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Subject: Lynn Wilson's Brick Chili From: Pat Date: 12/24/2020, 11:21 AM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com On 12/23/2020 5:49 PM, Pat wrote: I grew up with Lynn Wilson's Chili (Utah). Dee's Hamburger Drive-Ins used it, snack bars at a large variety of entertainment venues served it and my mom used to buy the frozen gallon containers of it and ship it to me in California (packed in dry ice). I know that the company was bought by Resers (soooo sad). Do you know if there are any copycat recipes for that chili? It was relatively mild and my sensitive stomach tolerated it well. Thank you for any help you can offer. Pat Nampa ID
Hi Pat,
I haven't seen any brick chili in years. As a teenager, I worked at a fast-food restaurant similar to McDonald's where we used frozen brick chili on the hot dogs (Can't recall the brand, but it was very good.)
As you say, Lynn Wilson Products was sold to Reser's Fine Foods in 2002. At the time, Reser's said they would continue the brand and product line, but I cannot find any verification that the Lynn Wilson line was continued after 2002. That doesn't mean that it wasn't, just that there is nothing about it on the web. Reser's has a website at: Reser's Fine Foods. They list all of their product lines and brand names on that site, but Lynn Wilson's is not among them, and Reser's apparently does not sell brick chili at all now.
I was not able to find a recipe or a copycat or even a recommendation of a chili or brick chili that "tastes-like" Lynn Wilson's.
Have you tried the brands of brick chili that are available currently? Two that are recommended are "Dolores" and "Schwab's," which you can get at Walmart. Another brand is "XLNT", which you can get at Albertson's Supermarket. There is also one called "Texas Chili", but that one is probably not mild. See these sites:
Although I was not able to find a recipe for brick chili that was described as tasting like Lynn Wilson's, I did find some recipes for homemade brick chili. The advantage with these is that you can regulate the spiciness yourself. See these recipes:
I will post this for reader input.
Phaed
On 3/24/2021 12:46 AM, Douglass wrote: Lynn Wilson's Brick Chili I've been doing a little digging. It appears that Lynn Wilson's chili still survives in the Dee's Family Restaurant chain in Salt Lake City. It has been close to 40 years since Lynn Wilson Foods discontinued frozen chili bricks. However, that apparently didn't spell the end of Lynn Wilson's chili. Dee's Hamburger Drive-Ins and Dee's Family Restaurants used Lynn Wilson chili bricks to prepare their chili from the 1950s on. They served it in bowls, on chili dogs and on chili burgers throughout the time Lynn Wilson Foods made it. It appears they continued with a Lynn Wilson chili until Dee's sold its hamburger chain to Hardees in 1979. I recall having chili since the 1960s at Dee's drive-ins until they closed, and in the Family Restaurants until the present. I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the chili. I dropped in at the Dee's restaurant at 2100 South Redwood Road in Salt Lake and ordered their chili burger just to make sure. It tasted the same as always. According to the people at that location, they have been putting the same chili on their open face chili burger since the restaurant opened in the 1950s. That suggests they somehow got the recipe from Wilson Foods after the chili brick was discontinued. They don't serve bowls of chili any more nor chili dogs. They still serve it on their open face chili burgers. The chili at Dee's is mild, thick and bright red. It tastes like typical old time Mormon chili without the typical beans in Mormon chili. They won't give out the recipe. However, they don't mind telling you what's in it. They just don't give the proportions or how it's prepared. It contains ground beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, and a bay leaf. Best Wishes, Douglass