Chili times in the hot south.

My first time at the VFW hall in Geronimo, Texas was a Sunday afternoon in August. I guilted my poor housemate into accompanying me to a dance there advertised on a blinking neon arrow sign standing outside the hall. We entered and it was awkward for a few moments, until a woman who looked like she was in charge came over to us and said hello. Then she said the most improbable thing, which in actuality was the most perfect thing she could have said, "Aren't y'all my new neighbors?" And yes, we were. Our neighbor, Barbara, also turned out to be the head of the women's affairs at the VFW.

Barbara chatted with us for a bit and then sat us down at a table with two pairs of the cutest older folk couples ever. The atmosphere was dark and dingy, just the way I like it. The women were all dressed in floral pattern dresses, nylons, and sensible shoes or else high waisted jeans, a tucked in Western-style shirt, and cowgirl boots. The gentlemen led their partners to and from the dance floor and continuously wiped sweat from their brows. I eventually got in three dances before we swished down the last of our wine coolers and departed. As we departed Barbara gave us a schedule of the VFW upcoming events.

October 3-4: Chili Cook-off

Hmm. As two nutrition students who love to cook, we felt we were up to the challenge! With almost two months to prepare we were confident we could whip up something competition worthy. Later that week I made my first chili. It was packed full of vegetables, beans, meat, and three different kinds of chili powder - it was ok. Next up was Jeannette, she made a white chili, made with vegetables, white beans, chicken, spices and a touch of cream - it was pretty good. We schemed about how were could make our chili ideas into awesome chilis, we talked to locals about where to buy spices, meat, ect. We had a plan.

Then the internship started. The plan fizzled out. And this time it was for the best. October 4th rolled around and I had a lot of procrastinating to do, so I headed over to the VFW hall to see what this Texas chili is all about.

I was 30 minutes early for the tastings and again it started out very awkward as I was the only person under 60 there, and again Barbara saved me from awkward land and introduced me to some very lovely folks. It was then I learned all about what fools we would have looked like had we brought our chilis to the cook-off!

a) You must cook your chili on-site (tail-gating, RV-ing, ect.)

b) There are Bean chilis and there are Meat chilis, there are NO Bean and Meat chilis

c) Bean chilis consist of beans and "gravy"

d) Meat chilis consist of meat and "sauce"

e) Absolutely no identifiers in the chili (i.e. vegetables)

I guess they will let anyone be a judge because somehow I was allowed to sign up to be one. Beans judging was at noon and there were four contestants and 7 or 8 judges. There is a whole big process to how they de-identify the chilis so that no-one can know who's is who's, but I won't even go into that. Anywho... We judged them on appearance, aroma, texture of beans, flavor, and overall goodness. I thought they all kinda sucked, but whatever.

Next at 1pm was the meat chili tasting. Of course, the case study I had to finish no longer seemed important and I just had to know for myself about this Texas chili thing! I signed up again and this time sat down with about 15 judges to taste 23 chili entries. I knew I had my work cut out for me. You only have to take one spoonful, but to really get a sense of the chili, it takes two. I dove into the first chili, then the next, and the next. This time there was one score that encompassed the areas of taste, after taste, aroma, red color (yes, red color), and overall awesomeness (I think they called it something else though).

I took my job as a judge very seriously, cleansing my palate between each chili, taking a long whiff of the chili, then tasting and fully experienced each chili. I'm not going to lie folks, after about 10 of 'em, they all kind of taste the same. I mean, some have more cumin, some are a little spicier, but when you are talking about meat and sauce, there really wasn't a huge variation. Perhaps my palate is just young and unexperienced in the ways of the chili.

So 46 bites of chili and an hour later, I rolled myself home. I knew I hadn't quite yet fully experienced this Texas chili thing. The final piece was to make it myself, the way they do. At the cook-off I met a one-eyed, sweet-as-pecan-pie woman named Lynn Hejtmancik, who told me she was once the CASI Terlingua International Chili Championship Winner and her award winning chili recipe was online.

[Background info: CASI stands for Chili Appreciation Society International. They are a charity organization based upon chili cook-offs. You see, each chili contestant pays $10-$20 to submit their chili in the over 500 chili cook-offs every year. The prize for the winning chilis are "CASI points", if a contestant gets 15 or more CASI points within the year, they are eligible to cook-off at the Terlingua International Chili Championship. CASI boasts of giving over 1 million dollars to charities each year, the bulk of which is raised in Texas.]

I looked CASI up online and found Lynn's recipe, from 1988. A week later I went shopping for all the packaged ingredients I needed and gave it a go. My chili ended up just as good as some of those cook-off chilis, so I can be sure sweet Lynn recorded the true recipe. As you can see from the photo and the ingredient list, this is far from our whole foods cooking ideal. And that's ok. Texas chili is an evolving and curious creature. For a whole foods version of competition chili, you would need to blenderize your cooked vegetables, which according to the old-timers at the Geronimo VFW, adds an unpredictable and unreproducible element that won't get you to the championships.

The lessons I am taking away from this experience is:

1. Know the rules before you enter a competition.

2. Just 'cause it wins a championship doesn't mean it's better than the way mamma cooks it.

3. VFW hall = fabulous.

Lynn Hejtmancik - Austin, Texas (1988)

http://www.chili.org/lynn.html

Ingredients

2 lbs - "Chili Grind" Beef Chuck Roast

1 tbsp - Bacon Grease

Bag #1

3 tbsp - Chili Powder

1 tsp - Garlic Powder

2 tsp - Onion Powder

1/2 tsp - Black Pepper

1/2 tsp - Salt

1/2 tsp - Cayenne Pepper

Bag #2

3 tbsp - Chili Powder

1 tbsp - Cumin

2 tsp - Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp - White Pepper

1/2 tsp - Oregano Powder

Pinch - Basil

1/2 tsp - MSG (Optional)

Other Ingredients

1 can (14-1/2 oz) Swanson Chicken Broth

1 can (14-1/2 oz) Swanson Beef Broth

1 can (8 oz) Hunts "No Salt Added" Tomato Sauce

1 Knorr Beef Bullion Cube

1/2 tsp - Light Brown Sugar

Cooking Instructions

Heat Bacon Grease in cooking pot until very hot (smoking)

Add "Room Temperature" meat, grey until it starts to make it's own juice

Stir continuously, add both cans of broth, and 1/2 of Bag #1

Cook covered at a medium boil for 45 minutes

Uncover and stir every 10 minutes

Add water as needed

After 45 minutes, add the rest of Bag #1

Add tomato sauce is tender, and add Bag #2

Add 1 beef bullion cube

Add 1/2 tsp light brown sugar

Use the following to season to taste:

Salt

Cayenne Pepper - for hot front taste

White Pepper - for hot front taste

Brown Sugar - for a sweeter taste

Ready to eat - Better the next day