The people behind the bowls.

Greg Lindsey

Ground 80/20 beef is shaped into six balls, par-boiled in beef broth and held aside, then returned to a tomato-and-broth base for two spice dumps built on Mild Bill's blends, with a one-hour rest between them. He calls it a hot recipe, with cayenne, green jalapeño powder and white pepper carrying the heat.

80/20 tube meat shaped into six balls · meatballs par-boiled in beef broth · hot sausage patty simmered, then pulled

Kevin Casey

Browned and drained 80/20 hamburger meat cooks in beef broth, chicken broth and tomato sauce with two spice dumps, each given about 20 minutes, and a 45-minute rest in between. The powders are Mild Bill's blends, led by San Antonio Original and Stockyards Special.

80/20 hamburger meat (H-E-B) · two spice dumps · Mild Bill's Stockyards Special and San Antonio Original

Rene Chapa

80/20 ground beef is rolled into six balls, browned, then boiled in a broth base enriched with tomato paste and two tomato sauces. After a rest the second dump goes in and the meatballs are smashed down to the texture he wants while the gravy thickens.

meat rolled into six balls · El Pato and Hunt's tomato sauces plus tomato paste · two spice dumps

Kris Hudspeth

80/20 ground chuck is seasoned with fajita seasoning, browned and drained, then cooked in a broth-and-tomato base cut with El Pato sauce. Two dumps follow: the first for an hour with two floated serranos, the second for 45 minutes and heavy on Gebhardt chili powder.

Fiesta Fajita Seasoning on the meat · El Pato sauce in the base · two floated serranos

Becky Allen

A two-pot method started three hours before turn-in: 80/20 ground chuck is browned and seasoned in a skillet while a broth pot is built with Knorr beef stock and hot sauce, and a house blend of four chili powders is split between two dumps.

two-pot method · 80/20 ground chuck browned in Crisco · Knorr beef stock

Kathryn Cavender

Seasoned chuck is browned in large chunks and set aside, then cooked in three dumps over about two hours, starting with Hatch and Dixon powders, with the meat broken into smaller pieces at each stage.

chuck browned in large chunks · three spice dumps · Hatch and Dixon chili powders up front

Tom Dozier

Browned 80/20 ground chuck goes back into a boiling tomato-and-broth base with two pierced serranos; two dumps bracket a rest, and the finish is a gentle simmer he counts as nine to twelve bubbles, with hot sauce added to the judging cup.

two serranos, nine holes each · two spice dumps · Pendery's Santa Fe Red and San Antonio Red

Brent Allen

80/20 ground chuck is browned in bacon grease and broken only to golf-ball-size chunks, simmered in a separate broth pot, rested an hour, then mashed gently after the second dump. A premixed blend of five chili powders feeds both dumps.

meat browned in bacon grease · golf-ball-size chunks, mashed late · premixed blend of five chili powders

Lisa Stone

80/20 ground chuck is browned in big chunks and tenderized in beef broth with a floated jalapeño and serrano, then cut with scissors to fingertip size partway through. Seasoning goes in twice, about an hour and about 25 minutes before serving.

meat left in big chunks, cut with scissors · floated jalapeño and serrano · Lone Star Spices Texas Original

James Burns

Chili grind is browned with a few drops of hot sauce, cooked in a broth-and-tomato base with two floated serranos, rested up to an hour, and finished with a second spice mix 30 to 45 minutes before turn-in.

chili grind · two floated serranos · two spice mixes

Jason Goains

Two pounds of chili grind cook in one can each of beef broth and tomato sauce; the first spice mix simmers 50 minutes and the second 30.

chili grind · two spice mixes · Mexene, San Antonio Original and Dixon powders

Brian Spencer

Chili grind is browned and drained; the first powder mix boils in the broth for ten minutes before the meat goes in, then the pot rests an hour before a second mix is cooked until the powders dissolve.

chili grind · first mix boiled in broth before the meat · one floated serrano

T.J. Cannon

Ground chuck is browned and drained; pierced serranos boil in beef and chicken broth, the first spices and meat cook 25 minutes, the pot rests 30 minutes, and the second set boils 20 minutes.

