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With beans or without?

I'm a beans and meat and tomatoes kind of gal. That said, I haven't made chili in awhile. But I tend to make it vewy spicy and use several kinds of beans.

I really like to mix 1/4 - 1/3 cup masa harina into the chili about 20 minutes before I serve. Thickens it up and gives it a nice, corn-like flavor.

I hate to admit this, but I have found that Wick Fowler's 2 Alarm Chili Kit is identical to my father in law's famous spice mix. Have the butcher make you "chili grind" beef and follow the instructions on the package and add whatever you want after you cook it (beans etc) although here in Texas we never add beans. We serve it over Fritos with grated cheese and chopped white onions at our house.

That sounds interesting, though if it's a "great tenderloin" you might not want to, since chili tends to hide the greatness of the meat. I usually go with ground turkey and some kind of spicy sausage.

When we lived in Miami a friend gave me this recipe from her family's diner/pharmacy which was very popular...the chili that is.
2 lb. ground beef
1 lb. hot pork sausage
1 whole garlic crushed (NOT 1 clove)
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 l/2 tbsp.chili powder
l/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
2-15 oz. cans chopped tomatoes
1 large onion chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
1-6oz. can tomato paste
1-12oz. can V8 Hot...I don't use the "hot"
Salt & Pepper to taste
2-15 oz. cans red kidney beans (drained)

Brown beef & sausage. Pour off excess fat. Add everything but beans.
Bring to boil & cook over low heat (covered) for 1 1/2 hours. Add beans
(drained) and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
Tastes even better the next day.

I made this for a chil contest at work and won by a landslide!

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup chili powder

DIRECTIONS
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)

Any and all of the recipes posted here sound great, but my trick is to add a can of beer (to about 2 lbs. of meat - cubed, by the way, never ground) and simmer for 3-4 hours. Then, refrigerate, let the flavors marry overnight, and when you reheat it the next day, ahhhhhhhhh!

Of course, you'll want to throw some shredded sharp Cheddar on top, and maybe some sour cream, too, as well as chopped onions.

I usually use two types of beef. Ground and stew meat. Makes for a great texture contrast that combined with the spiciness of the chili powder is out of this world. I also use 1 can each of red kidneys and pintos.

i eat my chili with either cornbread or on top of egg noodles.

as for canned vs dried...if you want to use dried make sure you soak them in water that's 3 times theri volume in a fridge overnight-or you can cover them with the same amount of water and boil it for 2 minutes, then let it soak, covered for an hour. after that you wanna drain the beans and put 3 times their volume of fresh water over it again, bring it to a boil, then simmer for anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour-fifteen.