Chiliworthy of Texas

Beef or chicken, it’ll be better if you followthese tips

If you want to get in a good old-fashioned Texas food fight, tell somebody you make the best chili. It’s the official state dish of the Lone Star State, and recipes are closely guarded family secrets.

“I’ll tell anybody what the ingredients I use are, I’m just not giving awaymy ratios,” said Diana Anderson, owner of San Antoniobased JD’s Chili Parlor, which regularly sets up a booth at area farmers markets.

Heck, I couldn’t even get a recipe from one ofmy best friends after buying her a beer.

The San Antonio area is ground zero for the history of chili. The famed “Chili Queens” regularly served chile con carne — literally, chile with meat in a stew — in front of the Alamo and other downtown spaces fromthe late 1800s into the 1940s using recipes from Mexico. New Braunfels’ William Gebhardt developed the first available commercial line of chili powder in 1896.

Historically, chile con carne had no beans, and to this day,

Texans insist that beans have no place in their classic red chili. But food evolves, andmost of the country adds beans to chili. Texans can be a stubborn bunch.

“I think that is all rooted in trying to stay true to what was served by the Queens,” Anderson said. “And if you go all the way back to the way it was originally created in Mexico, additional ingredients like plantains and potatoes were always served on the side. Legumes were never part of the culture.”

Another element to chili is that you never know when you may cook your best batch. You can use the same recipes and ingredients, and the slightest difference in

Jerry Lara / Staff photographer This bowl of Texas Beef Chuck Roast Chili, made with smoked chuck roast, is a full meal.