Chili con Carne 1949 (Chili with Meat)

Coleman, Arthur and Bobbie. The Texas Cookbook. New York: A.A. Wyn, 1949. Pp. 72-73. [TX715 .C69 1949]

Last week, I prepared a “traditional” Texas chili with only meat and spices. This week’s recipe has a significantly longer ingredient list that includes both beans and vegetables. It also switches things up by using chopped beef, rather than ground chuck. Simmering the chili for three hours creates an incredibly rich broth. In fact, the sum result is more like a southwestern beef stew than anything I’ve encountered before as “chili,” but now that I’ve tasted it, I think it may be my new favorite chili recipe!

Be sure to also check out additional chili recipes from Special Collections, and explore the history of chili further through some of the highlighted resources.

Chile con Carne

• 1 pound chopped beef
• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 small can tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper, minced
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt

  

  1/4 tsp. cayenne

• 1 tsp. comino, crushed
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. basil
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 pint cooked frijoles

Fry the onion and garlic together in the olive oil or butter. Add the beef and sear brown. Add all the other ingredients except the frijoles. Place in a large container and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to the simmer stage and cook thus until the sauce is as thick as desired and the meat is tender (usually about 3 hours). Just before serving, remove the bay leaf and add the frijoles (see page 140 for a good recipe for pre-cooking frijoles). This will take care of 6 eaters.