The Classic Comfort Food Johnny Cash Was An Expert At Cooking

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It always tickles us to learn that famous entertainers of years past were also foodies like us. Some of these legends are so monolithic in our minds that knowing what they liked to make for dinner is humanizing in a way that we appreciate. John Wayne used to grill up old-school cowboy steaks, for instance, and Judy Garland was a master at whipping up a luxuriant shepherd's pie for dinner. Johnny Cash, the famous Man in Black singer-songwriter, was well-known as a chili maestro.

While there's a whole, controversial list of the best unique ingredients to add to chili, Johnny's pot — which he liked to cook in cast iron — was more or less mainstream, with a couple of distinguishing features. Cash chose chunks of sirloin steak for his chili, he made it with kidney beans and packaged chili seasoning, and he added both sage and thyme for herby savor. What stands out about the recipe is that it is unpretentious, inexpensive, and full of classic flavors. 

One can imagine that Cash enjoyed this chili when he was home for short spells between touring dates. Cash's son John Carter Cash even published a cookbook, The Cash and Carter Family Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from Johnny and June's Table, that passes on some of the recipes that his celebrity parents used to enjoy.

John Carter Cash prepared a version of his father's chili on a segment for Huckabee, and watching him you get the feeling that Johnny Cash might have been okay with improv on the fly. Cash was known to use chunks of sirloin steak in his chili, but John Carter Cash would settle for ground chuck, or even make the chili with venison. You'd recognize all the usual suspects in the chili pot, like tomatoes, chili powder, lots of cumin, and oregano. John uses at least half a dozen different types of beans to keep things interesting. He also adds a crunchy top made with cornmeal, Fritos chips, and cheese that all is broiled together. According to the Cash son, his dad was known to just fling cornmeal atop his chili and sometimes make a mess!

Some folks like a more refined approach to the food they eat, but, to hear his son talk about it, Johnny Cash was wholly unpretentious. His chili recipe is a testament to the fact that you don't need expensive or rarified ingredients to make something delicious, and that, sometimes, simple is best. Notably, Cash's chili recipe made it into the USO cookbook. Cash himself was an Air Force vet who gave countless shows for the men and women serving their country.