Cincinatti chili

5 years ago

I have never paid much attention to Cincinnati Chili until it came into my view a few day ago and I realize that I did not really know what was meant by Cincinnati Chili. We had a cumin based kind of chili on macaroni w cheddar cheese, but never real Cincinnati chali

As soon as I saw what it was I instantly recognized it as much like that Greek meat sauce that is spied with sweet spices.

Then, I read about the immigrant from Macedonia who introduced it in this way.

Of course, it makes sense!

Now that I understand what it is I am anxious to take a stab at it.

This looks delicious, but it also looks a lot like fast take out food loaded with shredded cheese. As indulgent as that looks, it might be best to tone it down a bit. I will bet that is good with all of those sweet spices!

I just wonder why this little delicious looking and sounding bit of fast goodnesses has not made it to the mainstream yet.

Anyone wish to share their Cincinnati Chili experiences? I don't have any since I have never had it. I can only imagine.

I see that some say the chocolate is a part of it and some say the opposite. Either way, chocolate is good used like that. Can't be bad!

I am going to give it a try. I think I see the objective and I have made the Greek meat sauce a number of times. This seems a variation on that.

I did an image search and almost every photo of Cincinnati Chili looked pretty much like the other photo, something vaguely dark and mysterious under a pile of uniformly shredded yellow cheese.

Am going to give it a whirl, but not with that much cheese. I have some good quality cheddar to use.

I just wonder that this has not become more widely known.

It is not really a chili at all. Only that it has meat and a couple of common things. The spice journeys for the two are quite different.

Sounds yummy!

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Comments (5)

ediej1209 AL Zn 7
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
There is a chain of restaurants based in Cincinnati called "Skyline Chili" - is theirs anything like what you are describing? It's been probably at least 35 years since I had it.
User thanked ediej1209 AL Zn 7
plllog
5 years ago
Oh, thank-you for this!! I have never understood it at all. My first reaction to it was WTF??? The Macedonian origins make it all become clear! Our "robins" aren't real robins either, just look a little similar if you squint, "robin" being a convenient word to use for them. Now I can contemplate the whole idea of Cincinnati chili with equanimity rather than being perplexed by how it could have happened. :D
User thanked plllog
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User
Original Author
5 years ago
Yes I looked at that Skyline website. They lay claim to a very tightly held recipe that may, or may not, have chocolate in it.

The Greek meat sauce is not made with chocolate.

I have used sweet spices in any number of tomato based meals and also I have used peanut butter. So, I am familiar with these properties.

I am going to give it a try. I love the Greek meat sauce.

It seems to me, being not a scholar of such things, that as you go east from Italy that there seem to be more what we think of as sweet spices used in cooking.

It is my observation that Italian is somewhat more herbal and Greek includes more of the resinous spices from seeds and trees, such as allspice, cloves and cinnamon.

Nutmeg does get used in some Italian cooking. I like a nice scrap of nutmeg in some things.
l pinkmountain
5 years ago
Since I love Greek food, and that "sweet" spices with peppery ones is classically Greek, the first thing I thought of when I heard of Cincinnati style chili was "Oh, that's just Greek chili, and I should find a recipe and try it." I make it in the crockpot and usually when I have company. They usually like it and it's unusual enough to be fun. Here's my recipe. I don't add raw onions and crackers, and go easy on the cheese.

I cook the kidney beans right in with the stew, don't add later. Plus I make it with fake meat crumbles/tvp.

https://www.cookingindex.com/recipes/13143/cincinnati-style-chili.htm
aliceinmd
5 years ago
We used to purchase a mix by Purely American (now out of business) that contained dried kidney beans, a spice mix, and detailed instructions that included adding half a square of unsweetened chocolate at the end of cooking. Skyline’s chili is among the restaurant favorites in Cincinnati; however, we had the canned version of it once and could barely eat it. The recipe above from l pinkmountainsounds good, and Cook's Country had one about ten years ago. I found this one (as yet untried) which sounds like it would taste familiar -- https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cincinnati_chili/-- and which also includes this helpful description:

THE DIFFERENT “WAYS” TO SERVE CINCINNATI CHILI

What makes a 2-way plate of chili different than a 5-way? Here’s the scoop:

· 2-Way: Chili served over spaghetti.

· 3-Way: Chili served over spaghetti with finely shredded cheddar cheese.

· 4-Way: Chili served over spaghetti with diced onions and finely shredded cheddar cheese.

· 5-Way: Chili served over spaghetti with warmed canned red kidney beans, diced onions, and finely shredded cheddar cheese.

Five-Way is definitely worth the effort, and you’ll be full for quite a while.

Cincinatti chili

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ediej1209 AL Zn 7

plllog

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l pinkmountain

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Cincinatti chili

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ediej1209 AL Zn 7

plllog

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l pinkmountain

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