Green Bay Style "Chili Johns" / "Real Chili" Chili

Chili comes in many varieties...about as diverse as the ethnic mixes of the regions that made each style famous.  One of the oldest and most unusual varieties is that which is known as "Green Bay" Chili or "Chili John" chili.  It predates the similar Cincinnati 5-way by a number of years and traces back to Lithuanian immigrant "Chili" John Isaac, who opened a restaurant in 1913 down by the docks of Green Bay, WI, hanging a simple sign out front that said, "Chili".

"Chili" John Isaac

Not only did John Isaac invent this style of spaghetti-meat sauce-beans on top chili, he also invented the Oyster Cracker, calling upon the Nabisco company for a cracker that would be sized more appropriately for adding to his chili.

Chili John's at one time had 3 locations...Green Bay, Beaver Dam, WI, and Burbank, CA.   All three are still in business, though not affiliated, and only the Green Bay one still serves the completely authentic John Isaac recipe.  (UPDATE:  As of 2024, there is no longer a Chili Johns in Green Bay, nor do they sell the sauce).  John Madden, legendary NFL coach and broadcaster, never missed a visit to Chili John's when he covered a Green Bay Packers game.  Fran Tarkenton also was known to have a bowl before playing the Packers at home.

So where does "Real Chili" come into the story?

According to the Real Chili website, Milwaukee's infamous chili restaurant was started by Francis Honish in 1931.   What the website doesn't tell you is that Francis Honish was a former cook at Chili John's in Green Bay.  Hmmm.   There was actually a bit of bad blood and a lawsuit or two over the issue way back when, but time seems to have quelled the implications of chili-theft.   Both chilis are very, very similar in style and taste.  Patrons today probably don't care about the politics involved, they're just glad that they can get a bowl of Green Bay Chili in Milwaukee or Green Bay!

I've eaten at Real Chili and all three of the no-longer-related Chili John's restaurants and no matter what variation you get, it's all good!   This is a close rendition of the original Chili John's chili, though the real recipe is still a secret.  

(2024 update: So secret that, of the dozen or so "Chili John" recipes on the Internet, NONE of them are 100 percent correct.  This is as close as I have come.  If anyone out there *has* the real recipe and cares to share it -- particularly now that in 2024, Green Bay's Chili Johns is no more, please do so! 

Until that day, which may never come, I give you this: )

You will need for the Meat Sauce:

1/2 lb. Beef Suet, rendered
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 lbs hamburger browned
1 oz. unsweetened Baker's chocolate
3 T chili powder
1 T cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like it hot)
1.5 T garlic powder
1 T cumin
1 T paprika
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3-4 chili peppers, ground finely
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 T Johnny's French Dip Au Jus (comes in a little jug)

(10/08/2024 -updated - nutmeg, clove and allspice removed after several of those familiar with the real Chili John recipe said to omit them, some other amounts and ingredients changed.  It's as close as you'll get without the actual recipe!)

Render the suet in a large pan, remove whatever is left and cook onions until tender. Add the meat and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. When meat is browned, add spices, chocolate, broth,  and vinegar, stirring to mix well. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1½ hours. It should start to thicken. It is best if refrigerated overnight and reheated the following day.

To serve, you will need:


Spaghetti noodles
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Vinegar (I like British Malt Vinegar)
Chopped onions
Warmed kidney beans or chili beans
Franks Red Hot
Oyster crackers
Pickled jalapeno slices

Spoon some cooked spaghetti noodles into a bowl, spoon generous portion of meat sauce on top of that, with some beans, a handful of oyster crackers, and a dash of vinegar.   That's your basic Green Bay Chili.  In addition, you can add any combination of the above toppings to complete your Green Bay Chili experience.  Mmmm...hot, greasy, yummy Green Bay Chili!

Mom's Chili

When I was growing up, every Saturday, September through April, Mom would make a big pot of chili in the morning.  It would always be gone by the end of the weekend.

Mom with one of her legendary
wild game pies

Mom's chili was what she called "Dodge County Chili", named after the area of Wisconsin where she grew up, but was really her own variation, a much more chili-like variation than what traditionally fit that name.

