Chili con carne, also known simply as chili, is a popular dish from Mexico and the American South. It can be eaten as a side dish or a main course (or anything in between) and comes in as many variations as ways to serve it. In this article, I present the recipe for a basic turkey chili which has a mild to moderate amount of heat and should serve well as the foundation for future experimentation by new chili cooks.

The name chili con carne is Spanish and, translated literally, means "peppers with meat". This lends a clue to how this dish should be made, but it can also be misleading as the generally accepted definition of chili has broadened over time as similar dishes from various regions of Mexico and the southern States have joined together, blended, split apart, and recombined. Nowadays we have vegetarian chili (sometimes called chili sin carne), chili with and without beans, chili with and without tomatoes, chilis that are so hot that no one eats them for pleasure but as a point of manliness, and many more. There are those who define chili con carne strictly - some say real chili must have meat, contain no beans or tomatoes, and are scorching hot - but I urge you to keep a broad definition in your mind. After all, making chili the way you like it is a personal (or perhaps familial) activity and no one should be able to say your chili isn't real chili just because you prefer some ingredients or flavors over others.

Having said that, I now put myself in the awkward position of having to draw the line. At which point is a chili not a chili and just a soup or a chili pepper paste? I'm going to stick my neck out and say that chili con carne should have chili peppers (usually dried and ground), a protein (either meat or beans or both), and be liquidly but quite viscous (spoon should stand up in it) - but not always. There are probably exceptions out there that should be classified as chili, but in general those characteristics are true.

In this recipe, I share how to make a chili con carne where the protein is ground turkey, hot dogs, bacon, and kidney beans and the chili comes from the store in both chili powder and chipotle chili powder. Chili powder isn't really a "base ingredient" in my book, but it is real convenient. It's usually a mix of spices of which a combination of ground chilis (often paprika and cayenne) are mixed with ground cumin, garlic, oregano, and other spices. The addition of chipotle chili powder to this recipe gives it a little more complexity and adds a smoky chili flavor not typically found in regular chili powder. I also add additional cumin and oregano as well as coriander and thyme to round out the spices.

I encourage first time chili cooks to try to replicate this recipe (you can substitute the ground turkey with another ground meat) as best you can on your first attempt before making alterations to make the recipe your own.

2 medium carrots (110 g)
1 celery rib (60 g)
2 cloves garlic (15 g)
1/2 large red onion (200 g)

1/2 15 oz. can kidney beans (242 g)

1 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp ground oregano
1/4 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp thyme
2 tsp ground cumin

2 strips bacon
1 lb. ground turkey
2 hot dogs

2 cups water
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp corn starch
1 Tbs. water

salt & pepper