I saw a commercial on TV that said "Wolf Brand" Chili was the "state chili" or official chili of Texas. I tried it. Nasty! The only resemblance to real chili is the color. I think I know what part of the wolf they crammed in that can!

__________________
War Eagle!!!

Store bought chile in a can is no different then that"gourmet" USDA Canner Grade" mystery meat by-product called SPAM. th_sick0020.gif

Gebhardts was better but they don't make chili anymore. Burns me off as it was my favorite chili.

__________________
_It was love at first shot_

Wolf brand chili is only good when on sale andthen used as a topping for hot dogs with lots of shredded cheese and celery salt.

I'll guarantee you that the only people who call that stuff the official chili of Texas are the ones in the commercial and the ones who work for Wolf. Gee, guys, if your favorite chili comes out of a can, I just really don't know what say about that. It's sad.

__________________
Wayne
Torn & Frayed

AHHAAHAH, mister, you just made my whole day!

__________________
Halfway and one more step

They are the same folks who say real salsa comes from New York City.

One of my favorite misconceptions === The ONLY meat in SPAM is pork shoulder.
SPAM is pork shoulder and some proprietary spices.

You won't believe what Jello is

__________________
In dog years I'm dead.

Horse's hooves. I still eat it once in a while.

When I was in the Army, they told us that SPAM was made of Shoulder Parts and hAM. They also told me that they were going to make me "be all that I could be" shortly before they decided I was going to be an "Army of One". Yeah, I know a budget cut when I see one.


Regards.

Dave

I saw the commercial and said to the wife "what do you think, let's try it". Oh my aching butt, that stuff is downright NASTY! Any, and I mean ANY similarity to chilli is purely coincidental. Don't think I'd even ruin a hot dog with it.

__________________
Dick

Wow, I am SO glad to read this thread. Being a Northerner and all, I saw the commercial on TV and thought..."now that must be some good stuff, knowin' as to how Texans love to brag up their chili...". OOPS! I had lost a lot of respect until I see now that they were downright lyin'. How's about we turn this into a "The REAL Favorite Chili of Texas" recipe thread???

I can guarantee you one thing, the REAL Favorite Chili of Texas doesn't come out of a can. It doesn't have beans either and if you want to really get to splittin' hairs, it doesn't have tomatoes either. All that reddish color comes from chilies. If you ever get down Terlingua way and have some of that chili they put up down in the desert you'll never be the same.

Texans don't use beans or tomatoes in their chili???

What the heck is left? Meat? Is that it?

Up here we call that barbecue or steak. It's meat that's cooked with seasonings.

Chili has beans in it. I know because I eat it.

Chili isn't supposed to have noodles in it but my momma used to put them in to make more food for us kids as we were poor. I won't fault my momma for feeding us as best she could.

Chili without beans.... Y'all maybe got too much sun on yer heads.

__________________
Kirk / Spock 2020

You want Chili recipes?

Here are a couple of hundred: Chili recipes - Man Tested Recipes

__________________
Corripe Cervisiam

Make it your way, to your taste--it's not difficult! One thing I've learned, though, is that chili is always better the second day, like my homemade-from-scratch-and-roasted-soup-bones vegetable soup.

My vegetable soup and a piece of good cornbread or some biscuits will keep you on your feet felling trees, whether you much want to be or not...

As a native Texan I can ASSURE you that no body from Texas with even one taste bud in his mouth would agree that any canned Chili is the state chili. In fact that entire concept is bogus. There ain't no such thing as the state chili that I ever heard of.

But while we are on the subject I'll say that my chili would be a viable candidate for such honors should it ever come to pass that we had a state chili. I call it Walkin' Jack's 3-day chili. See, it takes me 3 days to make it.

"How long as it been since YOU had a big steamin' bowl for Wolf Brand chili?" Well I ain't NEVER had a bowl of that swill steamin or otherwise. I did taste a spoon full once. Spent the rest of the day spittin' the taste out of my mouth.

I love chili and have tried about every storebought brand and was totally disappointed with all of them, and if it comes out of can it will not touch my hot dog, I would rather do without. Braums stores sell a frozen brick of chili that is pretty good for hot dogs, but most restaurants I've tried don't even sell good chili.

Now, really when it comes down to it, there are a lot of chilis in Texas that have beans and tomato products in it. But, tournament chili, does not. You won't win any chili contests with beans or any other type of vegetable showing up in it. Personally, my chili, which people tell me all the time, that I should enter the local contest, has beans and tomato products in it. I put tomato paste and ketchup in mine, it sweetens and balances the flavor. I would never use any bean but pintos, any other bean is inferior. I pulse them in the food processor slightly, so you only find one once and a while, and it thickens the pot nicely. NO CINNAMON!! One thing about most bad chilis(like canned) is that you can "adjust" it. Add a pound of cooked chili meat (not hamburger) some more chili powder or cumin, and that "Wolf like" chili can almost pass for adequate.

