gebhardt chili powder

Is this anywhere to be found in Chicago(land) or do I have to continue to order online?

Da Beef wrote:Is this anywhere to be found in Chicago(land) or do I have to continue to order online?

Da,

Coincidentally, I just ordered some Gebhardt's online. Garry Howard, a BBQ man of some note, just started selling Smoke Ring rubs and sauce though his brothers site, Howard's Yummies, and they also sell Gebhardt's Chili Powder, which I had been meaning to try.

I quite liked the Smoke Ring BBQ sauce, its on the thin side, more Texas than Memphis with a hint of cumin, Worcestershire, a bit sweet, but in a molasses treacly fashion rather than blast of white sugar. If I regularly bought commercial sauce this would be in my line-up.

The Smoke Ring rub is somewhat sugar forward for me, though the black pepper offsets nicely as does the spicing. I'm not a fan of sugar in rubs, so this is not the commercial rub for me.

Garry Howard's brothers This Ain't Opie's Hot Sauce is terrific, noticeable, but not violent, habanero heat, hint of chocolate reminiscent of Mexican mole, slight granular finish adding to the pleasing overall taste/texture/mouthfeel.

Enjoy,
Gary

I actually went to the conagra food website and they have a product locator so I typed in the zip and city and there were no results within 50 miles of Chicago so it looks as though I will continue to order the big 5 lb jug's from "secrets to cooking Tex-Mex"


http://www.texmex.net/Products/spices.htm#gebhardt

I brought some Gebhardt's on a recent trip to the Southwest. I also bought a book that contains alleged recipes for the last thirty or so winning chiles at the International Chili Cookoff in Terlingua, Texas.

I say alleged because I kind of doubt that the professional chili cookers are going to tell you everything about their winning recipes.

Anyway, fully four out of five recipes used various amounts of Gebhardt's. As far as I can tell, they're not a sponsor of the book or the cookoff (though that's not impossible, just like Breitling watches is a big sponsor of the International Air Races in Reno.)

I just made our first batch using it, and it's a really nice chili, based on a recipe from the book. I added beans, which would get me excommunicated in Terlingua!

We went to Terlingua - observers, not contestants - in 2001, and to the Air Races last year. Both great fun. Were scheduled to go to Reno again this year, but the trip fell through. Not so much fun - three or four pilots were killed.

Gebhardt's is THE San Antonio chili powder: old-fashioned, smooth, but strong flavor. I used it for years, but it left the KC market a couple of yrs ago, for whatever reason. Luckily, I had a stash!

Their canned chili is most certainly the best in that particular biz. That familiar bright yellow label, ahh, yes. Again, no longer in the KC market.

Sigh. Guess I'll have to order it on-line.

Geo

This thread came two weeks late ... was just in San Antonio.

I was looking for something else and I came across a seller of Gebhardt's on Amazon.com. I am not sure of the cost or pack size.

I just bought 6 x 3oz from Amazon for $24. Sounds pricey, but when you can't get it any other way, it's cheap. : (


Geo

That's pretty much market price - I paid $4 for a 3oz bottle in Lubbock, and it's on the web at that price.

I don't know how much good this will do, but the Hyde Park Co-op (Lake Park & 55th) has carried Gebhardt's chili powder for years. It's shelved with the Mexican products, not the spices; a 3 ounce bottle is $4.19. It looks like the Co-op might finally be put out of its misery so this might not be an option for long.

Does anyone know where there is a local source for Gebhardt's chili powder. Yes, I know that I can mail order it but I would like to find a local source if possible.

HI,

Has anyone had any luck yet on a local source?

Regards,

It used to be available in Kansas City, but then disappeared. I think that basically they quit distributing it widely. My solution was to go together with a couple of friends and buy a case of the 3 oz. bottles. At that rate it was economical.

Geo

HI,

I have a feeling you are right. It wasn't at Jungle Jim's near Cincinnati, which seems to have a bit of everything.

Regards,

I used to buy it all the time at Pete's Market on 43rd and Pulaski, but I haven't checked lately. I'll pop in and see in the next couple of days.

