This Cincinnati Chili recipe is the real deal.

Ever been to Cincinnati? I’m not quite sure why, but they’ve got their own crazy, amazing chili recipe with some mighty unusual ingredients, originally created in the 1920s by a family of Greek immigrants who opened a chain of restaurants. I spent a fair amount of time in Cincinnati back in the 1970s and 80s (my first husband had relatives there), and every visit ALWAYS included chili.

Genuine Cincinnati Chili, which is more like an exotic meat sauce than a bowl of traditional chili, can be eaten five ways: 1) by itself; 2) over spaghetti; 3) with shredded cheddar cheese on top; 4) with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped onions; and 5) with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onions and beans. My personal preference is for “three-way” chili (over spaghetti with shredded cheddar cheese). And I always use angel hair pasta. Anyway, I’ve had a huge craving for this stuff lately, so here’s the recipe. And it’s definitely the real deal!

• 5 cups water
• 2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 2 medium onions, chopped fine
• 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
• 5 whole allspice
• 1½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• ½ oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 5 whole cloves
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Add ground beef to water in a large kettle. Stir until beef separates to a fine texture and boil slowly for 30 minutes. Add all other ingredients, stir to blend, return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about three hours. Pot may be covered during the last hour if desired consistency is reached. Incidentally, if you don’t use lean beef you should probably refrigerate your chili overnight so the fat can be skimmed from the top before reheating. This is definitely fantastic served over spaghetti!

I know this sounds like a complicated recipe, but really it’s a no-brainer ... just throw everything into a pot and let it cook. I don’t even dice my own onions any more (carpal tunnel syndrome won’t let me hold a knife in my right hand) so I buy little tubs of chopped-up onions at the supermarket. They taste exactly the same as the onions you dice yourself. Isn’t progress wonderful?