Johnny Cash Used A Clever Trick To Thicken His Famous 'Iron Pot Chili'

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Johnny Cash was a music legend whose fame has grown even more after his death in 2003. Best known for hits like "I Walk The Line," "Boy Named Sue," and "Ring of Fire," his music has influenced other iconic artists like Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, and Sheryl Crow. But what Cash is lesser known for is his love of cooking. The Man in Black enjoyed preparing food, with an emphasis on Southern comfort foods, and even invited other celebrities over to enjoy his home-cooked meals with them. The dish he is most known for is his famous "Old Iron Pot Chili," which contains an interesting ingredient used to thicken the stew: cornmeal.

After his death, the country music legend's son, John Carter Cash, compiled his family's best recipes into "The Cash and Carter Family Cookbook." In it, he revealed that his father used liberal amounts of cornmeal to thicken his chili. The catch to this famous chili recipe, however, is that Cash never measured his cornmeal. "He would go by the chili pot with a handful of cornmeal in his hand — I remember seeing this so many times when I was a boy — and he would throw the cornmeal at the pot," Cash's son explained to NPR. Talk about an improvisation that could only be performed by an expert musician — and Southern-style cook.

Cornmeal is a smart way to thicken a pot of chili. While Johnny Cash didn't measure his cornmeal for this trick, it's recommended to add a tablespoon or two of finely ground cornmeal to the pot and let it simmer for at least 10 minutes so it can absorb some of the liquid. An added benefit of cornmeal is that it adds another layer of flavor to the chili, giving it a mild corn flavor.

Another, less flavorful, way to thicken a pot of chili is to make a slurry with flour or cornstarch and slowly add that to the pot. Always let it simmer for at least 10 minutes to let it thicken before adding more. Other unconventional methods of thickening a pot of chili include adding crushed tortilla chips, oats, or even Saltine crackers, which are often added to the top of the bowl. It's also possible to thicken your chili by taking some of the beans out of it, mashing them up, and then adding them back to the pot.

If we're being honest, though, none of those methods sounds nearly as tasty as Cash's cornmeal trick. Just be careful not to add too much. "You didn't know how much was going to get into one pot of chili to the next," John Carter Cash admitted. "So, there was a whimsical nature to some of their creations." Because the cornmeal in the Cash family's delicious chili recipe was never measured, the thickness of the final product could be a bit unpredictable.