Did They Eat It: Cincinnati Chili

Have you had Cincinnati Chili before?

I used to eat this chili at the house of my second family, The Mitchell's.  I've talked before about this family I grew up knowing. I've mentioned how I watched them ferociously looking for how normal families work, how normal marriages are, and least dramatically, how people cooked food that tastes good.

Things I learned about food at the Mitchell's:
Hamburgers from McDonald's are not "gourmet".
Spaghetti with clams and red sauce is amazing.
Pork Chops can be cut with a knife without straining your bicep.

Chili from Cincinnati is the best kind of chili in the world. It's made with chocolate and if you hate chocolate you're probably not human.

Here is the recipe I've decided is my favorite.

I think this is the first time I have all the ingredients in the picture. I'm missing nothing. As a bonus, please note the Golden Spoon from the Men's Bake Off in the the old neighborhood in the background.

This recipe requires a lot of spices and my brain is a little forgetful. So I line up all the spices with the appropriate measuring spoon in preparation.

Brown the ground beef. Hope the lighting in your kitchen keeps ground beef browning from looking horrible.

Add 1/4 cup chili powder.

Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

1 teaspoon cumin.

1/4 teaspoon allspice.

1/4 teaspoon cloves.

Tomato sauce.

A bay leaf.

Hey! It's a half a square of chocolate. How unusual.

Beef Broth.

Cider vinegar. Remember my vinegar story? I'm not telling it again. Good luck.

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like more heat).

Stir it up, bring to a boil and then simmer on low for one and a half hours.

Then, and here's where you go, "What the fuck Melissa!" It's supposedly best the day after you make it. And I always start making this too late to eat it so we've always had it the day after. I've also been tortured by the smell of the chili in the house for the entire day after I've made it waiting for dinnertime. So, you know, try to plan accordingly.

You generally serve Cincinnati chili over spaghetti noodles. But guess what? I forgot to buy spaghetti noodles so we ate it over elbows and the Ohio State Troopers did not knock on our door.

Maddie had a small bowl of chili seperate from her pasta. "If I like it I'll put the chili on top of my pasta."

Right.

Did They Eat It?

Logan: I love this. I love you. Thanks for processing the shit out of the onions.

Max: Mom you're the best.

Madison: Well the pasta is really good!

Me: You know, I'm a fan. I may be bathing in this right now. Or maybe not.

Comments

[Alison]

As someone who does not like chocolate, I can tell you from experience I get the "you must not be a woman/human/American/normal person" a lot. Considering it's one-half of a square in all that chili, I would definitely try it. I do love chili!

[Carmen]

I have a slow cooker recipe called Sunday Football chili that contains all of those ingredients MINUS the chocolate PLUS a tablespoon of brown sugar. But I think next time I'll add the chocolate. It will likely vault it into the out-of-this-world category of chili. Mmmmm....now I want some.

[Saple]

cincinnati chili rocks, my mother made it when we were little and it was always a treat to actually go to the retail stores in cincinnati, I think I will make this, but we never ate it the next day because there was never any the next day left

[Eric Hegwer]

FYI - Cincinnati Chocolate must use Bittersweet Chocolate.

[Molly]

America's Test Kitchen has an intriguing looking recipe for Cincinnati Chili. It involves dropping the ground beef into simmering water and poaching it before draining it and stirring it into the other ingredients. I like it; I don't love it--what I really love is the authentic Texas stuff without tomatoes or beans, lots of dried chiles, and chopped (rather than ground) beef. Cincinnati-style tastes a little more like sloppy joes to me than chili.

All the same, glad they ate it (with the exception of Maddie. If it makes you feel better, I used to be exactly the same kind of reluctant tryer-of-new-things. I outgrew it.)

[Phil]

Well, as a Texan it's a matter of honor that I will take exception to your claim of this being the greatest chili ever (and I've got Molly to prove it - thang cue darlin'), but seeing as how I've never tasted this concoction, I will admit it looks good. I would definitely add a little more cayenne, and perhaps several other peppers. At least the pictures came out well.

[The Bug]

I moved to the Cincinnati area about 12 years ago from NC & got my first taste of Cincinnati Chili. I thought, what? Chili over spaghetti? But you know, it's really good - in a category all itself really. And the 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top (how they serve it at Skyline Chili) doesn't hurt at all!

[Lisame]

Alison, I feel your pain. I hate chocolate. I once told an woman that chocolate tastes like vomit and she deadpanned at me "girl, your vomit obviously tastes better than mine!" I died with laughter.

I don't like mole's either but I am going to make this for my boys because I think they will love it. Thanks for the recipe!

[Kizz]

I love that the chocolate is a "spice" according to the photos. That's my kind of spice!

[St]

Yeah, Phil, when I moved to Cincinnati from Kansas City I was like, "this is NOT chili" It took me about three tries to get a taste for it but it's now officially on the list of things I crave on a regular basis!
It has never occurred to me to try and make it myself!

[lynne]

Being from Columbus, OH I am curious why this is called Cincinnati chili. Is there a restaurant there that started this? Leave it to Ohioans to combine beef, cheese, and chocolate all in the same dish..because we're not obsese enough. Still, it sounds delicious! I'm going to try to make a vegetarian version.

