If you’re thinking ‘that looks like a simple chilli w/o beans’ you are correct. But there’s much more to this dinner than you can see in the bowl.
Mrs. Wright was the executive chef at the White House during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. She helped shape Black American history and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The president didn’t particularly care for beans in his chilli so Zephyr came us with this recipe for him. This chilli without beans became so popular that First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson had recipe cards printed and mailed to all who wanted a copy.
You may also see this recipe called ‘Lady Bird Johnson’s Pedernales Chili’. The chili was published in a cookbook and named after the road the Johnsons’s lived on Texas, Pedernales.
Mrs. Zephyr Wright’s Chili con Carne
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 1hr
- Total Time: 52 minute
- Yield: 2–3 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground meat
- 1 sweet onion – diced
- 2 garlic cloves – chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin (+/- to your liking)
- 1/2 tablespoon oregano
- 3 tablespoon chilli powder (+/- to your liking)
- 1 can of Rotel w/ juices – I like to use the hot version
- 3/4 cup water or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- Optional – pinch of red chilli flake or a few dashes of hot sauce (not mentioned in the original recipe but I like my chilli a little spicy!)
Instructions
- In a deep skillet or pot, saute the meat, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat and cook until mostly cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, Rotel, hot sauce, and stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer partially covered for at least 1 hour or until most of the liquid has cooked down. Skim off fat while cooking. Salt to taste.
Keywords: Chili, Texas Chili
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