My friend you have to understand chili is big here, and I could not let your post go unchallenged. Yes pre made and add beans can be ok !
I have made chili using, deer, wild pig, tame pig, goat, chicken, beef of every cut ground and shredded, tho I do like using cooked and shredded brisket.
To bean or not to bean ?
Raging debate !
I like and make both, but when using beans I usually stay with pinto or reds.
And all from scratch when it comes to the dry mixture tho I do use fresh onions by preference.
A story comes to mind of my oil patch days, the co that I worked for sent me to buffalo ny to a customer that bought one of our free water knock out tanks that were having problems with it when they turned into it. Come to find out the water was fresher with less salt so the gravity was lower. So I was sent up to install a weir plate and adjust for the gravity of the water oil interface.
Very shallow wells, young couple picked me up from the hotel and the job was done within 40 min after I was on location. I mentioned or asked about Niagara falls and how far it was. And they promptly bundled me up and off we went!
Went over the international bridge, me in a large black stetson hat with boots with a old no arms insulated vest, green if I recall!
To the Canadian side of the falls, and I took a peek at the falls and then we drank some very fine Canadian beer and had a fine old time for several hours.
Now the chili thing , during our talks the guy asked about chili, it seems up in Yankee land at the time he could not find any good chili mixes, and he and his wife had a love for 3 alarm chili mix! That they could not find anywhere!
(note: before Internet)
I told them I had them covered !
And when I got back to midland , told the boss and we bought a couple of cases of 3 alarm mix and shipped it to them.. Made them very happy campers, and bought some more equipment, along with a L.A.C.T and glycol gas dehydration unit that I flew up and setup for them..
This all happened in 1982 iir.