This post was originally published on May 3, 2011. Wowza! It got a little facelift in the form of new photos and a lovely printable recipe. Dig in, friends!

Rain, mixed precipitation, and more rain… This has been our weather pattern for the past three weeks. Add colder than normal temperatures and you get an idea of the dreary outdoor conditions around here. Blech. Today, the boys and I hit the end of our proverbial rope and decided we wouldn’t take this rain lying down either literally -because puddles- or figuratively- because MEH. We combated the four billionth consecutive torrential rainy day by…

Wait for it…

EATING!

That’s right. We avoided looking at the grey, nasty sky by fixing our gazes firmly on a big, fat, meaty bowl of Cincinnati Chili. Cincinnati Chili will make you believe the skies are blue even if they aren’t. Which they aren’t. Sigh.

Have you ever eaten Cincinnati Chili? Have you ever heard of Cincinnati Chili? Everyone in Cincinnati bear with me for a minute while I clue everyone else in on the glory that is your city’s chili, okay?

Cincinnati Chili is meat. Seriously. It’s meat, more meat, some onions, garlic, other stuff and meat. It’s not a vegetarian friendly option, so save it for nights when your carnivorous buddies are in town. Also? I’m just going to go ahead and get this out of the way. It’s made with chocolate, cinnamon, and nutmeg in additional to the things you’d usually think of; chili powder, salt, pepper, etc… Don’t walk away here. Don’t get weirded out. It is my favorite chili in the entire world. Break it down with me a bit. Chocolate (unsweetened), cinnamon and nutmeg are often combined in traditional Mexican foods. Think of Mole. Mole has those ingredients and roughly five hundred other crazy things. Allow me to reassure you. You don’t sniff it and say, “Wow! Cinnamon Chocolate Nutmeg Chili. That’s wild!” You sniff it and think, “That is complex. I can’t really identify what is in there, but DANG that smells good. Gimme a fork. Now.”

This brings me to another important defining feature of Cincinnati Chili; You eat it on spaghetti with a fork. Huh? Seriously. Everyone who has had Cincinnati Chili has a favorite way of ordering it. You can choose from the following: (Thank you Wikipedia)

• two-way: spaghetti and chili
• three-way: spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheese
• four-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, and diced onions
• four-way bean: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, and beans
• five-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and beans {and sometimes even oyster crackers. No joke.}

And dear heavenly father, help us. There is more. You can also order:

• cheese coney: hot dog topped with chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and mustard
• chili cheese fries: French fries topped with chili and shredded cheese

BANG go your blood vessels. Who cares at that point? You’d go out happy.

I can tell you that I’ve eaten each of the above options and I don’t have to drive to Cincinnati (lovely city that it is…) to get them. My homemade Cincinnati Chili is a point of pride for me. The balance of ingredients is perfect. It is equally at home over spaghetti, fries or hot dogs.

A final word of advice: If you find yourself in a Cincy Chili parlor and you want the full experience, be a champ and don’t twirl your spaghetti. They’ll know you’re not native before you can Lady and the Tramp those noodles into your mouth. Cut it with the side of your fork and you’ll blend in like chili.

Cook’s Notes

• If you can stand it, make Cincinnati Chili the day before you want to eat it. It’ll be hard to withstand it, and I wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t, but in the grand tradition of chilis and stews worldwide, Cincinnati Chili tastes even better on Day 2, 3, and 4 after being made.
• Likewise, it holds up beautifully in the freezer, so don’t be tempted to reduce the recipe. Say hello to instant chili dogs and chili cheese fries all summer long…
• I like to break the meat up as small as possible while browning it and continue breaking it up very finely while the chili simmers. This is because I like my Cincinnati Chili to be fine textured for more versatility.
• While I would normally shut my own fingers in the door before telling you to rinse spaghetti that is to be served hot, the instruction here serves a purpose. It is how it’s served in Cincinnati and it keeps the noodles free to move around in the chili. It’s all part of the experience!

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Cincinnati Chili

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Rebecca Lindamood

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

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Meaty, meaty, meaty! Cincinnati Chili is definitely hearty (and not vegetarian) fare. While the ingredients may sound odd, they're quite traditional and yield incredibly flavourful chili.

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients for the chili:

• 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 3 pounds lean ground beef or venison
• 1 quart cold water
• 2 large onions peeled and diced
• 3 cloves of garlic peeled and minced or crushed
• 1 can tomato paste 6 ounce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder preferably Dutch processed
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper reduce if you don't like spicy foods
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg preferably fresh
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for serving:

• Cooked spaghetti rinsed with hot water
• Grated Cheddar cheese
• Diced onions
• Chili beans heated
• Optional: Oyster crackers to soak up liquid.

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a heavy pot and brown beef, breaking up into very small pieces.
• Add onions and water and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer and add all other ingredients and let simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until it is as thick as desired. We like ours quite thick.
• Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove bay leaves before serving.
• Serve over spaghetti with finely shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onions and kidney beans on top.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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