Aunt Isabelles Cincinnati Chili Recipes

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 CHILI

Steps:

• Bring 2 quarts of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the ground beef and stir vigorously to separate the meat. After about 30-45 seconds, before the water returns to a full boil, drain the meat into a strainer and set aside.
• Rinse and dry the saucepan, then place over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onions and cook for approximately 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and browning around the edges. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and remaining teaspoon of salt. Cook until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds, then add the water, stock, tomato sauce, and apple cider vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any brown bits that have formed.
• Add the ground beef back to the pot and turn the heat to high. Once the chili is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chili has thickened, approximately 1 hour. Stir in the bittersweet chocolate and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Taste; add cocoa powder if the chili tastes too sweet (the bitterness of the cocoa powder will balance). Season with additional salt as desired.
• To serve: divide the buttered spaghetti into individual bowls. Top with the chili, cheddar cheese, onions, and kidney beans (or any preferred combination). Leftover chili can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for several months.

CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Cook beef and about 1 1/2 cups of the onion in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown and onion is tender; drain.
• Stir in tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce and chili powder, breaking up tomatoes. Cook uncovered over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired consistency. Meanwhile, cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package.
• Cover and refrigerate half of chili for another meal. Spoon remaining chili over hot spaghetti; sprinkle with cheese and remaining onion.

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.