Spanish and Mexican cooks have used the basic ingredients — including beans — for centuries.
Starting as early as the 1880s, the famed Chili Queens served chili con carne, tamales, enchiladas and other dishes at nightly stands in San Antonio's plazas.
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Along the way, chili became associated with cowboy culture, which is, after all, an extension of Spanish and Mexican vaquero traditions. Perhaps these Texans emphasized the "carne" part of chili because beans were already overemployed at the chuck wagon.
It turns out chili was extremely easy to can and transport across the country.
Among the people who popularized it starting in the late 19th century were William Gerard Tobin of San Antonio (who sold canned chili to the government), William "Willie" Gebhardt of New Braunfels and San Antonio (Eagle Brand Chili Powder), Lyman T. Davis of Corsicana (Wolf Brand Chili), Homer T. "Wick" Fowler of Austin (Two-Alarm Chili), and William Tolbert of Dallas (Chili Appreciation Society International, Terlingua Chili Cook-Off).
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Chiliwas adopted as the Texas state dish on May 11, 1977.
They are among my favorite ingredients, but I rarely add beans to my chili. I always triple, however, the recommended amount of cumin.
Blessed are the peacemakers: Terry Thompson Anderson, who has written several regional cookbooks, shares in "Texas on the Plate": "Then there is the controversy over whether real, he-man chili has beans or not. Well, I love beans and beans are an element of Texas cookery. So it's my personal theory that chili, which is real Texan stuff, and beans, which are real Texan stuff, should go together."
Send your questions about Central Texas past and present to "Austin Answered" at mbarnes@statesman.
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