Cooking with Flew: Cincinnati Chili

[flewellyn]

Cincinnati Chili is a regional specialty of Cincinnati, invented by the Macedonian immigrant population. It's a delicious variant of what we commonly know as chili: instead of the Tex-Mex flavor of "standard" chili, it has a much more Mediterranean flavor. It's also served differently, over pasta.

I was introduced to it by my friend Lynn, who I may have mentioned before is an excellent cook. This is one of my favorite dishes she's ever made, and one that I have wanted to try my hand at for some time. I finally managed to get the recipe from her (time to talk about it is a factor), so here we are!

The ingredients list is rather long:

• 1 lb of ground meat. Beef, turkey, chicken, or even lamb will do. I used turkey.
• 3 smallish onions, diced. Vidalias are a good choice. Some of the onions you will put in the chili, the others are for topping.
• 1 cup of barbecue sauce. Specifically, a tomato-based, slightly sweet, somewhat spicy barbecue sauce. Georgia Mustard won't do here. This will be the sauce base. I used Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy.
• 1 cup of water.
• 2 cloves of garlic. Or, the equivalent in minced garlic. Do not use garlic powder.
• 1 tablespoon chili powder.
• 1 teaspoon black pepper.
• 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate.
• 1/2 tsp cumin.
• 1/2 tsp turmeric.
• 1/2 tsp allspice.
• 1/4 tsp cloves.
• 1/4 tsp coriander.
• 1/4 tsp cardamom.
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
• 1/2 tsp basil.
• 1/2 tsp oregano.
• 1/4 tsp ginger.
• 1 tsp salt.
• Optionally, a small can of tomato juice to thin the sauce out if need be. If it gets too thick before it's done, it could burn.

Quite a list, no? Yes, all of that really does go in there.

And that's just for the chili itself. It's served over spaghetti noodles (I would use 1/2 a pound for the measurements given above), topped with shredded cheddar cheese, and optionally with diced onions, kidney beans, and oyster crackers. Those don't take much prep, though.

As long as the ingredient list is, the equipment list is short. You'll need a skillet, a measuring cup, possibly some measuring spoons (although just normal ones do fine, if you know your teaspoons from your tablespoons), a pot to make the noodles, and some bowls to serve the toppings in, if you like.


First off, get the ground meat browned. Once it is, put in some of the diced onions, and sautee until they are translucent and soft. Then, add the garlic and barbecue sauce to the skillet. Stir it all in, add the water to thin it out a bit--don't worry, it will thicken while cooking--and bring it to a simmer. This simmer should be at low heat.

At this point it becomes a "dump and stir" recipe, where you put in each spice, stir it in, and then add the next one. Once all the spices and seasonings are in, let it simmer, stirring it and keeping an eye on it, for about an hour or so. This phase can also be done in a crock pot.

Once it's done, it can stay on warm for some time. You can also transfer it to a crock pot to keep warm. It also reheats very nicely.

Serve over spaghetti noodles, or some other long pasta. Linguine works fine, or fettucine. I already mentioned the traditional toppings, which taste great with it. I especially love piling on the cheese.

That's it for this edition, and remember: less time cooking means more time eating!

PS. If you intend to make more than 1 pound of meat's worth of chili, say, 2 pounds, you can proportionally double the onions, barbecue sauce, water, and garlic. Do NOT double the spices. They're quite potent.

PPS. They should really make air fresheners that smell like a spice rack. I'd buy one that smells of a good garam masala much more readily than floral scents.

Comments

[nimbrethil.livejournal.com]

Well. I know what I'm making for supper tomorrow. Although I'm not sure I can bring myself to dump it over pasta.

[dorei.livejournal.com]

It's really surprisingly good. I discovered it in my early 20's when my ex moved us back to his "home" in Cincinnati. I swear, Skyline Chili was the only thing good about Cinci. Well, that and Graeter's Ice Cream and Montgomery Inn Ribs.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

That's really how it's supposed to be served, though.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Mm, that sounds nice. It reminds me a bit of the Middle Eastern meat dishes that cookwitch makes.

[bear-foot.livejournal.com]

yum! *Nom* *Nom*

[dorei.livejournal.com]

Or you could just run out to Wegman's and pick up a can of Skyline Chili. Mmmm ... Skyline ...

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

No Wegman's in the midwest.

[dorei.livejournal.com]

That is a travesty.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

We have a very nice store here called Hornbachers. It's a North Dakota thing.

[bear-foot.livejournal.com]

weggies Rulez! /Ratchester NY :)

[bear-foot.livejournal.com]

oh, either Americas test kitchen/Country Cook(both done by ATK) did cin. chilli too one episode if you get pbs... its a pbs show

[lucretiasheart.livejournal.com]

My mouth is already watering just reading this!!

[happiestsadist.livejournal.com]

That sounds amazing. I'm going to veggiefy it.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Lynn tells me that you can do it just fine with textured vegetable protein.

[happiestsadist.livejournal.com]

Excellent. Delicious chili shall be MINE! Bwahahahaha!

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Yours is an evil laugh!

[happiestsadist.livejournal.com]

I even have a cat i my lap to pet while I plot. The effect is lost by her being engrossed in washing her ears.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

This is Cinnamon, isn't it?

You could jokingly tell her that you're gonna use her in the chili. It does call for Cinnamon, after all...

[happiestsadist.livejournal.com]

Of course. If there's a part of me that can be sat on, Cinnamon will likely sit on it.

I told her I'm going to make her into chili, and she said "mrrt" and headbutted me.