Jailhouse Chili
This is a modern version of Jailhouse Chili, as served in the Texas prison system. In the early part of the 20th century, those likely to regularly spend time in local detention facilities in the American Southwest were said to rate the accommodations among themselves by the quality of the chili con carne they were served. This became a matter of local pride and competition with other communities.
Ingredients
- 25 lbs (11 ) coarse-ground beef
- ½ lb (225 ) cumin
- ¼ lb (110 ) chili powder
- ⅛ lb (55 ) paprika
- 2 handfuls crushed dried red chile peppers
- ½ lb (225 ) finely-chopped garlic
Ingredients for 44 servings (12 kg) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Sear beef in a little cooking oil (not lard) until lightly browned. Drop the seared beef and chili peppers in a large stock pot, and add enough water to keep the meat from burning. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes.
Stovetop - 2
Take pot off the stove and add spices and garlic. Put back on the stove, bring to a boil again, lower heat, and simmer another 90 minutes, keeping the lid on as much as possible. Stir when necessary, but remember that too much stirring will tear the meat. Add a little more water if anything seems seriously in danger of burning (but as little water as possible).
Stovetop - 3
Take pot off the stove and skim off all or most of the grease. Serve hot.
Stovetop
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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