I think chili is one of those emotional dishes. My Dad's chili was pretty consistent. Beans or no beans just depended on if we had leftover beans. Moms chili had a few leftover veggies, a càn of Rotel. It was a fun dish as when we had soups, stews and chili we each got our own sleeve of crackers.
My Grandad's chili he always boiled his burger and rinsed it a couple times. The texture of the meat and he always floated a jalapeno in the pot while simmering.
Me?? I like to MSU. I'm in no way constrained to one method.
The pot I fix for myself is much spicier than when I'm sharing with The Bride..it's easy enough to heat things with sauces. The only complaint The Bride ever expresses is "needs more salt". Not just chili but pretty much everything. She can shake it on hers like I do scorpion on mine
)