Cincinnati is in Ohio. That is the sum of my knowledge about the city. Was it not for the 70's sit-com WKRP in Cincinnati, which I watched on re-runs a decade later while in college, I might never had heard of the city at all. And I still know nothing about its cuisine. I googled, found out that it has German and Mediterranean influences, and that it's best known for a bunch of food items invented in local restaurants that I have never heard about. The exception being Cincinnati chili and McDonald's filet-o-fish.

I don't even recalled how I heard about Cincinnati chili, but once I did, I was intrigued enough to want to make it.

Cincinnati Chili

Chili is the quintessential American dish. It's a simple stew of ground beef and, most often, beans seasoned with chili peppers or, more often, chili powder. While it undoubtedly has Mexican antecedents, it seems to have been born in Texas and was popularized by street stands in San Antonio. It became so popular, that it was featured at the 1893 Chicago World Fair, from where it was launched into the Midwest, where hundreds of chili restaurants - each featuring their own interpretation, served its cheap fair to workers and families in the early 20th century.

Cincinnati chili is said to have been created in 1922 by Bulgarian/Macedonian immigrants Tom and John Kiradjieff, whose hot dog stand grew into the now defunct Empress Chili restaurant chain. After WWII, a former Empress Chili cook refined their recipe and went on to found Skyline Chili, which seems to define what Cincinnati chili is today. This style of chili differs from the Texan version by having a much softer and uniform texture, less heat and no beans. It's closer to a meat sauce heavy on chili powder than to what most people in the West would consider a chili.

I had my Skyline copycat Cincinnati chili on spaghetti with a thick layer of shredded cheddar cheese and some oyster crackers. Diced onions, beans and hot sauce are optional and I opted out. Cincinnati chili apparently needs to be served on a restaurant-style over dish for it to taste right, but as I'm not a restaurant, I just copied the shape but used a round plate. The results were pretty good, I enjoyed my dinner and the copious leftovers. My husband had the chili on top of a Costco hot dog, and he thought it was pretty good like that as well. He also ate it with bread, but he missed the beans there. He prefers regular chili but was happy enough with this one.

The secret to Cincinnati chili is to mash the ground beef in water, add all the ingredients and then heat the whole mess. This produces a very smooth chili, which is pretty sauce like. It was interesting textually, but I prefer having more of a chew.

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Cincinnati Chili Ingredients 2 lbs ground beef 1 cup tomato paste, divided 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 - 3 sweet onions, diced 6 garlic cloves, minced 3 bay leaves 1/3 cup active dry or instant yeast 2 Tbsp. chili powder 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika 1 1/2 Tbsp. Kosher salt 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp ground white or black pepper 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 1/2 lbs dried spaghetti 1/4 cup olive oil 1 can kidney beans (optional), drained and warmed 1 1/2 lbs medium cheddar, finely shredded hot sauce (optional) oyster crackers Directions Place the ground beef in a large cooking pot or Dutch oven and add 4 cups of cold water. Using a potato masher or whisk, break up the beef, until it becomes a thick slurry. Stir in another 4 cups of water. Add 3/4 cup (1 small can) tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, 2 onions, garlic, bay leaves, yeast, chili powder, paprika, Kosher salt, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, white or black pepper, cayenne, cloves, and ginger and mix well. Place the pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Bring heat down to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chili has acquired a non-soupy texture, about 3 hours. Adjust seasoning. Towards the end of the cooking, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until soft. Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil and tomato paste in a large serving bowl. Drain the spaghetti and transfer it to the serving bow. Toss around until all the spaghetti is coated. Divide the spaghetti into dining plates. Cover each with the chili. Add optional diced onion and beans. Serve with shredded cheese, hot sauce and oyster crackers on the side.

Adapted from a recipe at Serious Eats

Related cuisines I've explored so far:

American Regional Cuisines: American, Alaskan, Appalachian, Alabamian, Angeleno, Arizonan, Arkansas, Baltimore, Californian, Coloradoan, Connecticuter, Delawarean, Floridian, Georgian, Hawaiian, Hoosier, Idahoan, Illinoisan, Iowan, Kansan, Kansas City, Kentuckian, Lowcountry, Mainer, Marylander, Massachusetts, Michigander, Minneapolis, Minnesotan, Mississippian, Missourian, Montanan

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