Chili con carne
Spicy stew of Mexican origin with meat and chili.
Chili con carne, commonly called chili, is a spicy stew with Mexican roots. It typically includes chili peppers (often as chili powder), beef, tomatoes, and beans, with possible additions like garlic, onions, and cumin. The specific meats and ingredients vary by region and personal preference, and the dish sparks strong debates among enthusiasts—some argue that true chili should contain only the basic elements, without beans or tomatoes. Chili is a popular choice for cook-offs and can be served as a side dish, frequently topped with cheese or salsa.
The dish’s origins trace back to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City), where a Franciscan friar, Bernardino de Sahagún, began his work in the 1540s and compiled the Florentine Codex between 1547 and 1577, documenting stews seasoned with chili peppers. Beef became the primary meat after the Spanish introduced cattle to Mexico. For centuries, Mexican cowboys (rancheros) mostly ate dried salted beef called tasajo or cecina, which was used in a red chili sauce stew known as carne con chile. This meal was cheap and easy to prepare, common across much of Mexico.
In 1826, English naval officer George Francis Lyon described eating dried beef in chili sauce with rancheros near Pánuco, Veracruz. He noted the rancheros skillfully cut the meat into strips, salted it, and hung it to dry in the sun, then breakfasted on dry meat with chili sauce and hot tortillas. French colonist Mathieu de Fossey had a similar experience in 1831 near Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, where he was served tasajo cooked with chili, beans, and tortillas. He remarked that the dried meat often had an unpleasant smell and taste despite the careful drying process.
Scottish noblewoman Frances Erskine Inglis, in her 1843 book *Life in Mexico*, wrote about eating a dish called embarrado—a mix of meat and chili—during a rodeo in Hidalgo in 1840. She found the meat cooked under stones smoky and unappealing, but also noted other foods like boiled fowl, chili, tortillas, and atole. American traveler Theodore Taylor Johnson, in 1849, described eating carne con chile colorado in San Blas, Nayarit—jerked beef stewed with onions and cayenne pepper, served with beans and tortillas.
The Spanish term "chile con carne" first appears in print in 1850 in the San Antonio Ledger.
Quick Facts
- Country
- Mexico / United States
- Course
- Main
- Main Ingredient
- Chili peppers, meat, tomatoes, beans, spices
- Variations
- Vegetarian chili, chili verde, white chili
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In writings from the 1540s to 1577, Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún described chili pepper-seasoned stews eaten in the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The use of beef as the primary meat originated when the Spanish introduced cattle to Mexico. Most beef consumed by rancheros in the 17th–19th centuries was dried salted beef known as tasajo or cecina, used in a stew of red chili sauce called carne con chile. An English naval officer, George Francis Lyon, wrote in 1826 about eating dried beef in chili sauce with rancheros near Pánuco. French colonist Mathieu de Fossey had a similar experience in 1831 in Jáltipan. Scottish noblewoman Frances Erskine Inglis wrote in 1843 about eating embarrado, a composition of meat and chili, at a rodeo in Hidalgo in 1840. American traveler Theodore Taylor Johnson wrote in 1849 about eating carne con chile colorado in San Blas. The earliest known printed use of the term 'chile con carne' appeared in the San Antonio Ledger in 1850, and chili was first introduced to a broad American audience at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
Reader's Guide
Chili con carne became commonly prepared in northern Mexico and southern Texas, largely originating with working-class Tejana and Mexican women. The 'chili queens' of San Antonio, Texas, were famous for selling their chili-flavored beef stew. The San Antonio Chili Stand at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago helped popularize chili across the United States. Before World War II, hundreds of small, family-run chili parlors existed throughout Texas and other states. By 1904, chili parlors opened outside Texas due to commercial chili powder. Cincinnati chili, developed by Macedonian and Greek immigrants, dates to at least 1922. The dish's ingredients provoke disputes: some insist chili applies only to the basic dish without beans and tomatoes. Beans have been associated with chili since the early 20th century, but the Chili Appreciation Society International forbids beans in official competitions. Tomatoes are also debated; Wick Fowler insisted on adding tomato sauce. Chili con carne was designated the official dish of Texas in 1977.
Did You Know?
- The term 'chile con carne' is first recorded in a book from 1857 about the Mexican–American War.
- A recipe from the 1850s describes dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers and salt pounded into bricks and dried, then boiled in army encampments in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
- The San Antonio Chili Stand at the 1893 Columbian Exposition gave many Americans their first taste of chili.
- Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, DC, founded in 1958, is a significant local institution, though the Washington Post called its food 'awful' in a 2016 review.
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