Cincinnati chili is a unique type of chili that’s flavored with not just chili powder but lots of other spices, including cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. This recipe was handed down to me by Mom, a Cincinnati native. I like mine 4-way, with spaghetti, raw chopped onions, and grated mild Cheddar. Serve oyster crackers on the side.
Preparation Details
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 quart water, or amount to cover
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 5 whole cloves
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 1 bay leaf
Steps
- Gather the ingredients.
- Place ground beef in a large pan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil, stirring and breaking up beef with a fork to a fine texture. Slowly boil until meat is thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes.
- Add onions, tomato sauce, vinegar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and chocolate. Stir in chili powder, salt, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper until well mixed. Add cloves, allspice berries, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours. Add water if necessary to prevent chili from burning.
