My wife’s grandmother (Becky) lived in Louisville Kentucky during the last years of her life which prompted annual visits from my wife and I and our kids – who adored their great grandmother. We would always drive there, a twelve hour adventure, with a ritual overnight stop in Ohio. It was on one of these jaunts that I discovered Cincinnati Chili for the first time.
Cincinnati chili is different – and I mean really different – from those wonderful Texas chilis that we here in the stew have come to know and love. The signature flavor in Cincinnati chili is clove and it is traditionally served over spaghetti. Yup.. spaghetti.
If you’re ever in the Cincinnati area and want to stop and sample this exotic local chili you’ll need to know the “way” code. If you want Cincinnati chili over spaghetti just ask for a “two-way.” If you want chili over spaghetti with cheese, order a “three-way.” Chili over spaghetti with cheese and onions is a “four-way.” No need to say anything else.. they’ll know what you mean.
Now our Cincinnati Chili recipe is not going to blanket a bowl of spaghetti – It just feels wrong. Instead we use a good bunk of Freedom Fries as the base. If you have the time, this is a great make-ahead recipe that gets better with overnight refrigeration. And don’t let the length of the ingredient list scare you, it’s almost all spices.
Need This
2 pounds ground beef (80% is fine) or ground Turkey
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground clove
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 28 oz. bag of frozen freedom fries – crinkle cut is best
Wondra flour (for thickening)*
1 – 8 ounce package of shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
1 sweet onion – chopped (optional)
Do This
Put the ground meat and bay leaf in a large pot. Add clean cold water to the pot until it just covers the meat.
Light up the burner to high heat.
Bring the meat/water mixture to a rolling boil then reduce the heat and let simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
Using a hard spatula, chop the boiling meat up into the smallest grain possible. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pot and put it into a food processor. Pulse until you get a very fine grainy texture.
Return the meat to the pot, add all the spices and stir it up good.
Simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove from heat and let the chili come to room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate until serving or overnight is even better.
Remove from the fridge ½ hour before serving and skim off any excess fat that may have hardened on top.
Place the pot on a burner and put a medium heat under it. Heat uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chili is almost to a boil – then reduce the heat to low.
Shake in the Wondra flour and stir until you get the desired consistency.
Make your freedom fries.
To serve, put the fries down as a base and slather them all over with the CC chili (a two-way). Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the top if desired (a three-way). Add onions if you wish (a four-way).
That’s it!
Serves 4 – 6. My cost approx. $ 10.35 total – about $ 2.07 per serving
*Cincinnati chili is typically thinner and more watery than Texas chili which is often thickened with masa flour. GMN