The Chili produced, sold, and consumed in the Cincinnati area is not truly "Chili"as we know it. Cincinnati Chili is unique and quite different from its western cousin. In fact, about the only relation it has are the meat, cumin and chili powder it contains. After that, the recipe takes an interesting twist. Cincinnati style chili is also unique to the area (you can't find it too far outside the greater Cincinnati, area, although I did hear that one company was considering opening a store in Phoenix, Arizona) and unique in the way it came to be.
In 1922, a Macedonian immigrant, Tom Athanas Kiradjieff settled in Cincinnati with his brother, John. He opened a hot dog stand, which he named 'Empress' and sold hot dogs and Greek food. He did a lousy business because, at that time, the large majority of the inhabitants were of German heritage, and nobody in the area knew anything about Greek food, and weren't thrilled by it.
Tom was not to be defeated. He took a Greek stew, maintained the Mediterranean spices of Cinnamon and Cloves, changed the meat to ground beef, and added other spices, such as chili powder, to the mix and began to sell this stew over spaghetti and called it 'Chili.' It proved to be a successful experiment. He also came up with the idea of selling his Chili in 'ways', which is also unique to the area.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. lean hamburger (don't brown, chop up)
2 qts. water
2 lg. onions, chopped
2 (16 oz.) kidney beans
29 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
4 tbsp. chili powder or more
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate squares
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 drops Tabasco sauce
Instructions:
In an 8 quart kettle combine raw hamburger, water and onions; stir until beef separates to a fine texture. (Yes, you do not brown the meat.) Simmer for 30 minutes. Then add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 or 3 hours, uncovered. Pot may be covered the last hour after desired consistency is reached. Serve with steamed buns, hot dogs, onions and cheese or serve over spaghetti noodles, onions and cheese. Serve with oyster crackers.
How to fix or order at restaurants:
3-way: spaghetti, sauce, finely grated Cheddar cheese
4-way: spaghetti, sauce, cheese, onions
5-way: spaghetti, sauce, cheese, onions, beans. Makes 6 pints.
I have a Louisiana cousin Billy Rester who loves this, so I put this one here just for him - Enjoy