Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

From Texas to Cincinnati, New Mexico to California, chili has more variations than regions in the U.S. Embedded in regional recipes are each chili master’s secret ingredients and personal flair.

Chili masters have debated and cooked-off since the first time meat and chili peppers joined together in holy heated matrimony—hundreds of years ago.

Each October, these chili cooks across the country celebrate National Chili Month by whipping up fiery concoctions of meat, beans, spices, and, of course, the almighty chili pepper. What better way to celebrate the diversity of our nation than with a steaming bowl of down-home chili?

Charlestown chili
In honor of National Chili Month, Mark Badin, executive chef at Charlestown in Catonsville, Md., throws his recipe into the ring. He says his concoction hails from New Mexico, where chili traditionally contains large meat chunks—often pork—in a red or green chili sauce.

“It’s a family recipe,” he says. “I was born in Ruidoso, and my family is originally from Alamogordo. It’s made with New Mexico chilis and chipotle—a nice flavor combination.”

As the executive chef at Charlestown, Chef Badin has managed the  community’s six restaurants for seven years. He says he enjoys building long-term relationships with the people who live there by interacting with them, listening to them, and always attempting to meet their dining requests.