Beans ARE “filler.” Feh. Don’t belong in chili. And I’m not even from Texas.
Back in 1985, we went to Silverton Colorado. At a tourist cafe, my 10 year old daughter ordered a bowl of chili but could not eat it. I looked at it, and it was ALL BEANS! No meat at all. It was horrible.
Beans were put in chili by tight wad yankees as a filler instead of MEAT!
Word.