Heated Debate in Winter! Does REAL Montana Chili Have Beans?

Growing up, there was one part of cold weather snaps that I always looked forward to. Every time the barometric pressure would fall, my dad would bust out the chili pot and mix up some spice. He called it "whatchu got stew." He would simply clean out the fridge and part of the pantry and pour everybody into the pool, taking "whatchu got" and making chili. It would start on the first cold day of fall. You know, the day you are forced to put on a sweater? That would always be my first helping of Dad's chili, a recipe that would progressively get hotter and hotter as the season grew colder and colder. By late January to middle February, Dad's chili recipe would make a firefighter sweat. But, was Dad's dish considered chili, or is it more of a stew?

During the Season 4 finale of the hit show 'Yellowstone', a conversation was brought up in the coveted "Bunkhouse." The cowboys debated on the true form of chili. Jimmy had recently returned from a job in Texas and argued that REAL chili does not contain beans. Of course, he was faced with a ton of backlash, as Montanans have always had their chili with copious amounts of beans. Jimmy says that chili with beans is considered a stew, not chili.

As it turns out, Jimmy makes a solid point when it comes to authentic chili. In Texas, they call it "a bowl of red."

According to The Daily Meal

There’s a saying in Texas: “If you know beans about chili, you know chili ain’t got no beans.” In Texas, “chili” is shorthand for chile con carne, which translates to “chile peppers with meat.”

 

Most people think chili originated in Mexico. In fact, it originated in what would soon be Texas, back in the 1700s.