__________________
Wayne
Torn & Frayed

That's like saying people in Louisiana don't eat crawfish!

__________________
How many guns are too many?

It doesn't really matter how it tastes. Good, bad, or otherwise, the important thing about real chili is that it plants you on the commode for a painful session in self-pity the following day.

__________________
Why, I aughta.....

"I would never use any bean but pintos, any other bean is inferior."

Damn straight! If, perish the thought, I could only have one kind of bean for the rest of my life it would be the pinto. Fortunately I don't have to make that choice.

For those of you who are devotees of tomato-less, beanless Texas red, what kinds of meat do you use? I think I remember reading somewhere that in parts of Texas they sell precut mixed chili meat that includes goat. I'd love to try that sometime, but in this town you can only find goat in a few places, mostly where they sell halal meats.

Ruger Nut



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I make my ground chuck chili with kidney beans and 'maters. I even throw sausage AND crawfish in it sometimes.
And, I like Wendy's chili also. There, I said it!
__________________


I still stand behind this statement.

__________________
How many guns are too many?

Dang, Ruger nut, if you add rice to that mess, you have jambalaya.

__________________
Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Maybe your Mom was just ahead of her time? A lot of people
like Chili Mac, & here in Oklahoma(& in lots of other places I'm
sure)they serve whats called a "three way" , which is spaghetti
noodles covered with chili, cheese & onions. It's pretty good!

__________________
Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

Ya'll can take this thread anywhere ya want to..its OK with me. Speakin of store bought chili, I do admit to cuttin up some venison into little pieces and frying it a bit. Then I take the meat drippins and make a bit of gravy with it. Then, I open up a bag of "Carrol Shelby's Honest to God Texas Chili mix" and basically follow the directions adding the spices, the cayenne and the mesa flour. Not bad for quick chili.

__________________
War Eagle!!!

I tried Wolf once....Threw away the chili and chewed on the can 'cause it tasted better.
Beans are a add-on to chili, just like crackers, cheese, Tabasco, or vinegar. Put 'em in after the chili goes in the bowl if you want 'em, but not before. For all you bean snobs, pintos are very good, but if you try black beans you might be surprised.

Use the Shelby's but leave out the beans, and leave the meat cubed about the size of stew meat (about 1" to 1 1/2" cubes). Add some fresh peppers (bell & jalapeno or other hot), onions diced fairly large, fresh cilantro, add'l fresh garlic, some fresh ground coriander seed. SLOW cook until very tender (add water or chicken broth, if needed). Wrap in a tortilla with LOTS of cheese.

With all due respect to all of the above posters, but
perhaps, just perhaps Wolf Brand as bad as it tastes really
is the preferred taste of the majority of Texans?

(I remember stopping at a Mexican beanery in Sanderson, TX,
on my way to Terlingua where the chili just might have been the
prototype for Wolf Brand.)

I LIKE IT!

__________________
How many guns are too many?

Store bought is never as good as authentic (any food). It can come close and be pretty good, but it's not the same.

It's like trying to pass Mrs. T's off as pierogis. (Pronounced pyrohi, emphasis on the O)

__________________
- The Federalist #46 -

No "bean snob" here---never met a bean I didn't like except the red kidney kind. Too sweet. I like black beans, small red beans, Anasazi, Great Northern and navy beans. Love lentils (not technically a bean, I guess) and blackeyed peas. But in the unthinkable event that I could choose only one it would be the pinto.

I'm a good po' folks cook. I can live forever on various combinations of beans and grain. Butter beans and cornbread...

Now you're treading on dangerous ground!

__________________
Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

Got snooker'd into a bite of some canned chili once.............

Had to chew on an Indian turnip fur a week to jest get the taste outta my mouth, dang it




.

__________________
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Wolf and most other canned chilli is Terrible.

However I can recommend the WalMart brand Great Value labeled Chili, either with beans or without, whichever you prefer.

It is actually very good, it is the best canned chili I have ever eaten.

Also EVERY Great Value canned vegetable I have tried has been better than most all other name brands, and better than any other store brands.

I would not believe this, if I had not eaten and cooked the Great Value brand my myself.

NEW YORK CITY!?


...get a rope.

I happen to like Wolf brand chili but no, it's nowhere's near what I can make myself. Love it on hot dogs.

I got a big pot of antelope chile cooking right now.

Jackrabbit chile's pretty good too.

Y'all have forgotten what Chili started off as and that was seasoning the snot out of tough/old/almost spoiled/gamey or otherwise foul tasting meat so you could get it down.Put enough ground chiles and mesa into the pot and even javelina would go down

__________________
Forum consigliere

I sometimes eat Hormel canned Chili (No Beans), but I add more spices and I crumble up left over grilled burgers in it so that it has enough flavorful meat in it.

__________________
Corripe Cervisiam

Chili
I don't care what Texans, Mexicans, or anyone else says. If it ain't got beans in it, I don't want it.

