We make our own good chili when we want a bowl of chili to eat, but we also occasionally want a little chili to put on hot dogs, or I like good tamales with chili on them. I've tried Wolf Brand, Hormel, Great Value, and Bush's canned chili; none of which deserve to be called chili in my opinion.
Does anyone know of a brand of canned chili deserving of the title?
Hey, Cap'n. We use one of the brands you listed and add some spices. It works in a pinch.
Of those I listed, and although I'm not impressed with any of them, I tend to like the Hormel best.
I've not been able to find really good tamales; at least not as good as what we used to make ourselves, but recently one of the Walmarts near us has started handling Pedro's Fiesta Tamales from Lubbock. I've tried some of the other brands Walmart sells and didn't care for them, but a half dozen Pedro's with half a can of chili poured over them, and a few saltines, makes a good lunch. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
Bird if you just go to a walmart in Douglas or Nogales. There will be several Mexican women selling homemade tamales out of their cars. Never had the courage to try any of em. But they are authentic for sure. Might be donkey meat though. I made the mistake of getting some chili at a Windys not too long ago. It had so much sugar in it I thought it was icecream.
Jim, I'd be inclined to bet those are good tamales those ladies are selling. When I was a kid, in a couple of towns at least, there were men who walked around town pushing little carts selling tamales, and good ones, too. We used to have next door neighbors with whom we are still friends who are of Mexican heritage, but born and raised in Kansas City. The tamales they made (and we helped them a couple of years) were entirely different from TexMex, but very good.
I can understand being a bit cautious about buying from individuals in a parking lot, but I'd probably have to try some of those tamales. In Texas, we sometimes have pickups or vans parked alongside the road selling fresh shrimp. Naturally a lot of people are afraid to buy from such temporary sellers, but quite a few years ago a University (Texas A&M, if I remember right) did a little study, expecting to find those shrimp weren't too safe, but after the study concluded they were better than most of what you buy in the grocery store. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
Back to the chili, I use Hormel mostly. I didn't want to mention any particular brand earlier, but their "chili" takes the additional spices pretty well.
Tamales- that's another story. We can't find really good ones, although the local church's youth group makes some mighty tasty ones from time to time!
So what are the additional spices you add?
It's sort of like Colonel Sanders - they're secret. But, they might include extra garlic, chili powder, onion, oregano, and a little bit of bottled B-B-Q sauce. It all depends on what that particular batch of chili is being used for.
You don't need any canned chili; you just need a little meat to put with those seasonings and have completely home made chili, which is a lot better than any canned chili anyway. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
I still recall the terrific tamales my dad used to buy in Saint Louis from vendors pushing carts down the street. This was before I was in school but I still recall them, what a treat!
They were kept hot by a small fire in the cart and came wrapped in corn husks and then news paper for the outer wrap.
We lived for a time across the river from Saint Louis near Granite City, Illinois till Christmas time of my first grade when we moved to Lima, Ohio.
I am not quite so DOWN on canned chili as Bird. Canned is way better than not having any. I do agree, of course, that it isn't too difficult to make better than most canned stuff.
A neighbor across the highway and down a couple hundred yards gave me some terrific home made chili con carne (sin frijoles) to which I added Bush's black beans and it was to kill for!!!!!!
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote