Cincinnati Chili Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the 6 ways at Cincinnati chili? ›

The chili at this Cincinnati institution can be served plain, 3-way, 4-way, 5-way or 6-way. Learning the lingo didn't take long for Guy Fieri. He ordered the 6-way, which includes everything: chili, spaghetti, beans, onions, cheese and fried jalapeno caps.

It's ground beef simmered in a sauce filled with Mediterranean spices. There are two key ingredients in Cincinnati chili that differentiate it from other kinds of chili: ground cinnamon and dark chocolate.

Add Some Acidity at the End

Perk up your pot of chili by adding in a dash of apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, or fresh lime juice right before you remove it from the stovetop. The acidic pop at the end will bring out all the layered flavors you worked so hard to achieve.

You may also hear Cincinnati chili called Skyline chili. This moniker actually comes from a Cincinnati restaurant, Skyline Chili, that got its name for its spectacular view of the city's skyline.

Customary toppings include cheddar cheese, onions, and beans; specific combinations of toppings are known as "ways". The most popular order is a "three-way", which adds shredded cheese to the chili-topped spaghetti (a "two-way"), while a "four-way" or "five-way" adds onions and/or beans before topping with the cheese.

Cincinnati chili is an acquired taste that has developed a cult following around its unique flavor and serving options. The sauce-like consistency, sweet spices, delicately textured beef, and inclusion of spaghetti are the elements that set Cincinnati chili apart from the spicy "bowl o' red" served in other areas.

Cincinnati Chili is made with several non-traditional ingredients including chocolate, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. It's also a thinner chili overall, and it's served over spaghetti noodles with a mountain of cheese on top.

Use All-Purpose Flour or Cornstarch

"Transfer some warm liquid [from the chili] to a separate bowl. Whisk in the flour or cornstarch, then slowly stir it back in the pot," advises Wofford. Bring the mixture back to a boil, which will "activate" the ingredient, instantly thickening the dish.

Spices: While cumin, chile powder, and cayenne pepper tend to be common additions to many chili recipes, there's a broad world of flavor out there to experiment with. Try a little fenugreek, turmeric, garam masala, or sumac to layer in more complex flavors.

Most Common Chili Spices. Cumin, Chile Powders, and Paprika are the most common spices in chili followed by garlic, onion, coriander, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves. These ingredients can be combined to create a savory and well-balanced pot of top notch comfort food.

Why do you put vinegar in chili? ›

With only about 1 tablespoon per pot added toward the end of the cooking process, the vinegar will make the flavors more vibrant without overwhelming the dish with its biting tang. Through just a splash, everything becomes a little brighter, and the chili's flavors are more balanced.

Pretty much anyone who makes Cincinnati style chili uses cinnamon; it's a key flavoring ingredient in a unique regional dish. Cinnamon and other sweet spices can be used judiciously in savory dishes, but you do need to be careful wth them. Too much and your spicy sauce starts tasting like apple pie.

Skyline Chili is a perfect food and I will tolerate no slander of it. We can agree that sauce-like clove-nutmeg-cinnamon-and-god-knows-what-else-infused Cincinnati chili bears little resemblance to the bean-studded or beef-chunked stews that other regions of this great land might recognize as chili.

Spaghetti topped with chili, our special chili sauce, extra chili beef, shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses, and fresh diced onions.

It was October 24, 1922, when Athanas (“Tom”) and Ivan (“John”) Kiradjieff opened their Empress Chili Parlor, the first ever to serve what we now call Cincinnati chili, at 816 Vine Street, tucked inside the Empress Burlesk Theater. Cincinnati loved its chili way back in 1918.

Just over a decade after Skyline Chili came on the scene, four immigrant brothers from Jordan bought a restaurant called Hamburger Heaven from a former Empress employee. Once they noticed that their chili was outselling their burger offerings, they renamed their restaurant Gold Star Chili.