We loves us some good chili, but some people take the practice of making chili to a whole new level. This article from Cleveland Examiner.com in the Food section talks a whole lot about Texas-style chili, recipes, chili cookoff, and the ever-popular ccookoff competitions for chili chefs:

Texas is known for a lot of things, like wide open spaces, big hearts, and bigger tempers. Nothing heats the blood of a Texan quicker than the subject of chili. Chile peppers may have a long history and are found around the world, but Texans contend chili, that rich, spicy, slow cooked concoction of meat and red chiles (beyond that the ingredients become fightin’ words—try saying “beans” if you don’t believe me) originates in Texas. Regardless of its origin, Texans made the dish a household word.

If Texans like anything better than a good fight it’s supporting a great cause, and chili competitions have become a tradition in benevolence. The three best known charitable championships were once one, but capsaicin-saturated tempers and sheer orneriness brought several partings of the way.

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