ground chuck · pierced serranos, squeezed and discarded · Mild Bill's Cadillac Cowgirl chili powder

Dana Plocheck

Coarse chili grind is browned and drained, cooked with a floated jalapeño and serrano, and seasoned in three packets; the squeezed pepper juice returns with the last packet.

chili grind · floated jalapeño and serrano · three spice packets

Margaret Nadeau

Two pounds of chili grind cook in beef broth and tomato sauce; the first spice dump simmers 50 minutes and the second 30.

2 lbs chili grind · two spice dumps · Mexene, San Antonio Original and Dixon powders

Roger Foltz

Cubed mock tender is browned and cooked in four dumps, with the chili reheated 30 minutes before turn-in and the last dump added ten minutes out.

cubed mock tender · four spice dumps · bay leaf, coriander and oregano

Honey Jones

Meat is browned with seasoned salt and simmered in tomato sauce and beef broth, then seasoned in two additions dominated by Mexene chili powder, with Louisiana hot sauce adjusted at the end for heat.

coarse grind or 3/8-inch chuck tender cubes · Mexene chili powder · paprika

Bob Coats

Cubed chuck tender is grayed in Crisco and cooked in broth and tomato sauce with floated serranos, then seasoned in three rounds that mix Pendery's, Gunpowder Foods and Gebhardt powders.

cubed chuck tender, grayed in Crisco · floated serranos, squeezed · three spice rounds

Carol West

Cubed chuck tender cooks until tender in tomato sauce and broth, with a second seasoning 30 minutes before judging; both stages pair R.T. Red and Fort Worth Light powders.

cubed chuck tender · two seasoning stages · R.T. Red chili powder

Cindy Reed

Chuck tender cut into 3/8-inch cubes is browned with chili powder and garlic, then seasoned in four stages over about two hours, with serranos floated until soft.

3/8-inch chuck tender cubes · four seasoning stages · floated serranos

Todd Furse

Todd Furse of Waco, Texas, won the chili championship at the 58th Original Terlingua International Frank X. Tolbert-Wick Fowler Memorial Championship, out of 79 entries. The organizers note he also won the Texas Men's State that year.

Zach Powell

Zach Powell of Denton, Texas, is listed first under 'Champion Chili' in the organizers' 2024 results.

Tom Kreutzer

Tom Kreutzer of Canyon Lake, Texas, is listed first among the 2023 chili winners (87 registered, 86 judged) at the 56th annual cook-off. The organizers' post lists winners in order but does not label the places.

Robert "Frosty" Winterbottom

Robert 'Frosty' Winterbottom took 1st place in the 2022 Saturday chili competition. The organizers' 2023 results list a Robert Winterbottom of Cedar Park, Texas, in showmanship as Frosty's Famous Frioles.

Don Cullum

Small-cubed chuck shoulder in a low-sodium broth base, seasoned in three dumps led by Texas Red Dog and San Antonio Red powders, with a little habanero at the end.

chuck shoulder, small cubes · three spice dumps · Texas Red Dog chili powder

Kevin Foley

Cubed tri-tip in beef broth and tomato sauce with one serrano, seasoned in three mixes: New Mexico powders first, then Texas-style powder with cumin and garlic.

cubed tri-tip · three spice mixes · New Mexico powders (Dixon or Hatch)

Donna Foley

Cubed tri-tip simmered in low-salt broths with a serrano, seasoned in two mixes of New Mexico powders and then Texas-style blends with cumin and garlic.

cubed tri-tip · two spice mixes · All Things Chili Deadly Dudley powder

Kevin Foley

Cubed tri-tip in beef broth and tomato sauce with a serrano, seasoned in three mixes.

cubed tri-tip · three spice mixes · New Mexico powders up front

Randy Allen

Tri-tip with sautéed peppers and onion, seasoned in five sets led by Sucklebusters chili powder, with green chiles, cider vinegar and a floated jalapeño.

