Around 1986, the good Senator from New Mexico, Pete Domenici introduced a bill before the U.S. Congress making chili “America’s Original Dish”. Now that made sense ‘cause any other dish really comes from somewhere else…”American as Apple Pie”… Naw, that’s just apple strudel dressed down…”Texas BBQ”, Nope that’s only European smoked meats with wet stuff on it. The fact of the matter is, the good Senator was right…Chili is an American original. The ‘Chili Bill’ not only placed chili in history, it also was the most productive thing to pass Congress since FDR. Now I know all this is so, because the good Senator invited Six Gun Chili Mixin's (includin’ Yours Truly) to Washington to feed those Congress folks the peak of the chili makers art.
Most Folks think chili is Mexican. A Mexican cook book from the 1920’s puts it this way…”Chile, is a vile Texas stew, falsely attributed to Mexico”. A bit harsh but it’s true. There’s two versions of the birth of chili, so take your pick. In the 1840’s when trail drives commenced, the wagon cooks would gather a small fiery pepper (chile paquines) that grew wild around the Rio Grand. When the beef started getting’ a bit raunchy the cook would throw a handful of peppers in the stew and the cowboys lapped it up. The other version is in the early 1850’s in San Antonio, the prison cooks added peppers to their bad beef but had to quit when prisoners broke back into jail for a bowl of red.
Of course by now you’ve come to realize how lucky you are…you actually own a piece of American History…you will become respected and revered for your knowledge of history and expertise around the chili pot…all these blessings are bestowed upon the grateful by ‘Original Six Gun Chili Mixin’s’!
A B R I E F H I S T O R Y O F C H I L I
