By: Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
It’s all about the recipe! Mixing chili peppers with meat and cooking them together is a time honored recipe in California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and even Mexico. Every one who is a fan of that spicy dish claims to have the best recipe out there, and so the Chili Cookoff was born. A chance to show off your favorite dish of that spicy favorite.
By: Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
It’s all about the recipe! Mixing chili peppers with meat and cooking them together is a time honored recipe in California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and even Mexico. Every one who is a fan of that spicy dish claims to have the best recipe out there, and so the Chili Cookoff was born. A chance to show off your favorite dish of that spicy favorite.
Chili powder is a main ingredient to most Chili dishes, but many aficionados create their own mixture of flavors that can be harvested from several different chili varieties. Some like the sweet taste of the Anaheim or ancho chili, while others are more adventurous and prefer the mild heat of the chipotle, Jalapeno, or Aleppo. Then if you like it hotter, you can add some Aji Bolivian, Cayenne or Diablo Grande Chili Peppers . It’s all a matter of preference and how much your taste buds can tolerate when it comes to the heat of the over 100 varieties Capsicum fruit.
In addition to the main level of heat that one adds to their Chili dish, beans are often added to or used as a substitute for meat. And what goes better than a great helping of onions, garlic, butter, and cheese.
The debate of where Chili was first derived is often argued. The Incas, Aztecs, and Mayan Indians knew the mixture of meat, beans, peppers, and herbs long before Columbus and the conquistadores. Chili peppers were used in Cervantes’s Spain and also show up in the ancient cuisines of China, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Caribbean, France, and the Arab states.
The argument is also accompanied by who makes the best. The Alpine Kiwanis Annual Chili Cookoff is held every year to answer that question. Hundreds of people turned up to taste the individual mixtures of delicious combinations that make up each favorite chili dish.
This year’s winners were chosen by the people who visited and tasted every recipe and cast their individual vote. 1st Place : Alpine Country Feed & Supply, 2nd Place: Dragon Fire Chili, 3rd Place Best Decorated Booth: Head East Pirates.
