"I Shot the Sheriff"

Well, he deserved to be shot! I decided to go with the 1950s "famous" (infamous?) chili recipe called Texas Jail Chili. It looked like it had potential. The blurb about it said:

Texas prison chili got its good reputation

from Sheriff Smoot Schmid's truly fine

recipe for the Dallas County Jail.

Right off the bat there was no way I was going to use suet. I increased the ground beef to 2 1/2 pounds to compensate. It all went downhill from there. My husband came to my rescue and added diced tomatoes, tomato paste, more seasonings, sour cream, and corn chips. He also added light red kidney beans. Since he was bailing me out, I certainly wasn't going to object to the beans.

So, if you want to see one of the MANY recipes for chili that was around in the 1950s, be my guest. Then, go and make your favorite recipe and we'll never speak of this again.

Texas Jail Chili (Circa 1950)

1/2 pound beef suet -- ground
2 pounds coarse ground beef
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried sweet chile pods
3 cups water

Fry suet in a heavy kettle. Add meat, finely diced garlic and seasonings; cover. Cook slowly for four hours, stirring occasionally. Add the water and continue cooking until the chili has thickened slightly, about one hour. Serve plain or mixed with equal portion of cooked pink or red beans.

(I should have opened a can of Hormel...)

No, no, no!!!

I went grocery shopping yesterday right before a night meeting. I asked the bagger to put all the cold things together in a paper bag and the rest in plastic bags because I was planning to put the paper bag in the frig at the meeting. She did...or so I thought.

I retrieved the paper bag and we made our way home. I put the bag into my frig and left the rest on the floor in the kitchen to be put away today. (It was late.) This afternoon (after being out all morning) I began to put the drygoods items away. And then it happened.

I discovered that UNDER the two loaves of bread was my ground beef! It (thankfully!) was contained and not bleeding all over my floor, but I was upset. That was for tonight's supper (Savory Meatloaf) and tomorrow's 1950s recipe chili!! I was horrified. (The manager of the store said I could get a replacement by bringing in my receipt. Excellent store.)

Tonight is now leftovers. Since I was scrambling to get supper for my son, bath, bedtime, etc., I couldn't run out to the store. I'll ask my husband to stop and bring home the bacon, I mean beef.

I really want to try out the chili! I COULD just open a can of Hormel's as advertised in this 1956 ad, but I want to use an authentic recipe.


I have two recipes to choose from. One is called "Texas Jail Chili" from the 1950s and includes suet (which is not going to happen). The other is called "Joe Cooper's Chili" from his 1952 book, With or Without Beans: An Informal Biography of Chili.

Apparently a huge debate began in the 50s (according to this book, anyway) about whether or not beans were ORIGINALLY intended to be included in chili. His premise is that they were added during the depression and war years to "stretch" the meal.

In our house, my husband believes in beans and I don't. I cook the beans on the side and he ladles the chili over them. Sometimes I'm nice and cook them together. I like the bean FLAVOR, but really don't like the texture. I also like a mixture of ground beef and cubed beef. Oh, and diced potatoes. My husband says I'm making "Chili Soup," not real chili.

If you've read my blogs for very long you know that I like polls. So, do you serve your chili WITH or WITHOUT beans? It doesn't matter why--we have a right to our taste choices!

Tomorrow night I'll post the recipe I end up making. I decided to use a crockpot as I'll be out all day tomorrow. I know the crockpot isn't from 1958, but just pretend you don't know...