The Popular Beer Miles Davis Drank With His Signature Chili Mac
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Legendary jazz musician Miles Davis dazzled audiences and admirers with his groundbreaking performances and recordings. Offstage, the late trumpeter and bandleader loved to cook, approaching the craft much like he did music. In his 1989 memoir, "Miles: The Autobiography," Davis wrote: "I just loved good food and hated going out to restaurants all the time, so I taught myself to cook by reading books and practicing, just like you do on an instrument." He named one of his favorite creations "Miles's South Side Chicago Chili Mack" — also spelled mac — which he always paired with a Heineken.
His first wife, Frances Davis, shared her former husband's recipe with Best Life in 2007, 16 years after his death at age 65. Heineken is the last thing on the ingredient list, but the popular beer isn't actually in the chili. Instead, the final item in the directions says, "Open a Heineken" to drink with it. The imported brew was Davis' usual go-to, so he probably didn't include it just because he thought it paired well with the chili. But it actually is a good match, with a crisp acidity that can cut through the rich fattiness of the meat-heavy dish.
The Dutch beer is a lightly bitter European pilsner with fruit flavor accents. All pilsners are a type of crisp, pale golden lager, but they have a maltier profile than other lagers . Although Davis didn't cook his chili with the Heineken, some people do make theirs with beer, adding to or swapping out some or all of the water or other liquid for more depth of flavor, as in this hopped-up chili recipe .
Read more: Foods Anthony Bourdain Hated With A Passion
Miles Davis' chili recipe mimics a Cincinnati classic
Frances Davis told Best Life that Miles taught her how to make the chili mac, which he based on a dish he'd had at a soul food restaurant. But while the place may have been on Chicago's South Side, as the recipe's name suggests, it's served the way they famously do it in another Midwestern city, ladled Cincinnati chili-style over spaghetti.
Its ingredients include ground beef, veal, and pork, kidney beans, beef consommé, and a very specific "drop" of red wine vinegar, along with onion, beef fat, and spices. It doesn't have any tomatoes or even that much heat, with just one teaspoon of chili powder. Not only does it come over spaghetti like Cincinnati's spiced, saucy version, it's served with oyster crackers on the side the same way, too. However, Davis sprinkled parmesan cheese on his chili mac, while the Cincinnati kind has optional shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, and red kidney bean toppings.
Interestingly, the late Anthony Bourdain had a similar opinion of Cincinnati chili as Davis did about his own dish. Just like a Heineken was a must with it for the musician, the late celebrity chef believed the Ohio city's chili was more enjoyable with booze .
Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.
Read the original article on Food Republic .
