Original Tommy’s Chili Recipe – FOOD is Four Letter Word (2024)

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: 10

Method

• 1)

  Remove the stem and seeds from the Jalapeño. Coarsely chop your Carrot and place it with the Jalapeño into a food processor and process until it becomes a paste. If you don’t have a food processor, grate the carrot and jalapeño then chop them well so it becomes a paste. Place this mixture into the pot.

• 2)

  Add these to the pot: 3 Cups of Water, 1 Pound of Ground Beef, 3 Tablespoons Mexene Chili Powder, 2 Tablespoons Gebhardt Chili Powder, 4½ Teaspoons of Ground Cumin, 3½ Teaspoons of Kosher Salt, 4 Teaspoons of Paprika, 1½ Teaspoon of Sugar, 1 Teaspoon Ancho Chili Powder, 1 Teaspoon of Onion Powder, ½ Teaspoon of Garlic Powder, ½ Teaspoon of Black Pepper, 1 Teaspoon of White Vinegar and ½ Teaspoon Mexican Oregano (if you’re not using Ground Oregano, put the dried leaves in the palm of your hands and rub them back and forth to break up the leaves into small pieces, there shouldn’t be any whole pieces).

• 3)

  Using your hands, mash and break up the ground beef, there shouldn’t be any chunks left. This technique is how you get that fine texture for chili sauce (browning the beef will never give you the correct texture).

• 4)

  Instant Pot: Press Sauté and adjust to the “More” setting, after 3 minutes stir constantly with a mixing spoon or spatula for 4 minutes. Then press Cancel to turn off Sauté mode, then choose High Pressure / Manual and set it for 15 Minutes.

  Stovetop: Turn the heat on high, wait about 1 minute then stir constantly with a mixing spoon or spatula until the mixture starts to simmer. Turn the heat to low, cover your pot and let it simmer for 1½ hours.

• 5)

  *This step of browning the flour needs constant attention. Place a large stainless steel skillet pan on your stovetop and turn the heat to medium. Place ½ Cup of All Purpose Flour into the pan, shake and whisk the flour constantly for about 15 minutes or until the flour becomes a light brown color. Add 6 Tablespoons of Masa Harina and a ¼ Cup of Barley Flour and brown for 3 more minutes. Place the flour mixture into a bowl, once it has cooled. Add 1 ½ Cups of Water and whisk very well until smooth, then set aside. (See the picture above the recipe to get the correct coloring)

• 6)

  Instant Pot: When the timer is up, wait 10 minutes while it releases the pressure naturally, then switch the knob to Venting – once the pin drops open the lid. Press Cancel to turn off Keep Warm mode, choose Sauté and press Adjust so it’s on the “Low” option. Pour in the flour/water mixture slowly while whisking the chili, then whisk very well. Let the chili simmer on Sauté mode for 13 minutes stirring occasionally.

  Stovetop: Remove the lid, then pour in the flour/water mixture slowly while whisking the chili, then whisk very well. Let the chili simmer for 13 minutes stirring occasionally.

  Use this chili sauce with hot dogs, hamburgers or chili fries. Enjoy!

↓ Supplies to make this recipe ↓

25 Comments

• Karla

  August 22, 2018 at 10:08 pm

  You posted a picture of the chili cup, does it have an ingredients list on it? I think I can make out the word “Ingredients” on it. If so, what does it say???

  Reply

  1. Van

     August 22, 2018 at 10:56 pm

     Hi Karla, the chili cup does not have the ingredients listed, Tommy’s doesn’t have an ingredient list posted anywhere – that’s why their recipe was so hard to figure out.

     See Also

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     Reply

     1. Jodi

        January 15, 2021 at 6:39 am

        Thanks so much for this! I made it last night, it was really good. I miss Tommy’s so much and go every time I’m back home! My family enjoyed it as well, made chili fries and chili dogs.

        Reply

  2. Dom

     February 11, 2023 at 1:53 am

     I am soooo EXCITED to try this! Tommy’s Burger is so nostalgic for me. My parents, aunties and uncles all grew up in LA and use to eat at the small OG location. Everytime I visit I get one.

     Reply

• Karla

  August 23, 2018 at 9:30 am

  Years ago I bought a chili cup to go with an In’n’Out burger and it listed ingredients, now I wish I had taken a picture of it.

  Reply

  1. Van

     August 23, 2018 at 12:53 pm

     Tommy’s chili on a double double would be amazing!!! As far as I know, they have never printed an ingredient list anywhere.

     Reply

• Mike

  November 29, 2018 at 9:20 am

  The original recipe has Cloves in it. Believe me. Try it but just a little. Use ground.

  Reply

• Heidemarie

  April 10, 2019 at 9:38 am

  I like adding chorizo to my Tommy Chili recipe. I think my ex grandmother in law was right. It may be the secret ingredient

  Reply

  1. AnnA

     November 14, 2020 at 7:54 pm

     Ive always told my husband that!

     Reply

• C. Koulax

  June 30, 2020 at 9:05 pm

  There is no ground beef in the chilli- tommys grandson

  Reply

  1. Van

     July 1, 2020 at 4:24 pm

     I’m not going go into detail how I found out, but I know the ingredient list of the chili because I know who the supplier is and there is definitely beef in the chili – I just don’t know the exact spice mix. Either he never taught you the recipe or Original Tommy’s has been lying for 70+ years.

