Chili with Meat

Chili con carne, disclaimed by Mexicans as “a detestable food with a false Mexican title,” is nevertheless a true Mexamerican child of the border. It originated in towns like San Antonio, where poor Mexican families made a little meat go a long way with lots of chili. J. C. Clopper first described the dish in 1828 as “a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat.” In the 1880s, however, the dish became fashionable when sporting ladies known as “chili queens”