Cincinnati-Style Chili
Submitted by mommy
Cincinnati-style chili with ground beef simmered in a sweet-savory sauce of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cocoa-adjacent spices, and molasses, served over spaghetti with cheese and hot peppers. A Midwestern classic.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
2 hrsCincinnati-style chili is the Midwestern oddball that won America over: loose, thin, spiced with warm notes of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, ladled over a tangle of spaghetti and buried under a blizzard of shredded cheddar.
What sets it apart from Texas or Southwestern chili is the spice cabinet. Alongside chili powder, cumin, and paprika, you get cinnamon, allspice, ground cloves, and coriander, all bloomed together for a full minute before any liquid hits the pot. A tablespoon each of molasses and red wine vinegar round out the sauce, sweet and bright against the deep spices.
The texture should be soupy rather than thick. Ninety minutes of covered simmering breaks down the ground beef into a fine, sauce-like consistency. Add water as it cooks down, you want it to pool on the plate around the pasta, not sit in mounds.
Serve three-way (chili, spaghetti, cheese), four-way (add onions or beans), or five-way (all of the above) with pickled hot peppers on the side.
Pro Tips
- Bloom the spices in the beef fat first, this is what develops the layered flavor.
- Use chuck with good marbling, lean ground beef turns dry during the long simmer.
- Skim fat halfway through, traditional Cincinnati chili is not greasy despite the long cook.
- Make it a day ahead, the spices round out overnight in the fridge.
Variations
- Add half an ounce of unsweetened cocoa with the spices for the classic Skyline-style depth.
- Top with diced onions and warm kidney beans for a true five-way.
- Use it to top hot dogs for a cheese coney sandwich.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large heavy pot heat the oil over moderate heat and cook the onions and garlic until softened.
Add the ground beef, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink.
Drain off any excess fat and discard. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, salt and pepper, to taste, stirring to combine and cook for 1 minute.
Add the bay leaf, red wine vinegar, molasses, tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer chili, covered for 1½ hours, adding additional water, if necessary, to achieve a thick and soupy consistency.
Discard bay leaf and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve the chili over cooked spaghetti with the traditional accompaniments.
Comments
