My Skyline Chili

Cincinnati chili is unlike any other chili in the country, and Skyline is its most famous local chain. This homemade version copies the signature elements: a thin, spiced meat sauce that’s more Mediterranean-Greek than Tex-Mex, with cinnamon and allspice playing center stage, ladled over a bed of spaghetti and topped with a snowdrift of shredded cheese.

The spice profile is what shocks people who try it for the first time. Cinnamon and allspice in chili? Yes. The original Skyline recipe came from a Greek-Macedonian immigrant in 1949, and you can trace the warm baking spices right back to dishes like pastitsio and moussaka.

The technique is also different. The ground beef doesn’t get browned hard. Some Cincinnati purists boil the raw meat in water for an even silkier texture. This version takes a middle path with a quick brown before simmering, which keeps things easier without losing the signature loose, thin sauce.

The long three-to-four-hour low simmer is what melds everything. The chili powder loses its raw bite, the cinnamon and allspice mellow into a warm background note, and the vinegar tightens up the tomato base.

Pro Tips

• Use a spice bag for the whole peppercorns and bay leaves so you’re not fishing them out later.
• Don’t skip the vinegar. It cuts the sweetness and balances the spices.
• This chili is meant to be thin. If yours looks soupy, that’s correct. The pasta soaks it up.
• For the proper Skyline experience, serve over spaghetti and pile shredded cheese a half-inch high on top. That’s called a “three-way” in Cincinnati.

Variations

• Order it Cincinnati-style: a “four-way” adds chopped raw onions; a “five-way” adds kidney beans on top.
• Substitute aged cheddar for colby if you want sharper cheese flavor.
• Add a square of dark chocolate to the simmer for deeper, almost mole-like complexity.