And don’t say beans or I’ll reach through the internet and punch you in the face.
SALT, garlic, onion, tomatoes, and obviously beans, your threat be damned it’s the right call
Legumes.
I smite thee in thy countenance from across the internetwork.
Ouchie, got me right in the TCP stack
Careful, thats region dependent. You’re likely to get attacked if you add beans to chili in some parts.
“Add” beans to chili? It’s a bean dish! The main ingredient is beans!
Fuck regions, I cook for tasty not tradition
If it ain’t a five way why bother
Beans aren’t legumes homie, peanuts are though…
Beans. Punch away. I would take the meat out of chili before the beans.
Tomatoes or tomato paste, spoonful of unsweetened chocolate, some red wine. And why the heck did you not start with an onion?
What, why not beans? I know beans was a meme on Lemmy a while back, but it’s a legit part of a chilli recipe.
Serious question.
I just don’t like beans; it’s the texture. Also there’s a debate in more serious chili circles whether chili ought to have beans. At the end of the day I don’t care as long as I don’t have to eat it.
Fair enough! It’s your meal, and even if it were completely uncontroversial that beans need to be in chilli, if you don’t like beans you don’t include them!
Beans (and rice, lentils, breadcrumbs, etc) are banned from chili competitions, because they’re considered filler. So no, it’s not a legit part of a chili recipe. If you have beans in it, as far as a chili competition is concerned, you just made some really thick bean soup.
I’m pretty sure OP is making chili to eat, not for a competition.
They’re also required in chili competitions, so…
Traditional Red - no beans
Verde - no beans
Homestyle - requires beans, and they must be “clearly visible on the top”
People’s choice - requires beans
You can compete in traditional/Verde, but are generally required to also make one with beans for peoples choice: https://chilicookoff.com/uploads/2025-26-ICS-Chili-Rules.pdf
Beans, mf
Fucking BEANS is the answer
And onion, garlic, tomato, Bell pepper
But LOTS OF BEANS is the most correct answer
Agreed. Lentils can also be good if you wanna make it last longer but if you’re going all traditional chilli, its all beans dawg. Kidney beans, pinto and black beans are all good choices.
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Cumin to ground it.
Perhaps a tsp of cocoa for some mystery Cincinnati.No no no! I don’t know who started this fucking thing, Cincinnati chili has never contained cocoa. I literally live here, and I’ve heard it from tons of transplants and natives alike. No chili parlor here uses it, no recipes I’ve seen use it.
Not a Cincinnati guy, but I have eaten chili there and made my own, and I’m gonna second that
But I do add some cocoa powder to my regular chili recipe, and people rave about it. Sounds a bit weird, but consider, for a momento the existence of Mexican Mole sauces that often contain chocolate. I’m not adding much, it doesn’t taste chocolatey, but it does add something nice to the whole flavor profile.
Adding it to Cincinnati style chili wouldn’t be traditional, but I could definitely see it working very well with the flavor profile if you didn’t care about making it authentic
Hence, *mystery*….
Oh yeah? Well I live in Cleveland! Here’s some chocolate, because we have the better food! Not to mention the romanburger!
garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chopped onion, minced garlic, SALT, black pepper, Worcestershire, soy sauce, bay leaves, paprika, tomato paste, ground ginger
Red kidney beans for sure I’m serious
The skins are too tough. Navy, pinto, lima, go for softer beans. Not garbanzos that’s the wrong flavor profile
beans
Beans, peppers, garlic, salt, black pepper, onions, corn, beans, more beans, cumin, possibly some ground pork, as well as beans.
Also, tomato paste, some hot sauce, and beans!!!
Cumin
Coriander
In addition to my advice on your bloody Mary abomination chili
Around 10 or 15 years ago, I learned this chili recipe from this comic I probably found on Reddit. It has always served me well, and it is the basis for how I make chili today
To this recipe I also add some chili peppers, usually jalapenos (because otherwise it’s not chili)
A can of chipotles in adobo
I’ve tweaked the ratios spice blend a bit to my taste and added a bit of cocoa powder and cinnamon.
It should probably be noted that I tend to make bigger batch, often working with 2-5lbs of meat (and I prefer coarse ground or something even finely cubed meat as opposed to regular grocery store ground meat)
I usually have 2 or 3 different cans of beans in mine because I like beans
I’ll usually do 2 or 3 bell peppers, usually of different colors
Some bacon, some chorizo
Screw that “a shot of beer” it gets a whole can. Occasionally wine instead if that’s what I’m drinking while I’m cooking.
Often some coffee and/or various liquors (whiskey, rum, tequila, or Brandy)make their way into the mix at some point. Sometimes there’s beef stock involved.
I also pay really fast and loose about what canned tomato products go into my pot, whole, crushed, diced, sauce, doesn’t matter too much, it’s all gonna cook down into unrecognizable red-brown deliciousness by the time I’m done. Just try to get roughly that sort of ratio of tomato products to beef
For bonus points, get your cowboy on and do this in a pot hanging from a tripod over a campfire.
Normally I end up letting this simmer for up to around 6 hours. If it starts looking too thick/dry, add some liquid, usually beer in my case.
Credit for the original recipe: cookingcomically.com
One correction to your recipe: the correct amount of beer is one full (bottle||can) plus one drop from a second. Then drink the rest.
Also, if you have the time, cut steak into 3/4" cubes and sear all six sides. Place in a plastic bag and cover with tequila. Place in the fridge for 24 hours or so and the alcohol will denature the proteins, giving an amazing texture.
A bottle of India Pale Ale. A variety of beans: butter, kidney, northern, lentils, etc.
Update: It turns out I had more time than I thought to make the chili. Since everyone had a viscerally negative reaction to my use of bloody mary mix, I swapped it out, though I’m not sure my substitution will fare any better, namely V8 juice and tomato paste.
