Texas Chili & The Chili Queens of San Antonio

My mom and I were the ones at the book signing. Her name is Billie and she told you about the San Antonio Chili Queens. Thanks for taking her suggestion! We are both just tickled pink that you included them (and us). By the way, I didn't say at the signing that you have a remarkable gift for languages!

As a native of San Antonio, my rule of thumb on beans and chili: If the chili is using chunks of beef, then no beans. If the chili is using ground beef, then beans are a necessity to add some texture.

It is so interesting. I am Hungarian, and we make our meat stews exactly like this chili is made. The only difference is in the paprika. We use our famous sweet noble paprika powder and we add it in with the meat. Such a lovely dish! 😍

As a man with a TexMex mother and a Hawaiian father, I love watching the infighting in the chili world. As a young chunk, my bowl of chili ended up with a slice of cornbread, sliced hot dog or spicy sausage, sticky white rice, and of course beans. Pinto and Kidney normally. 😂 She also makes it with tomatoes.

Daughter of a Texan here. My family always put beans in chili. If you're poor in the US South, beans are a great way to stretch meat. Red beans (usually cooked with a ham bone) and cornbread was the Texas "struggle meal" we used to enjoy when I was growing up.

I love that story of the women reclaiming their pots of chilli from the opposing army. I can just hear a lady speaking furiously in Spanish as she walks in, picks up a pot off the fire and walks out again yelling at the men constantly, almost like a mother scolding a child.

You should try Frito Pie, a Texas concoction served at high-school football games. It's Fritos, chili, diced onion & cheese served in the Frito's package. It works in a bowl, too.

I once hired a day laborer who was a young man from Oaxaca, an Indian whose family were farmers. I asked him if his people made "chili" and he said yes, of course. Ingredients? Puerca, arbol, alio, guajillo, pimiento, chili, tomate and frijoles. That is, pork, onion, garlic, guajillo peppers, bell peppers, chili peppers, tomato and BEANS. When I told him about Texas chili he just laughed and asked "What kind of chili is that?" His people had been making chili for hundreds and hundreds of years before the Spanish or Americanos ever arrived. So there, Texas! 6:07

My Dad told me of a BBQ at a Texas ranch when he was a strapping young lad. There was a table with three trays of meat labelled Beef, Pork and Goat. Of course everyone was eating the beef and pork and raving about how good it tasted. My Dad sneaked behind the barn to where he was roasting the meats. And there was nothing but goats being roasted.

My mother (A Hispanic women born and raised in Texas) would have probably referred to this as Chili Colorado, her chili had beans in it and specifically pinto beans, not kidney beans as you will often see called for in recipes. She grew up in a small farming town and it's likely the beans were to stretch out the meal, she also used more onion and crushed tomatoes and big slices of fresh jalapeno.

Beans in chili aren’t just economically and ecologically sound, they’re vindicated by history! Thanks Max!

I had no idea how incomplete my life was before I learned about the Chili Queens of San Antonio. I'm so happy now.

I grew up in San Antonio. My mother and her family were farmers in the 1920s-1930s and would often bring their produce to El Mercado (Farmer's Market) in San Antonio. My mom and uncles shared how they would set up their stands interspaced with the Chili Queen stands, with the troubadours or Mariachis and after the Farmer's closed at noon, would be given some money and they would go to the movie theaters. There they, with all the other kids and youngsters watched the newsreels, serials, and movies for a dime. Soft drinks were a nickel, as were popcorn and peanuts, and hard candy was pennies for sticks or bags. Mom and Dad would have a date at a restaurant sans the kids and they would meet up again at 5 pm, load up the truck and go home.

My grandmother made chili a lot during the Depression and WWII because they grew their own beans, peppers, and tomatoes so it was a fairly cheap and nutritious meal that didn’t use a lot of rationed ingredients. When anyone would comment that Texas chili doesn’t have beans in it, she would say “Well, this isn’t Texas chili, it’s Georgia chili.” I suspect she got the recipe from a women’s magazine or newspaper. I want to add that for Mother’s Day my kids gave me a basket of ingredients like galangal and grains of paradise so I can make recipes from your cookbook.

I'm a native Texan and a devoted fan of yours. You were spot on with this episode and you stole my heart when you said you normally eat cornbread with your chili. (Truth be told, you've had it since I discovered Tasting History a couple of years ago.)

This video is awesome, my family has photos of them since we are San Antonio natives for 5 generations. They have old pictures / news clippings of them selling chili and other things. It is very cool to see that history being represented on your channel! The family is very proud of this heritage and all loved the video! My grandmother owns a bunch of pots they even used back then and they owned a molino where they sold tortillas and tamales as well as "Chili Con Carne" (Little Mexican grocery store)

My Norwegian grandparents moved to Freeport, Texas in the 1920's because my grandfather was a sea captain. My grandmother learned to make local dishes and was an incredible cook. When we grandchildren visited and went to the beach she made a big pot of chili (no beans), wrapped the hot dish in newspaper, and put it in the trunk of the car. After swimming all morning we'd stand around the car trunk in our swimsuits eating spicy chili with saltines. It definitely had a lot of sand blown into it but it was delicious. Food brings back wonderful memories! Thanks Max!

This is just my thought on the Texan exclusion of beans: in the time of my parents and grandparents (going back to the 1920s), in the standard rural Texas home, you pretty much always had a pot of beans, reheating it for every meal. You’d eat chili often, but not nearly as often as beans. So you didn’t cook them together, you made two pots and folks blended (or didn’t) to their taste. My dad likes his chili with beans and crushed saltines, my brother likes his with beans, cheese, and crumbled cornbread, and I like my chili with cheese, and the beans and [carbohydrate] on the side. And when we make beans and chili, we all end up happy!

I’m happy to see Cincinnati chili represented in a chili episode. It’s not ‘meat water,’ it’s really good. But nothing beats a good chili, sour cream, and cheese with cornbread or crackers on the side

As a Texan, a San Antonian, and as someone getting a degree in Texas history, I appreciate this video very much. Also I appreciate the Volcarona in the video. Also I'll eat chili with beans