Passion for all-American chili

I love making chili, and I have made more than my share.

During the past decade I’ve created chili recipes, competed in a chili cook-off and even opened a chili parlor in Denver called the Squad Car Cafe & Chili Parlor: Chili so good, it’s a crime.

I’m not alone in my passion. Chili is an all-American dish in all its variations. In many ways, chili could be regarded as America’s stew.

Food historians say that chili was invented in the mid-1800s in San Antonio. In the late 1800s, it fostered a cottage industry of sorts with the advent of chili queens. Women with small carts would set up tables and sell chili late into the evening in the city’s mercado, an outdoor marketplace that had few rules and lots of rule-breakers. The chili queens toiled until 1943, when health regulations forced them to close down.

Some early chilies were a blend of dried beef, beef fat, chili powder, spices and salt compressed into blocks. The salt acted as a preservative, and prospectors carried the dried blocks as far as California, then reconstituted the chili with water and ate it months after it originally was made.

Today, chili is the official dish of Texas, but it has moved far beyond the state’s borders. In “Chili Nation” (Broadway Books), Jane and Michael Stern offer recipes from all 50 states. Those are just a drop in the bucket. There are countless versions of chili, along with perhaps thousands of chili cook-offs, where cooks compete for money or bragging rights.

Generally, today’s chili is a thick, gravy-based stew containing meat, onions, tomatoes and spices. Many versions feature beans, although chili purists abhor their inclusion. I like chili either way.

America’s stew is similar to most stews of the world. It has a foundation to which varied ingredients are combined with gentle and deliberate simmering. Like most great stews, chili is better the next day and even better the day after that.

Some like it hot, others not. From bells to jalapenos, Anaheims to habaneros, chili peppers are a common ingredient.

I believe chili is about overall flavor, not the intensity of the peppers. That’s not to say I like bland chili. Indeed, I insist on some heat, a bit of sweat on the brow. You won’t find me adding hot sauce to a bowl of commercially prepared chili, but a dash of crushed red pepper can throttle it up.

With winter upon us, remember that when it is chilly, it’s easy to warm up to a bowl of chili.

Bison (buffalo) red chili

2 pounds ground bison

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green bell pepper

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