Yes, I can confirm they have it here at the Pete's on 44th and Pulaski. Gerbhardt's chili powder is $4.49 for 3 oz., and they have Gerbhardt's menudo spice mix for $2.59, too.

Oh-oh, a google search failed to turn up a source for this classic San Antonio treat. Any info, anyone?!

TIA,

Geo

From La Cocina Historica at UT San Antonio:

In 1896, Willie Gebhardt established Gebhardt’s Eagle Brand Chili Powder Company. For nearly a century, the company produced chili powder, canned chili, canned tamales, and many other Tex-Mex food products in San Antonio – first as an independent company, and then as a subsidiary of the Beatrice Food Company. Gebhardt’s is now owned by ConAgra Foods, and though the San Antonio plant has closed, a few of the products developed there are still available in stores. You can check what products are available in your local stores on the Conagra Web site: http://www.conagrafoods.com/consumer/brands/index.jsp.

Amazon has the powder, if the links upthread don't pan.

Basic Chili con Carne recipe from the label:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/forum/recip ... ticle/4196

I was in a wedding in San Antonio just about a year ago and had some mighty fine chili made with Gebhardt's - ladled as a late night snack at the reception, didn't get the caterer info. I imagine you've got your own recipe once you have the supply! Good luck.

Tnx Santander,

Looks like the canned products are gone. I've sent a msg to ConAgra, I'll share the response if/when it comes.

It gets so tiresome to lose distinctive products, food that one is used to and appreciates, as mass marketing takes over, universalizes, and dumbs down our supermarkets.

Geo

Hi,

A container of Gebhardt chili powder was found at a Big Lots store on Cicero Ave south of Midway Airport. Only one container, because there was an effort made to find more. I enjoy the surprise element at Big Lots.

Regards,

What's up Geo. Been going thru bottles of the stuff of late as my Tex-Mex chili recipe is now on the menu at my buddy's place Chicago's Doghouse in Lincoln Park.


T's Tex-Mex Red served at Chicago's Doghouse this "winter"

Back when I started this post I was ordering 5 pound jugs from this Tex-Mex site HERE. However they have discontinued carrying it. But my GF is from Dallas and it's still on all the grocery store shelves down there. So on her Thanksgiving trip home I had her bring me back 8 bottles of both Gebhardt's and also Mexene chili powder.

I look forward to comparing the two soon and also when thru with both of those I will order a big jug of MeMaw's Eagle Dust (made in San Antonio) which is what the Tex-Mex cooking site replaced Gebhardt's with. Another great source (in Texas) for good chili powders are the Central Market shops where they grind a variety of their own.

Yo Beef, 'zup?

If your GF feels magnanimous some day, she could slip you an extra bit of Gebhardt's chili powder for the ol' Kansas Canadian, namely, me!

And hey! it's no fair to mention your chili recipe and then not give us the goods! Tell us all about it.

I remember Mexene from my California days--lots of folks used it. But it was Gebhardt's all the way for most of us. I simply cannot imagine why ConAgra discontinued the whole line of Gebhardt's stuff, surely it was still selling like hotcakes?

And C2, you must have thanked your lucky karma that day, eh?!

It's really getting to be chili weather.... I warmed up for it with a gallon of my red beans and rice last week.

Geo

So I wrote off to ConAgra, asking about the Gebhardt canned chili. Sad reply:

Hello Goerge,

Thank you for your email. We appreciate your purchases and are glad to know you enjoyed our Gebhardt Chili. I'm sorry to say it has been discontinued.

As consumers' preferences for products change, so do the varieties of our products. Only the products with the greatest consumer appeal remain on the store shelves over time. Unfortunately, this product did not have enough consumer interest for us to continue manufacturing it. I invite you to try some of the other great options.

Your feedback will be helpful as we review our products for future product line enhancements and changes.

I hope you have a great day!


Michelle
Consumer Affairs Representative
ConAgra Foods


Sigh. Consolidation in the food industry means, inevitably, loss.

Geo

Geo wrote:And C2, you must have thanked your lucky karma that day, eh?!

It was a friend who came along who scored it for $1.50. After that find, we scoured the place for more to no avail.