     This is posted on the site:
     

     Reply

     See Also

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     1. ALR

        September 8, 2020 at 10:31 am

        Tommy’s uses RC Provisions chili con Carne https://www.rcprovision.com/chili/ as a base. They sell it at Smart & Final stores.

        Reply

        1. Eagle Rock

           July 4, 2023 at 2:53 am

           I’ve watched cooks chop and add hamburger patties to the vat. Not sure why they’d pay for a chili blend when they are cooking burgers all day.

           Reply

• Brian

  September 27, 2020 at 1:41 pm

  You seriously did it. This tastes just like Tommy’s chili. Thank you! This is awesome.

  I will note though that at no point does the recipe ever say to add the Ancho Chili Powder, though it does list it as one of the ingredients.

  Reply

  1. Van

     September 27, 2020 at 7:09 pm

     Thanks Brian, I updated the recipe to include the ancho chili powder in the instructions. Glad you enjoyed it!

     Reply

• Steve

  October 15, 2020 at 5:49 am

  I tried this last night, I have lived in Southern California and moved to the Seattle area and I have been craving Tommys ever since, this recipe is spot on – Thanks

  Reply

• Russ Utsler

  November 10, 2020 at 3:23 pm

  Have ingredients, making chili tomorrow, burgers next night for dinner.
  Moved to Columbus, OH in 2018 and missing The Shack. Will be eating in driveway, outside the car as per my Dad’s instructions. RIP Pop.

  Reply

• Peter

  December 27, 2020 at 3:11 pm

  Thanks for posting this — great job with the recipe! I made the recipe for the first time last night. As an LA native, the Tommy’s run is a sacred ritual, and always on the agenda whenever I travel down there. But, because we didn’t make it for the holidays in this pandemic year, I resorted to get my Tommy’s fix by making my own.

  I ended up mail ordering the Mexene chili because I couldn’t find it locally (Bay Area), and subbed pasilla chili powder for the ancho powder. The flavor is really really close — as close as I’ve come using different recipes I’ve found online. Your comments about the chili powder combination making the difference are spot on. Slopped that chili onto a burger, and the flavor was very familiar. It tasted great!

  The only flaw I found was that the texture ended up a little bit mealy. I had made the Kevin Is Cooking recipe a couple of weeks ago, and while his flavors were off (he’s a SF native, so he didn’t grow up with Tommy’s like we did), his recipe does get the texture closer. The flour mixture in that recipe calls for 2/3 all-purpose and 1/3 masa flours with 2 cups of water (no barley flour and no browning). When pouring that into the chili base, the mixture was watery.

  With the flour mixture in your recipe, I got something much pastier and that seemed to translate into the chili itself. Not sure if mixing more water with the flours would help make it smoother, but I’ll try that next time. Also, I was using purple barley flour and 85/15 ground beef.

  Looking forward to making more of this chili when we finish up the current batch. (Also plan on making a vegetarian batch using Beyond Beef.) Tried it on a hot dog today, and it also hit the spot!

  For the real Tommy’s experience with the hot dogs, go with either the Papa Cantella or Evergood all-beef franks with the natural casing. Cantella is Tommy’s current hot dog vendor, while Evergood supplied Tommy’s for many years prior. I use Evergood, since they’re made in San Francisco and easier to find in the Bay Area. Steam them up and it tastes like I’m back at the Shack!

  Reply

  1. Van

     January 10, 2021 at 5:00 pm

     Thanks for trying it out, next time trying using ground beef with a higher fat content. Tommy’s has grease sitting on top of the chili, so at least 20% fat is needed, closer to 30% would be better if you’re trying to get it closer to the original. And you could add more liquid to the recipe if it seemed to thick or grainy. I checked out Kevin is Cooking’s recipe, it appears that he simply adapted my recipe and adjust a few ingredients without crediting my original recipe – sorry but you can’t simply recreate it only having it once. I’ve enjoyed Tommy’s for the last two decades and found out who the supplier was, that’s how I was able to come up with my ingredient list.

     Reply

• Mark

  September 11, 2021 at 11:22 am

  Great post, its almost chili season and I’m going to try this recipe….Love Tommy’s Chili! However, I’ve read Tommy’s used XLNT Chili Con Carne in the past https://www.xlntfoods.com/chili-con-carne so will be incorporating that chili starter with this recipe to dial it in.

  Reply

• Tom

  April 16, 2023 at 6:48 pm

  Born and raised in SoCal ,now live in the south,one of the few things I miss about it is Original Tommies.Have tried other recipes but they just weren’t ever right, yours is definitely the best I’ve tried, pretty much spot on. Was like eating a memory! Thanks.

  Reply

  1. Van

     April 16, 2023 at 7:35 pm

     You’re welcome Tom, I’m glad you liked it! Try using ground beef with a high fat content to get it closer to Tommy’s

     Reply

• Becky Royle

  November 25, 2023 at 4:13 pm

  Really well done report! I’m a “valley Girl “ from the 60’s and my dad took me to Tommy’s the first time for lunch. He worked in Hollywood . I’m making my own chili powder right now, looked you up on Pinterest. I live in Montana now and totally miss our cuisine of LA. I’d kill for real Mexican food as well…….so, I make my own. Good job investigating!

  Reply

• Timby

  November 29, 2023 at 8:45 pm

  I just made this tonight and WOW! It turned out super good! A+++++ 11/10 will make again.

  Reply

• Danny

  December 6, 2023 at 11:42 pm

  I’m very impressed! It’s not exactly like Original Tommy’s but it’s very close and pretty tasty! I’d make this again…

  Reply