Hello, long time no blog post! We have a quick excerpt for you written by one of our show chairs Leslie Neff, on the process of making their famous chili for our annual show! We may not have the secret recipe yet, but we are getting closer to wheedling it out of Leslie and Larry every year!
Chili – not rocks but a part of the show!
One of the many things Larry and I do for the show is to make between 60-70 pounds of chili, to feed the demonstrators and guests.
We have been doing this for about 15 years after taking over from the Poehlmanns – who had done it for years themselves.
We start preparing early by buying big cans of beans and tomatoes and the beef steak when we find it on sale. We need about 40 pounds of meat so smart shopping allows us to buy better quality meat.
On Thursday morning before the show set up on Friday, we start about 7am. We slice the 
steaks thin and BBQ all the meat then dice it. While Larry BBQ’s the meat, I cut and dice the onions and celery and brown the mix. We stir the beef in with the tomatoes and vegetables and simmer till the afternoon, adding spices as needed. At the end of the day we add the beans but stop cooking it so they will only cook the day of the show.
We take it in 3 chili pots to the show and refrigerate it till we need it. It takes most of the day to make the chili, but we are told it is always a favorite. If you have not been to our annual show yet, be sure to come out next April and have a bowl!
Thanks for reading!
South Bay Lapidary and Mineral Society 