Serious Eats  The Food Lab: Real Texas Chili Con Carne
[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]  The last time I tackled chili
was nearly two years ago, and boy, what a contentious post that
was! It's always a gamble to call something "the best ever," but
to use that expression to describe chili—perhaps the single most
contentious, zealotry-inducing, divisive food in the country—is
just asking for trouble.  For the record, my recipe ended up
including tomatoes, star anise, chocolate, coffee, anchovies,
soy sauce, marmite, and yes, even beans (the horror!).  Well,
Texans, today I aim to make it up to you. The recipe we're
discussing now is real-deal chili con carne, old school Texas
style. What does that mean? First of all, absolutely no beans.
No tomatoes. Indeed, there's very little that goes into the pot
other than beef and chiles (and plenty of both!). That doesn't
mean there aren't a few things to discuss, however. Let's get to
it.  The Meat   The original chili was made with dried beef
pounded together with