In Jeb’s words
It would be quite a stretch to say that I’ve been a lifelong chili lover. I grew up eating my mom’s 3-Alarm Chili… and truth be told, maybe even an occasional can of Wolf Brand from the Piggly Wiggly.
It wasn’t until sometime in the mid-to-late ’80s, when a friend invited me to a “Chili and Music Festival” in Thurber, Texas, near the old smokestack, that I was exposed to real Texas chili. It was special. Even more special: that’s where I first heard Gary P. Nunn. Life-changing on both accounts, really.
My first and only cook-off entry came while attending The University of Texas at Austin, when a friend and I entered the annual Silver Spurs Chili Cook-off. We didn’t place — but we made what I remember as a damn good pot of chili. Every “cook-off” since has been for family and friends, and the feedback has always made it worth the trouble.
Many years ago, someone handed me a copy of a true Terlingua champion chili recipe — I believe it was called “Bottom of the Barrell Chili.” I was intrigued. Enough so that I started studying recipes from past Terlingua champions. I adopted a handful of ingredients that kept showing up, tweaked some others, and added a few things I thought might be good and unique. After several cooks, I was pleased — and thinking to myself that, for ME, the recipe couldn’t be improved upon. I stopped and made sure I had it saved.
It went by several names over the years: “Jeb’s Cowtown Railyard Chili.” “Not Your Mom’s Chili.” “Jeb’s Big Mess o’ Chili.” Before finally landing on “Jeb’s 5th Wheel Chili.”
Lots of joy has come my way while making chili at home — but not exactly for my wife, Lovi. You see, I am REALLY messy in the kitchen. Her kitchen! So unless she was out of town, or I was at the deer-lease 5th Wheel near Throckmorton, I wasn’t able to make my chili.
I complied.
Another thing became clear early on: making the full-blown, three-dumps-and-three-cooks chili recipe wasn’t just messy — it was quite a production to pull off in an RV with limited counter space and a small sink. And sourcing all those ingredients was a tiresome exercise. Of all the friends and family who asked for the recipe over the years, NONE of them — not a one — ever made it after they saw the shopping list and the preparation instructions. It was simply too overwhelming for the average person, no matter how much they loved the chili.
Those two observations led me to experiment with something much easier: a super-simple grocery list and an instant “chili dump” that works with just a 30-minute simmer after the meat is browned. I worked up a modified version of my recipe, acquired a case of glass jars, and set out to make multiple variations for test batches, with friends whose opinions in all things food I respected. I stopped after the second batch. Everyone agreed it was a home run — right-down-the-middle heat and flavor. Not too mild, not too spicy. A solid MEDIUM.
Other than a couple of minor modifications, that’s what is now the Original MEDIUM blend. The others — BaseCamp MILD, Santa Elena HOT, and Chichén Itzá FIRE — each use different amounts and types of pepper, with slight additions or subtractions.
I’m happy about the way things have turned out — as are my friends and family. We’ve enjoyed it immensely. We hope you will enjoy it as well.