[AmyinMotown]

I thought I hated Cinncinnatti chili (I lived in Ohio in my childhood and we had friends from Cinci who would bring us the flavoring packets) but thius? this looks good and I know at least two people in my family would love it. Did you use unsweetened or bittersweet chcolate?

[Betsy]

Boy, you really sneaked in the onion--I don't see it in the recipe! :)

I assume it's browned with the ground beef?

[Kelly]

That chili looks very tasty! I like the chocolate in chili idea because it reminds me so much of a Mexican adobo sauce. I prefer my Texas Red Chili, but this seems like it would be a nice change of pace, and dreamy over noodles.

[A]

Chili looks great, I am SO hungry right now. Nursing a very slight hangover (too much champagne) and this would totally hit the spot. Think I'll make some later, will even try it over the noodles.

[Amara]

I may or may not be a moron....
When do I put in the onions? Are they diced? Do you hide them in the recipe making process so Logan will eat it? I'm assume they are diced and done while browning the ground beef.
I love that it's only ground beef and not a whole lot of other meat I can't stomach.

[MelissaS]

Enh I didn't mention it but yes, soften the onions before the beef. The full recipe is linked. Here it is again.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cincinnati-Chili-I/Detail.aspx

[Jenn]

Just a little money saving suggestion: Spices at the grocery store can be ridiculously expensive. If you have the time to make an extra stop, spices can often be purchased in bulk at your local co-op for a fraction of the cost, and you can also buy only what you need or what you think you'll use over the next month or three.

[zan]

I just got back last night from a southern Ohio visit where I had my annual three-way (spaghetti, chili, cheese). I despised the stuff while I was growing up there, but now it's a must-have whenever I go home, and I'd love to perfect my own version of the recipe. So glad you successfully took this back north with you!

[Julie]

Thank GOD I live in Cincinnati b/c this recipe takes toooo much work! Just kidding- it's totally worth it. And dammit, you got me hooked on Matt, Liz and Madeline and I just cried reading about Maddie's birthday party. I cried. From reading a blog. Of a person I don't know. I'm hooked now, so add it to my list of oh, 10 or so blogs I follow daily. :) Thank you Melissa!

[deannagabriel]

i used to add a tablespoon or so of cocoa powder to my chili and some brown sugar to cut the acid of the tomatoes. one day i realized i was out of chili powder, but had a package of instant hot chocolate. added that to the mix instead of the cocoa powder and brown sugar and it was aMAZing. so in a pinch, this can work... ;)

[Julie]

Oh and P.S., to all: You should try Skyline Chili Dip
1 can of chili (or ~2 cups of this recipe)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
shredded cheese

Spread cream cheese on the bottom of a pie pan, cover with chili, cover with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Dip with Frito Scoups. You've never tasted a chili dip like it! But watch out, it's incredibly addictive.

[Anne]

This looks *really* good. I'll have to bookmark it for later in the week when we sink back into rainy cold weather; chili is perfect for that sort of weather.

[Zandor]

That looks really good. I like how you line up all the ingrediants by the measuring spoons. Now I want some chili.

[Maureen]

Skyline Chili is amazing. I often ask my husband, who's from Cincy, WHY they don't have any here in Chicago. He said, "Because chili on spaghetti freaks some people out."

Harrumph.

[Katie]

OMG! I love Skyline Chili! (That's what living in Cincinnati for 10 years will do to you.) Luckily some Buckeyes have spread the goodness to Indianapolis and there's a Skyline a few miles away. Plus it's really fun to order a "Three-way" in public.

[Emily]

lynne, the original Skyline restaurant was in Cincinnati - that's why it's called Cincinnati chili. Skyline was the first restaurant, to the best of my knowledge, to make this type of chili (my husband calls it meat soup; he clearly doesn't know what he's missing) and serve it over spaghetti. It's also great on a baked potato, if you are so inclined.

[amy]

MUST make this. Thank you!

[Kevin]

Now that we live in the Cincinnati area and I have seen my fair share of this stuff over noodles, your's looks like it has by far more meat in it than any I've ever seen here.
That can only be a good thing.

[homeslice]

hey, do you think it would be decent with low fat ground beef? or should i not bastardize the recipe? it looks so yummy . ..

[Lynne]

Thank you Emily! I was thinking maybe it was a Skyline thing, but I wasn't sure.

[Rosie]

Lucky me I have both Skyline and Goldstar down the street.

I love all kinds of chili, but if you're going to serve it with pasta, it has to be Cincinnati chili.

[Lisa]

I just made this for the first time, and used the recipe that you recommended. And all I have to say is "What the fuck, Melissa!"

SO GOOD. Just made this pregnant lady REALLY happy.

[Katy]

Actually Katie,

Cincinnati Chili is a result of the Greeks who immigrated here, trying to get more customers in their restaurants. The first Chili Parlor was Empress Chili, which is still open today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_chili

My favorite is Camp Washington Chili.

[mutuelle dentaire]

I like that the chocolate is a "spice" according to the photos.

[mutuelle dentaire]

mmmm i must make this.. thanks