Chili Con Carne (Beef, Lamb, Pork or Veal)

Recipe No. 321 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Beans, chili, small — 8 pounds
• Meat, carcass — 35 pounds
• or — as needed
• Meat, ground — 25 pounds
• or — as needed
• Meat, cooked, ground — 18 pounds
• Garlic, crushed — 4 cloves
• Fat — 1 pound (½ No. 56 dipper)
• Pepper, chili, ground — 6 ounces
• Chili powder — 2 ounces (8 mess kit spoons)
• Salt — 6 ounces (¼ mess kit cup)
• Meat stock — 2 gallons (8 No. 56 dippers)
• Tomatoes — 1 No. 10 can

Directions

1. Wash beans thoroughly. Cover with cold water; soak 8 hours.
2. Cover and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer 1½ hours or until tender but not split or mushy. Drain.
3. Run ⅔ beans through food chopper and leave remainder whole.
4. Cut meat into ½-inch cubes or run through coarse meat grinder.
5. Cook crushed garlic in fat until brown; add meat and cook until brown. Add chili pepper, chili powder, salt, and enough meat stock to cover.
6. Cover tightly and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender. Add remainder of stock as needed.
7. Mix ground beans, remaining whole beans, and tomatoes with meat.
8. Serve very hot.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Beans, chili, small — 10¼ oz Meat, carcass — 2 lb 12¾ oz or — to taste Meat, ground — 2 lb or — to taste Meat, cooked, ground — 1 lb 7 oz Garlic, crushed — ⅓ cloves Fat — 1¼ oz Pepper, chili, ground — ½ oz Chili powder — about 1 tsp Salt — ½ oz Meat stock — 2½ cups Tomatoes — 1 cup

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 321, Meat. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.