Spam
Love it! If you had it in the service and didn't like it...Trust me, that greasy, salty, tastless, nasty pinkish, low bid **** was NOT real Spam.

Food in general
Never ask what it is....If it tastes good, eat it.

"LostLake" pretty much told my story, too.
I grew up thinking that chili had spaghetti, kidney beans,
not nuch meat, stewed tomatoes that we had put up, and
was bland as could be. After getting out into the world,
I've found out how wonderful real chili is. Still miss my
Mom's variety.
TACC1

Spam was one of mom's quick suppers when I was a kid...a pineapple ring on top and a Maraschino cherry tooth picked in the center...baked in the oven.

Hormel assures me the shelf life is as good as the seal of the can... the "use by" date only has to do with best flavor. Spam is one of my shtf storage foods.

I prefer the "Spam Lite"..can't stand the Turkey.

At least your nether parts'll never be the same!

I didn't know that one could even buy chili in a can, until I read this thread.

Sounds like you did some time in Vietnam, possibly in Montangnard country. I'm told rat is delicious.

Chili is the Official State Dish of Texas, but Wolf brand is no more official than Lone Star is the National Beer of Texas or Dodge is the Official State Truck.All these titles are purely born commercially. Dogging someones favorite chili is on par with telling your best friend that his mom's potato salad sucks or someone's grandmaw's gumbo isn't fit to eat. If you go to 100 different places you will get all three 100 different ways. My friend that did the pro chili circuit for many years including the World Championship in Terlingua said the contest rules chili wasn't fit to eat and everyone made good home style chili on the side for eating. As far as adding beans it's personal preference as we grew up with them ,all the kids add them and the grand babies like them. I've had it beans/no beans,2 legged critter,4 legged critter,slithering critter,too hot,too mild,just right,with/without rice,over,under and in other dishes and I can't remember any that I hated. I'm sure everyone has their favorite and that is to be respected-after all it is the Official Dish of Texas.

__________________
KMAG YOYO

An oldie, but still a good one!

Frank: "Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a chili cooking contest. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the Coors Light truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted." Here are the scorecards from the advent:

(Frank Judge #3)

Chili # 1 Eddie's Maniac Monster Chili...
Judge # 1 --! A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.

Judge # 2 -- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.

Judge # 3 -- (Frank) What the hell is this stuff?! You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put out the flames. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy!


Chili # 2 Austin's Afterburner Chili...

Judge # 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.

Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor; needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

Judge # 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.


Chili # 3 Ronny's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili...

Judge # 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick. Needs more beans.

Judge # 2 -- A beanless chili, a bit salty, good use of peppers.

Judge # 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now.
Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting pie-eyed from all of the beer...

Chili # 4 Dave's Black Magic...

Judge # 1 -- Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.

Judge # 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish, or other mild foods; not much of a chili.

Judge # 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 300-lb. woman is starting to look HOT...just like this nuclear waste I'm eating! Is chili an aphrodisiac?

Chili # 5 Lisa's Legal Lip Remover...

Judge # 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.

Judge # 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne ! peppers make a strong statement.

Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead, and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw those rednecks.


Chili # 6 Pam's Very Vegetarian Variety...

Judge # 1 -- Thin, yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices and peppers.

Judge # 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, a! nd garlic. Superb.

Judge # 3 -- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulphuric flames. I pooped on myself when I farted and I'm worried it will eat through the chair! No one seems inclined to stand behind me anymore. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone.

Chili # 7 Carla's Screaming Sensation Chili...

Judge # 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.

Judge # 2 -- Ho-hum; tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. **I should take note that I am worried about Judge # 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress, as he is cursing uncontrollably.

Judge # 3 -- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava to match my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me.
I've decided to stop breathing; it's too painful. Screw it; I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.

Chili # 8 Karen's Toenail Curling Chili...

Judge # 1 -- The perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili. Not too bold, but spicy enough to declare its existence.

Judge # 2 -- This final entry is a good, balanced ! chili. Neither mild, nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge # 3 farted, passed out, fell over, and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself.
Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor fella, wonder how he'd have reacted to really hot chili?"

Judge # 3 -- Oh God.........

I thought it was SPiced hAM.

A friend who was a Marine said some locals welcomed them to share a meal , which they found out was some type of DOG! They didn't care because they hadn't eaten in over a day and it was so spicy , they couldn't tell anyway. But he said it wasn't all that bad!

One day I was warming up some Hormel chili in a pan on the stove. Then I noticed my old dog, a shepherd/husky mix, sitting up, ears erect, all perky and proud. On the floor next to her was a, erm, deposit. This was very unlike her. She was fastidiously housebroken. Ordinarily, if that ever happened, she would have skulked, ears back, and avoided my gaze.

When I bent down to clean it up, I caught a whiff. Then I went back to the stove and sniffed again. No difference. Misty thought she was contributing. Of course she was proud.

It's been over 25 years, and I have never been able to eat canned chili again.