Chili Sontheimer Style

It took three generations to perfect Chili Sontheimer Style but the story began during World War I when my grandfather, Otto Sontheimer, was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. While there, he developed a taste for chili and once he came home, he tried to recreate the dish. A candymaker by trade, he was no stranger to cooking so he tinkered with his version until his death.

My dad, Jerry Sontheimer, and my uncle, Ott Sontheimer, took their turn at creating chili.

On the night my younger brother was born in 1965, my dad was making chili when my mom’s water broke. That chili was far from the final version.

Over the decades, through trial and error, he developed his recipe. Before he passed in 2009, I had him tell me how to make his chili because he’d never written it down.

I did.

Now that the weather is cold, I’m ready to make a big pot of chili and this is the way I’ll do it!

 

 

 Chili Sontheimer Style

2 big onions (chopped)

4 med. celery stalks (washed and chopped)

2-3 garlic toes, chopped

4lbs. ground beef

Salt ; to taste

Pepper; to taste

 3/4 cup to a full cup Williams® chili seasoning

3-4 cans red beans

4 c water

Optional additional chili powder to taste

optional red pepper to drop into chili while it simmers to add more heat

1.       Get big pan

2.       Spray pan w/ cooking spray

3.       Pour canola oil in pan, enough to just coat bottom of pan.

4.       Turn pan on to med. heat

5.       Chop celery finely (use food processer if available)

6.       Chop onions w/ the garlic

7.       Add/ Cook the onions, celery, and garlic

8.       Add meat, chunk meat

9.       Add pepper and salt

10.   Brown the meat; then drain fat

11.   Add Williams® chili seasoning and opt. chili powder

12.   Add 4c water

13.   Add beans

Cook chili to preferred consistency ( watery, dry etc.)

Cool, then cover and put in fridge

Reheat and eat next day for maximum flavor

 

© Sontheimer-Murphy Family™