Jens Cincinnati Chili Recipes

CINCINNATI CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add half the chopped onions and the garlic and cook until soft, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, allspice, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and cloves. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the beef and cook the mixture, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt.
• Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaf and 1 1/2 cups water; simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thicker. Add the chocolate, vinegar and Worcestershire and cook until the mixture is thickened but still soupy, about 15 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain well.
• Discard the bay leaf and season the chili with the freshly ground pepper. Divide the spaghetti among bowls and top with the chili, beans, remaining onion and cheddar. Serve with the oyster crackers if desired.

JEN'S HEARTY THREE MEAT CHILI

Steps:

• Cook and stir sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain; place sausage in a pot large enough to hold all ingredients. In same skillet, cook and stir onion with ground beef over medium heat until beef is browned and onions are tender; drain and add to the large pot.
• In same skillet, cook and stir stew beef over medium heat until browned. Without draining, pour stew beef into the large pot.
• Pour tomatoes, beer, and water into the pot with meats. Stir in chili powder, red pepper, white pepper, sugar, and cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Simmer until stew beef is very tender, at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed. If you prefer a thicker chili, thicken as needed with tomato paste. If using kidney beans, add them 10 minutes before serving, just in time to heat through.

CHEF JOHN'S CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Combine beef and tomato paste in a large pot. Rinse out the tomato paste can with a couple tablespoons of water and add to the pot with garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, sugar, and salt. Add apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and cold water. Mash and stir with a potato masher or a large whisk to break up the meat into fine pieces.
• Place the pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until flavors come together and chili reaches your desired thickness, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Taste chili and adjust seasoning. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle over spaghetti into serving bowls. Top with some onions and Cheddar cheese. Cut and scoop the noodles up with a fork like you're eating a casserole.

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.

JEN'S CHILI

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in large pan or pot; remove and drain grease if necessary.
• Add sirloin and onion and saute until lightly browned. Return ground beef to pot. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 2-3 hours, covered, stirring occasionally.