Southern Indiana Hoosier Chili Recipe

There's a chill in the air and the leaves are blanketing the yard in an orange, yellow and red mosiac. It's time to put a pot of chili on the back burner while the leaves are being raked and the gutters are being cleaned. In Indiana, the chili pot comes out when the temperatures dip into the 50's and every cook is ready with their own unique family chili recipe that can vary widely according to the region you live in.

As a young bride in southern Indiana I made chili the way I had been taught; thick with beef, beans and smoky hot chili seasonings in a tomato juice base that cooked all day to be ready to serve "supper". When we moved north of Indianapolis after college, I remember being surprised at how bland the chili was and it had elbow macaroni in it! And when I invited friends to my house for chili suppers they were identically surprised by my spicy thick macaroni free chili!

I still cook chili the same way I learned it as a young girl making it for hardworking farmers on a cold fall or winter afternoon.

Betty's Southern Indiana Hoosier Chili

Ingredients:

1 large yellow or sweet onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 4 cups of tomato juice (or one large can!), 2 (15oz) cans of mild chili beans, 1 t. cumin, (I like Brooks brand but have used whatever, don't use spicy beans!) 2 to 4 T. of a good chili powder blend (but any kind will work), salt and pepper to season, a dash of dried red pepper flakes to taste, and 1 and 1/2 lb of ground chuck.

Method:

Chop the onions in medium dice. Mince the garlic fine. Brown the ground chuck in 1 T. of olive oil and as the beef begins to cook, add the onion and the garlic. Cook until onion and garlic is soft and meat is cooked through. Drain the mixture thoroughly. Return back to the cooking pot. Add 4 cups of tomato juice and 2 cups of water and both cans of chili beans, season to taste, add the chili powder blend to taste (the more you add the smokier flavor) 1 t. cumin powder, and dried red chili pepper to taste.

When adding the chili seasonings, it really is up to you to adjust the quantities of spices for heat. When our children were younger, I left out the red chili pepper until they were older, or if knew we were having guests who weren't used to hot spicy foods. The recipe tastes just fine without the heat. Whatever you do, add chili powder and cumin and use the garlic! It's that combination of chili powder, garlic and cumin that makes this a great chili recipe. Nothing original, but it tastes like fall.

With our homemade chili we serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fritos or corn chips, grated cheddar cheese, or perhaps homemade cornbread!

This recipe adapts well for a crowd, just double up on the ingredients and find a bigger pot!

The history of chili in America is like all culinary history; pretty darn interesting. One of my favorite culinary freak sites is What's Cooking in America, where you can read how chili spread across our country from its Texas roots.

Resources

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chili/ChiliHistory.htm