The REAL State Dish of Texas, part one
Photo by Sean P. Twomey
Ah, Texas, where the yellow rose and the bluebonnets bloom, where the Alamo is remembered, where George Strait’s exes live, where both the Lone Star and the stars at night are big and bright and where, some say, three legendary foods were born: chili, BBQ, and Tex-Mex.
This three-part series takes a deep dive into each of these foods and their ties to the Lone Star State. Join us on this culinary expedition through Texas and U.S. history as we explore the legitimacy of these claims and discover which of these are authentically Texan.
First up, chili. We begin our journey with a trip to San Antonio in the 1800s. Food historians generally agree that chili was a commonly available Texas food by the latter half of the 19th century, but they generally disagree about where and how this dish of meat and peppers originated. Some reference extraordinary native stories of a Spanish nun whose spirit visited the New World, imparting the recipe for chili in the process; some suggest that chili evolved from an Aztec dish using meat and spices. Nearly all of them agree that the first records of the dish would have it originate somewhere around the Texas/Mexico border.
While chili is definitely called chili (or chile, or even chilly) by the mid-1800s, there are plenty of references to a chili-like dish in the decades prior. Sprinklings of comments in documents throughout the 1800s, describing dishes-that-sound-like-chili, have caused us to wonder whether it didn’t originate much earlier than once thought. For example, in 1828, 17 years before Texas became a state, the journal of a visiting J.C. Clopper describes “a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat…all stewed together.” Clopper didn’t call this dish “chili,” but what else could this be but chili? Meat and peppers stewed together with other seasonings is essentially how chili has been descried throughout the 20th century, give or take the addition of beans, which is its own discussion/debate.
(For the record, we stand with the historians who think chili has been around since the early 1800s, and we also stand with beans.)
By the late 1800s, a group of ladies in San Antonio known as the “Chili Queens” served stewed meat with chili peppers as “chili con carne.” With the expansion of the American West, the growth of the railroad, and the rise of the ranchers and cowboys, it’s not surprising that chili also became more widespread.
The next stop in our journey must be the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, the fair was meant to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage of discovery. Its attractions covered 690 acres and included cultural presentations from more than 46 countries, and it is estimated that around 27 million attendees visited the exposition. These fair-goers were introduced to scientific discoveries, architectural and artistic designs, advances in transportation and technology, cultural experiences and novelty foods. 34 states welcomed attendees to their pavilions with highlights from their state, which included regional food specialties, flora and fauna. Included among these regional delicacies was the “San Antonio Chili Stand,” where visitors enjoyed sampling the savory Texan dish.
Following the World’s Fair, places that served chili spread throughout the U.S., and not long after that chili found its way into American homes. Canned ingredients like Ro-tel tomatoes with chilis and specialty spices became widely available, so home cooks could recreate the popular dish in their own kitchen. National cookbooks, like the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, regularly featured a Chili Con Carne recipe by the 1950s and 1960s.
By 1964, chili was so widespread that the Gentry Serenader printed a page containing the chili recipes of both presidential candidates with the headline, “Both Candidates Like Chili! Which One Gets Your Vote?” The article, which ran a month before that year’s election, pits President Johnson’s Pedernales River Chili recipe against Senator Goldwater’s Chili. It’s President Johnson’s recipe that we would have chosen, and perhaps it’s what won him the election.
At this point in American culinary history, chili was no longer exclusively associated with Texas. Regional recipes—again, with and without beans—had popped up throughout the United States. A group of Texan politicians, however, wanted to preserve the Lone Star State’s legacy as the birthplace of chili. Cosponsored by Representative Ben Zane “Chili Bean” Grant, the resolution proposing chili as Texas’ State Dish passed and was officially signed by Governor Dolph Brisco in 1977.
Now, almost 50 years later, chili continues to be a staple of Texan cuisine, and its legacy is celebrated annually. Perhaps the most prestigious of these events is the State Fair of Texas chili cook-off, which, according to Texas Cooking, have been held since 1952. In recent years, this annual event in Dallas, Texas, has been called the Big Tex BBQ and Chili Challenge, which is why we plan to explore BBQ’s legacy in Texas in the next part of our series.
Looking back on chili’s history, the most striking thing we noted was the eagerness of Texans to share this dish with the rest of the growing United States and the world. We believe it’s because they knew they had something pretty special on their hands.
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