Traditional Cincinnati Chili Food

CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add half the chopped onions and the garlic and cook until soft, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, allspice, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and cloves. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the beef and cook the mixture, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt.
• Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaf and 1 1/2 cups water; simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thicker. Add the chocolate, vinegar and Worcestershire and cook until the mixture is thickened but still soupy, about 15 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain well.
• Discard the bay leaf and season the chili with the freshly ground pepper. Divide the spaghetti among bowls and top with the chili, beans, remaining onion and cheddar. Serve with the oyster crackers if desired.

AUTHENTIC CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Crumble raw meat into cold water in medium stock pot. DO NOT brown meat.
• Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
• Lower heat and simmer for 3-4 hours.
• Serve over spaghetti with cheddar cheese and onions, on hotdogs with mustard, cheddar cheese and onions, or in a bowl with cheddar cheese, onions and oyster crackers. I put a little hotsauce on mine!

TRADITIONAL CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Pour water into a large cooking pot (5-qt size)
• Crumble raw ground beef into water.
• Add beans, onions, garlic, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and all of the spices, salt and peppers.
• Stir together and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer till meat is cooked and chili is thickened, from 45 minutes to an hour and a quarter (depending on how thick you like it).
• When chili is nearly done, prepare spaghetti (as much as you need - think in terms of how much you would want if this were spaghetti sauce).
• Place drained spaghetti on plates and ladle chili over it.
• Top with shredded cheddar.

AUTHENTIC CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Place the ground beef in a large pan, cover with about 1 quart of cold water, and bring to a boil, stirring and breaking up the beef with a fork to a fine texture. Slowly boil until the meat is thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes, then remove from heat and refrigerate in the pan overnight.
• The next day, skim the solid fat from the top of the pan, and discard the fat. Place the beef mixture over medium heat, and stir in the onions, tomato sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chocolate, chili powder, salt, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cloves, allspice berries, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours. Add water if necessary to prevent the chili from burning.

CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• For the chili: In a stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the tomato sauce, tomato paste, onions, chili powder, cocoa powder, sugar, kosher salt, cinnamon, cumin, garlic salt, allspice, pepper, cayenne, cloves, bay leaves, beef (do not brown first) and 2 cups water. Mix until combined. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for approximately 2 hours. Stir in the vinegar and simmer for another 30 minutes.
• To serve: Serve on a bed of spaghetti and top with the beans, onions and a mound of cheese (or any preferred combination). Add hot sauce, if desired, and eat with oyster crackers.

CINCINNATI CHILI I

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot, combine all of the ingredients except the beef, pork, and toppings.
• Cover and bring to a boil.
• Crumble the meats in gradually and return the mixture to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, uncovered, or until the chili is as thick as you like.
• Discard the bay leaves.
• Serve the chili in flat soup bowls by putting a layer of spagetti, then the chili over top, then passing the remaining toppings at the table for each person to personalize their own.

CINCINNATI FIVE-WAY CHILI

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients; set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
• Add in ground beef; cook until meat is browned, breaking up into small crumbles with a wooden spoon.
• When the beef is browned, add in onion, garlic, spice mix; stir/saute 1 minute.
• Add in tomato sauce, water, BBQ sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, chocolate, and bay leaves.
• Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
• Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour (it should look more like a thick sauce than the chili most people are used to).
• Remove bay leaves.
• To serve five-way: distribute spaghetti among 8 bowls; spoon chili over spaghetti.
• Top chili with cheddar cheese, onion, and kidney beans.

CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• In a large heavy kettle cook the onions and the garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, add the beef, and cook the mixture, stirring and breaking up the lumps, until the beef is no longer pink. Add the chili powder, the paprika, the cumin, the coriander, the allspice, the orégano, the cayenne, the cinnamon, the cloves, and the mace and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the bay leaf, the water, the tomato sauce, the vinegar, and the molasses and simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary to keep the beef barely covered, for 2 hours, or until it is thickened but soupy enough to be ladled. Discard the bay leaf and season the chili with salt and pepper. The chili may be frozen or made 4 days in advance, cooled, uncovered, and kept covered and chilled. Serve the chili as is or in the traditional Cincinnati "five-way" style: Ladle the chili over the spaghetti and top it with the beans, the onion, the Cheddar, and the oyster crackers.

THE BEST QUICK CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Cook spaghetti noodles til tender. Set noodles aside. Heat oil on medium high and add ground beef in skillet. Wash hands and chop onion and bell pepper - adding to beef. Cook til browned.
• In separate pot, add spices, sauces, drained and rinsed beans, and diced tomatoes. (I believe it's Del Monte that has a small glass jar of diced tomatoes that are as good as fresh ones.)Simmer ingredients and pour in the beef mixture.
• Season with pepper and salt.
• Divide drained spaghetti among 4 serving bowls. Top with chili, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Serve immediately.

CINCINNATI CHILI I

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 6 minutes.
• Add beef, in batches if necessary, and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned.
• Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• It is the best if you now refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the bay leaf. Reheat gently over medium heat. Serve over hot, drained spaghetti. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute onion until tender. Mix in burger-style crumbles and garlic; cook until the crumbles have browned.
• Stir in tomato sauce, water, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, chili powder, cinnamon, paprika, allspice, light brown sugar, cocoa, and hot sauce. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until sauce thickens.
• While the sauce is thickening, bring a large pot of salted water to boil; place spaghetti in the water and bring it to a boil again. Cook until al dente. Drain well.
• Stir beans into the chili and mix lightly.
• Spoon cooked spaghetti into bowls and top with chili. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

CHEF JOHN'S CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Combine beef and tomato paste in a large pot. Rinse out the tomato paste can with a couple tablespoons of water and add to the pot with garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, sugar, and salt. Add apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and cold water. Mash and stir with a potato masher or a large whisk to break up the meat into fine pieces.
• Place the pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until flavors come together and chili reaches your desired thickness, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Taste chili and adjust seasoning. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle over spaghetti into serving bowls. Top with some onions and Cheddar cheese. Cut and scoop the noodles up with a fork like you're eating a casserole.

QUICK CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add bell peppers and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add chili powder, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
• Add beef and cook, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice and molasses and simmer briskly, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.