A Hearty Chili That Fills the Gap

It was an unlikely scene for Dominique’s, one of Washington’s posher restaurants, as scurrying waiters piled stack after stack of soup bowls on the establishment’s premier table, cluttered as it was with tin cans.

Tin cans in a fancy French eatery best known for its fresh fish, game and novelty items such as hippopotamus and rattlesnake? Sure enough, ordinary-looking tin cans, some with equally ordinary-looking labels.

Seated at the table were White House press secretary James S. “Bear” Brady; his wife, Sarah; the proprietor, Dominique d’Ermo, and several distinguished-looking older gentlemen, all studiously tasting bowl after bowl of what looked like ordinary chili.

“We were tasting chili from all over the country, trying for different tastes and colors,” explained d’Ermo, with more than a touch of the accent he brought from his native Lyon in southern France. “I have been eating seven cans of chili at lunch. Ooohhh.”

‘Jim Brady’s Chili’

The restaurateur, who already sells his own brand of canned gourmet soups to customers in the United States and Europe, said he wants to market “Jim Brady’s Chili.” It would be an adaptation of Bear’s Goat Gap Chili, a fiery, award-winning concoction for which Brady was famous in some circles long before he was named press secretary to the President in January, 1981. That was only three months before he was shot and critically wounded by a would-be assassin aiming for Ronald Reagan.

“We’re trying to come to a compromise in line with Jim Brady’s idea,” d’Ermo said, admitting that to reproduce Brady’s original recipe would cost at least $8 a can using the quality of meat and spices Brady prescribes--and no beans, which Brady says don’t belong in chili.

He also said the original Bear’s Goat Gap Chili probably is too hot for a mass market.

D’Ermo said he hopes to market the product for $2.25 for a 16-ounce can, plus transportation costs to distant points, which he says will include Paris, where chili is largely unknown.

Some Potential Obstacles

Sarah Brady confirmed that she and her husband would like to participate in the project, but she said there are a number of legal problems to be worked out, including potential obstacles if Brady were engaged in private enterprise while a member of the White House staff.

Although he retains the title of press secretary and comes to the White House once a week to answer mail and attend to paper work, Brady still spends much of his time in physical therapy, working to recover from brain damage and paralysis inflicted by the bullet.

But he has lost none of his interest in chili. One day, as his wife dictated the recipe to a reporter by telephone, Brady kibitzed in the background, reminding her to drain the tomatoes, add the cumin, the olives “pitted and chopped,” and, of course, the chiles.

BEAR’S GOAT GAP CHILI

2 pounds round steak, cut into cubes

1 pound pork, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons shortening or oil

3 medium onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic

1 (7-ounce) can jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped

1 (2.4-ounce) container hot chili powder

1 (32-ounce) can Italian tomatoes, drained

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground oregano

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 pint black olives, pitted and chopped

1 tablespoon masa harina flour, about

Shredded Cheddar cheese, optional

Brown steak and pork in shortening. Add onions, garlic and chiles. Combine chili powder, tomatoes, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, salt, brown sugar, red wine vinegar and olives and stir into pot. Cook, covered, over low heat several hours to allow flavors to mingle. Stir occasionally. Add flour near end of cooking time to bind chili. Serve with shredded Cheddar cheese. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Brady suggested using only 4 or 5 chiles, seeded and chopped, dish will still be hot enough.