Regards,

Geo wrote:And hey! it's no fair to mention your chili recipe and then not give us the goods! Tell us all about it.

I remember Mexene from my California days--lots of folks used it. But it was Gebhardt's all the way for most of us.

Even though it took a good amount of time to perfect my go-to original recipe, I'm not afraid to share MOST of it. There's a little about it here which I documented a while back so some things have been switched and others I've ditched. Usually when I make it the exact amount on ingredients can vary because I aim for a consistency thicker than soup but not quite as thick as a stew, right in between. Plus the spicing is all done by taste on top of the usual eyeball addition.

Truth be told this aint a regular less than 10 ingredient whip it up quick chili recipe. Some things I've lost are the beans since there were very little to begin with and also instead of all beer I also use homemade extra potent beef broth. Beer simmers into the onions cooked in chorizo grease and the broth does the same with the cooked ground beef after the dried spices are added in. I use a 2:1 ratio as far as meats. Ground beef to Mexican chorizo. Its not a recipe made for a small amount of servings but folks can always stop by the Doghouse and try it. Although the steak is omitted there because you cant be in the red on profit margin.

Are you looking for the Gebhardt canned chili? I cant say I've ever tried that as canned chili isn't appealing to me but I do love a good chili. Hence the reason I started making my own. As far as the Gebhardt's chili powder I've read people say it's not the same. I dont know if that's of late or as in the last decade or longer. I look forward to trying MeMaw's which is made in small batches in San Antonio and not on a product line somewhere in NJ as my old supplying site points out. I'll chime in when I try it.

Agricultural products change over time. Growing conditions, suppliers, different varieties, all can change and most products are not what they were in the past. If you find a ground spice mixture in a store today from a discontinued product, I wouldn't purchase as sitting on the shelf for ground spices leads to change and not for the better.
We make our own blends from fresh ground chiles as a base to our taste. The Chile Guy is a very good source for ground chiles. Not hard to do, much better than any spice blend I have ever used.
I wouldn't lament over the loss of a spice blend nor would I go out of my way to purchase any of a discontinued product.-Dick

budrichard wrote:I wouldn't lament over the loss of a spice blend nor would I go out of my way to purchase any of a discontinued product.-Dick

This tread seems to be all over the place. Gebhardt's DID NOT discontinue making their chili powder. Canned chili? Yes I guess so. Large bulk supplies of it? Yes. However as the Tex-Mex cooking site points out theres better to be had that's actually from Texas and made in small batches. That said if you see Gebhardt's on the shelves it doesn't mean it was made in 2003 and sitting there since.

I've been a fan of Gebhardt's chili powder for years. I often buy whole pods and pure ground chilies (usually from Pendery's in Fort Worth, like Gebhardt, one of the first vendors of chili powder) but I always come back to Gebhardt. Even if it's now marketed by ConAgra and even if some say it isn't what it once was (what is?), it's still a great product. I happen to think it's worth supporting such heritage brands.

In October 2011, Binko wrote:Yes, I can confirm they have it here at the Pete's on 44th and Pulaski. Gerbhardt's chili powder is $4.49 for 3 oz., and they have Gerbhardt's menudo spice mix for $2.59, too.

I meant to thank you for that tip. I should mention that's the only Pete's that seems to carry Gebhardt's chili powder (other branches have the menudo spice mix). At the end of summer I noticed it wasn't on the shelf and they agreed to reorder it. I'm happy to report there's currently a good supply at Pete's.



Pete's Fresh Market
4343 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
773-927-4300

I just went there a couple hours ago and was going to report that the Pete's does still have it (picked one up for myself.) It took me a little to find it, though. The Gerbhardt's Menudo spice mix is in a similar jar, and located on two different shelves. I was disheartened for a moment ( they used to shelve the products next to each other), but kept looking and found it. I swear, that Pete's seems to reorganize their stock every other month.

Hi,

I was at Big Lots at Harlem and Demptster in Morton Grove (or could it be Niles?). Thye had maybe 16 jars of Gebhardt's menudo spice mix for $1.20 each. Best by August, 2013.

Regards,