There are Chili competitions — and there are Chili opinions. One bean and you're disqualified. One wrong take and you'll hear about it. This week, we wade into all of it.

We trace Chili from the Chili Queens of San Antonio's Military Plaza in the 1860s through William Gebhardt's chili powder revolution, Lady Bird Johnson's White House recipe cards, and the legendary Terlingua cookoff that sparked a feud between a Dallas columnist and a New York writer. Along the way, we build a five-dried-chile sofrito, work through the two-dump spice method, and settle (mostly) on ground beef as our protein.

The cocktail: La Cerveza de Los Reyes — a spiced-up beer cocktail with blanco tequila, lime, and hot sauce in a rimmed Collins glass.

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Thanks to all of this week's partners:

Tequila El Viejito: https://pkgdgroup.com/#our_brands/

Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/