The Great Chili Friday Controversy
A barrage of emails flooded my work inbox. Usually this indicates some kind of burning deadline or project gone awry. The topic of such frenzied communication in this case? Chili Fridays.
Given the, uh, heat of the chili debate, I decided a bit of research was in order. It is time to settle the Chili Friday Controversy.
Con Carne or Sin Carne?
The most pressing issue in the Great Chili Debate seems to be the question of meat versus no meat. Folks are just plain passionate about their chili. So, which came first, meat or bean?
Meat. Which likely explains why most major chili cookoffs disqualify entries that contain beans. Evidence of the chili dating back to pre-Columbian times consisted of meat and chili peppers, and occasionally included masa, or corn meal.
Now, just because those early recipes contained corn meal, in no way does this legitimatize “Frito Pie.” Greasy, bland meat, fritos and processed “cheese spread” is not chili. It’s not even actual food.
The use of starchy filler in the recipe does open the door to the question of beans. It is thought that, beans were first added to the dish as a way to make the dish go farther for families that could not afford the all meat version.