tri-tip, cubed · five ingredient sets · Sucklebusters chili powder

Diane Lentz

Cubed tri-tip with a small piece of pork rib simmered in the broth, tomato puree, and three spice mixes heavy on San Antonio and Reno Red powders.

cubed tri-tip · pork rib piece in the pot · Stewart's Reno Red chili powder

Tana Harter

Finely diced tri-tip in beef stock with chicken base, seasoned in three dumps of Pendery's powders, thickened with cornstarch if needed.

tri-tip, 1/4 to 3/8 inch · three spice dumps · Pendery's chili powders

Clif Dugan

Cut tri-tip in broth and tomato sauce, seasoned in two rounds of named powder blends from Pendery's, Mild Bill's and All Things Chili.

cut tri-tip · two spice rounds · Pendery's Colleen Wallace and Bo Prewitt powders

Chuck Harber

Cubed tri-tip with onion, fresh garlic and tomato paste, layered with California, New Mexico, Chimayo, pasilla and arbol powders.

cubed tri-tip · California and New Mexico powders · Chimayo and pasilla powders

Dave Hipskind

Chicken broth, El Pato sauce and spicy V-8 as the base, with McCormick or Gebhardt-style powder added in timed stages.

spicy V-8 juice · El Pato tomato sauce · timed additions at 1.5 and 2 hours

Mike Stevens

Cubed tri-tip simmered two hours or more with a pierced jalapeño, seasoned in two mixes of New Mexico, Fort Worth Light and Cadillac Cowgirl powders.

cubed tri-tip · pierced jalapeño · bay leaf and Mexican oregano

Bob Plager

Cubed tri-tip in Swanson broths and tomato sauce, seasoned in three rounds, with two pitted prunes for sweetness and gloss and water from Farmers Branch, Texas.

cubed tri-tip · two Sunsweet prunes · three spice rounds

Bob Plager

The same prune-finished tri-tip recipe he used in 2013.

cubed tri-tip · two Sunsweet prunes · three spice rounds

John Jepson

Quarter-inch tri-tip cubes rinsed and grayed, cooked tender for two hours, then seasoned in two rounds of New Mexico, California and blended powders.

1/4-inch tri-tip cubes · Rancho de Chimayo hot powder · California chile powder

Thomas H. Hoover, Jr.

Tri-tip sirloin cubes in broth and tomato sauce with pasilla, Gebhardt, California and New Mexico powders and a fresh serrano.

3/8-inch tri-tip cubes · pasilla chili powder · fresh minced serrano

Maureen Barrett

Cubed tri-tip with a halved jalapeño, Gebhardt's and Ray's powders added in stages, thickened with arrowroot.

cubed tri-tip · Gebhardt's chili powder · halved jalapeño

Georgia Weller

Tri-tip or chuck tender in broth and tomato puree, with a single California-led spice mix split into three additions and blended green chiles.

tri-tip or chuck tender · one spice mix in three parts · Chimayo and pasilla powders

Jerry Buma

Tri-tip with onion, green chiles and garlic, seasoned with a blend of hot and mild New Mexico and California powders in two halves.

tri-tip · hot and mild New Mexico and California powders · Mexican oregano

J.R. Knudson

Chopped tri-tip and sausage with onion and Ortega pepper in rendered beef fat, Gebhardt-led powders and a little pequin.

chopped tri-tip · sausage · rendered beef fat

Doug Wilkey

Tri-tip with breakfast sausage, onion and fresh garlic, layered chile powders, and a puree of dried California, New Mexico and cascabel chiles.

tri-tip, small pieces or coarse ground · breakfast sausage · dried cascabel, California and New Mexico chile puree

Kathy Hipskind

Four pounds of cubed tri-tip simmered three hours, with chicken broth, spicy V-8 and Gebhardt's added in timed stages and arrowroot to finish.

cubed tri-tip · spicy V-8 juice · timed additions

Bob Wetzel

A sauce of onion, Hatch green chile and California powder cooked an hour before the tri-tip and pork sausage go in, finished with New Mexico powders and lime.

cubed tri-tip · pork sausage · Hatch green chile

Ron Burt

Five pounds of tri-tip with pork tenderloin and hot sausage, fire-roasted green chiles, El Pato sauce and a blend of Chimayo, pasilla, New Mexico and California powders.

cubed tri-tip · pork tenderloin and hot sausage · Ortega fire-roasted green chiles

George Swick

Quarter-inch cubed beef with onion and garlic, Ortega chiles and El Pato sauce, seasoned mainly with California powder in four groups.