In Wisconsin, chili is (or was, before the Internet and cable tv cooking shows homogenized a lot of regional cooking) divided into two camps...that which is similar to what Mom made, and what's known as "Green Bay Chili" which will be covered in a future edition of this blog.

Mom's Chili was known far and wide by her friends and family as the best around.  She made it every year for the last day of Deer Hunting season and held an open house on the lake they live on for any and all hunters.  It was a perennial hit!

We lost my Mom to cancer earlier this year.  With the nip in the air now, my thoughts naturally turned to her chili, and I'm going to try to keep up the tradition of making a pot of it every Saturday.

I love chili -- all types and styles -- and though this may not be a true chili by those who make standards on such things, it will always be my favorite.  I hope you'll make a pot of this too and enjoy it as much as I have over all these years.  Thanks, Mom!


You'll need:

1 large can tomatoes (or frozen tomatoes, about a quart)
1 lb hamburger
1 can chili beans or kidney beans
3 stalks celery
1 onion
1 green pepper
2 jalapenos (optional)
1 T Cumin
3 T Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
1 T Beef Boullion powder
1 Quart Tomato Juice
1/2 cup elbow macaroni

Brown the hamburger, toss in the onion, diced, along with the celery and peppers, also diced.  When hamburger is browned and vegetables soft, season with garlic salt to taste, then add the beef boullion, stir in well til dissolved.  Then add the tomatoes, beans and the rest of the seasonings.  Simmer, season with garlic salt and more chili powder if necessary, add the noodles and the tomato juice.   Simmer 30 minutes, serve.

Dig House Tater Salad

Potato Salad...that staple side dish of church picnics, summertime barbecues, dish-to-pass events and sporting tailgates.  There are countless ways to make potato salad, but my recipe is loosely based on a 'tater salad' that I had many years ago, who's author was undoubtedly some unknown mom of a college student.

The Dig House today

I don't know who started it, or when, but back in the early 1980's at UW-Platteville there was an off-campus house at 40 E. Cedar St known as the "Dig House" because of a re-occuring party tradition known as the 'Potato Dig'.   The residents of said house would get 50 lb bags of potatoes and an alarming number of half-barrels of beer and throw a party.   Potatoes, being cheap, were the perfect fare for college students and the Dig House folks served them up mashed, french fried, baked and pretty much any way you could imagine, including potato salad.

At one of the Potato Digs that I attended, there was a terrific potato salad that had lots of dill and pickles in it.   I had never had such a thing in my young life and, due to the deliciousness of the salad and the inebriated state I was in, promptly ate a ton of it.

This is not that recipe, I have no idea who made that particular potato salad, but ever since I've made my potato salad 'in the spirit' of that potato salad.  I think it's pretty darn good.  I hope you'll think so too.

You will need:

4-5 large potatoes or 6-8 medium, peeled
4 eggs
1 stalk celery
3-4 Milwaukee Kosher Baby Dill pickles
1 small onion
4-5 radishes
1 cup Mayonnaise
1/8 cup Yellow Mustard
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt and Pepper

Start by peeling the potatoes, cut into chunks, place in a saucepan with 1 T. Salt and the 4 eggs, cover completely with water and bring to a boil.  While this is boiling, dice up the celery, pickles, onion and radishes, put in a colander with 1 T salt and toss, set over sink or over large bowl.  The idea is to leech much of the water out of the vegetables.  Don't worry about the high salt content, most of it leeches out with the liquid.

Mix the mayo, lime juice and mustard together, salt and pepper this dressing to taste.

Watch the potatoes, you want them not quite 'done', so that you can slice them into cubes and have them be soft, but they'll hold their shape.   Depending on the potato, probably about 10-15 minutes of boiling.   When done, remove from heat, put pot in sink and run continuous cold water in the pot to cool the eggs and potatoes.

Dice the potatoes up into approx 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes.  Peel the hard boiled eggs and dice up.  Place in large bowl and add the rest of the vegetable mix.  Add the dressing and toss liberally.  Adjust seasoning to taste, sprinkle with Paprika  and garnish with a sprig of Parsley.  Cover and refrigerate at least a couple hours before serving, best if it sits overnight.