1/4-inch cubed beef · Ortega green chiles · El Pato hot tomato sauce

Jim Weller

Cubed tri-tip in broths and tomato sauce with a spice mix of mild California and hot New Mexico powders, most added up front.

cubed tri-tip · mild California chili powder · hot New Mexico chili powder

Maud Swick

Coarse-ground or cubed beef with onion, garlic and Ortega chiles, seasoned with chili powder and hot New Mexico powder.

coarse ground or cubed beef roast · Ortega chili peppers · hot New Mexico chili powder

Kathy LeGear

Cubed beef roast cooked tender in broth and tomato sauce, seasoned in four rounds of Texas and Gebhardt chili powders near turn-in.

cubed beef roast · four spice rounds · Texas chili powder

Steve Falkowski

Quarter-inch beef cubes treated with meat tenderizer, simmered with onion, fresh garlic and Gebhardt or California and New Mexico powders.

1/4-inch beef cubes · meat tenderizer · Gebhardt chili powder

Georgia Weller

Chuck chunks with green chiles, two-thirds of a California-and-Gebhardt spice mix up front and the rest later, served with saltines.

chuck, cut in chunks · green chiles · California and Gebhardt powders

Norm Gaul

Quarter-inch tri-tip or sirloin cubes simmered 2 1/2 hours in chicken broth and tomato sauce with California, New Mexico and Gebhardt powders.

1/4-inch tri-tip or sirloin · California and New Mexico chile powders · Gebhardt chili powder

Bill Ray

Quarter-inch tri-tip or sirloin with sieved tomatoes, broth and a large dry mix of Gebhardt, California, New Mexico and pasilla powders thickened with flour.

1/4-inch tri-tip or sirloin · pasilla chile powder · flour in the spice mix

Cathy R. Wilkey

Tri-tip or sirloin tip with onion and garlic, layered powders and a puree of dried New Mexico and California chiles, finished with lime.

tri-tip or sirloin tip · dried chile puree · California chili powder

Ed Pierczynski

Cubed beef with sausage, Snap-E-Tom and Budweiser, seasoned mostly with Gebhardt chili powder.

cubed sirloin or tri-tip · sausage · Snap-E-Tom and beer

Randy Robinson

Beef with ground pork, green chilies and a jalapeño, seasoned in two phases of Gebhardt and mild New Mexico powders.

beef and ground pork · mild green chilies · two phases

David Valega

Chuck tender cooked tender in beef broth with onion powder and cayenne, then finished with Gebhardt powder, cumin and white pepper.

beef chuck tender · two parts · Gebhardt chili powder

Philip M. Walter

Cubed beef simmered with Walla Walla onions, garlic and tomato sauce, seasoned with Gebhardt powder and cumin.

cubed beef · Walla Walla sweet onions · Gebhardt chili powder

Kenton Stafford

Quarter-inch top sirloin with yellow and white onion, Gebhardt, California, New Mexico and pasilla powders.

1/4-inch top sirloin · pasilla · California chili powder

Margo Knudson

Cubed or coarse-ground tri-tip with sausage and Ortega pepper, Gebhardt powder, and oregano steeped as a tea.

tri-tip, cubed or coarse ground · sausage · oregano tea

Jim Beaty

Sirloin in 3/8-inch cubes with crushed garlic, onion and Gebhardt powder, with optional mole.

3/8-inch sirloin cubes · Gebhardt chili powder · mole (optional)

Carol & Dave Hancock

Six pounds of prime beef with a paste of New Mexico and pasilla pods, oregano tea and a large measure of Gebhardt powder.

prime beef, cubed or coarse ground · New Mexico and pasilla pod paste · oregano tea

Dusty Hudspeth

Chili grind seared and simmered with tomato sauce, onion and beer, seasoned with Gebhardt powder, oregano and cumin.

beef chili grind · Gebhardt chili powder · half a can of beer

Harold Timber

Hand-cut chuck, coarse-ground top round and pork butt in a dissolved spice base with celery salt and mole paste.

hand-cut chuck, top round and pork butt · mole paste · celery salt

Bill Pfeiffer

Cubed pork and chuck with ground rump, beer, Gebhardt powder, and powdered mole.

pork, chuck and ground rump · beer · mole poblano

Fred & Linda Drexel

Cubed brisket with ground pork, green chilies and Budweiser, seasoned with Gebhardt powder.

beef brisket, 1-inch cubes · lean ground pork · Budweiser

Bill Pfeiffer

Chili-ground chuck and pork plus cubed chuck, with beer, light chili powder and beef bouillon.

chili-ground chuck and pork · beer · beef bouillon

Joe & Shirley Stewart

Coarse-ground round and chuck with boiled chile pods, Ortega green chilies, and oregano brewed in beer.

coarse-ground round and chuck · boiled dried chile pods · oregano brewed in beer

Laverne Harris

A large batch of coarse-ground chuck with sautéed peppers, celery and onion, stewed tomatoes, Gebhardt powder and beer.

coarse-ground chuck · green pepper and celery · stewed tomatoes

Jay Pennington

Eight pounds of coarse-ground round steak with bell pepper, celery, stewed tomatoes and Gebhardt powder.

coarse-ground round steak · bell pepper and celery · stewed tomatoes

Rudy Valdez

Chopped pork shoulder and finely chopped flank steak with Ortega green chiles and salsa and three strengths of New Mexico powder.

pork shoulder and flank steak · Ortega green chiles · hot, medium and mild New Mexico powders

Joe DeFrates

Ground beef cooked with his packaged Chilli Man mix and tomato sauce; ICS says the mix's actual ingredients are not available.

ground beef · Chilli Man Chilli Mix

Allegani Jani Schofield

Ground stew meat with cumin seed and garlic ground in a molcajete, mole paste, jalapeños and masa.

ground stew meat · molcajete-ground cumin and garlic · mole paste

Joe DeFrates

Ground beef cooked with his Chilli Man mix and tomato sauce.

ground beef · Chilli Man Chilli Mix

Howard Winsor

Quarter-inch beef and pork cubes with a pulp of green chilies and jalapeños, blended tomatoes, bay leaves and oregano.

1/4-inch beef and pork cubes · green chile and jalapeño pulp · bay leaves

C.V. Wood

Flank steak and pork chops cooked in chicken broth with green chilies, beer, tomatoes and Gebhardt powder, finished with Jack cheese and lime.

flank steak and pork chops · stewing-chicken broth · Jack cheese

Wick Fowler

Coarse-ground or diced meat with his packaged 2 Alarm Chili ingredients, tightened with masa.

coarse-ground or diced meat · 2 Alarm Chili mix · masa flour

C.V. Wood

Flank steak and pork chops in chicken broth with green chilies, beer and Gebhardt powder, finished with Jack cheese.

flank steak and pork chops · chicken broth · Jack cheese

Woody DeSilva

Chuck in a coarse chili grind with onion, oregano, the herb woodruff, crushed chilipiquines and tomato paste, thickened with masa.

coarse chili grind chuck · woodruff · chilipiquines

H. Allen Smith & Wick Fowler

ICS publishes one loose recipe for both men: coarse-ground sirloin or tenderloin, tomato, onion, bell pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, cumin and chili powder or pods. The bell pepper and basil follow H. Allen Smith's published recipe; Fowler's own used chilipiquíns.

coarse-ground sirloin or tenderloin · Smith: bell pepper and basil · Fowler: chilipiquíns