MMMmmm...... "Chili"

As most of you know, I was a guest of the city of Cincinnati for several months last year. As most of you heard they have a concoction there that they call Chili. This is confusing to most people, because the stuff that they make there is pronounced and spelled the same as the stuff that Hormel and Nalley make.

This confusion is especially pronounced when one wanders into a Gold Star chili in one's first week in Cinci and orders a couple of coney dogs. Your first bite will come as something of a surprise. This stuff is similar to real chili only in the fact that it contains ground beef, tomato sauce and some chili powder. Most particularly, it contains a few pinches of spices that should NEVER be put in chili. I'm not mentioning any names, but I'm looking at you, allspice.

One of the delightful aspects of this chili, and eventually you will find a few, is that it is always served over a bed of spaghetti and topped with about an inch of finely shredded Cheddar cheese. (Two inches if you wink at the waitress.) (No, I'm not exagerating).

As shocking as the Cincinnati Chili experience is, it has a tendency to get under your skin and grow on you. Unlike, say, Atheletes Foot, you tend to accept and embrace this malady. After you have eaten Cinci-chili about twice a week for a month, you will be hooked. This addiction is greatly assisted by the fact that there is a chili restaraunt on nearly every corner in Cinci. (I also suspect that it is enhanced by adding copious amounts of crack cocaine, but I can't prove that).

One unique aspect of the chili is that, although there are 2 major chains and two somewhat minor chains vying for business in the city, they all have identical recipes and virtually identical menus. You can quite literaly walk into any restaraunt and order without consulting the menu. The uniformity of the chili recipe also speeds the completion of the addiction process.

Interestingly, after as little as three days away from CVG, most locals will begin to crave it. I haven't been to Cinci in 8 months, so my chili jones has got me bad. After a bit of research on the internet, I came up with a recipe for the chili. (As a quick aside, I found 7 different recipes in about 5 minutes. They seem to agree on only about 4 ingredients.) I made up a batch today. It is dogone close to the real thing. Herewith, my recipe for Cinci Chili.

2 lbs ground beef
2 large onions, finely diced
1 tbl crushed garlic
1 15oz can of tomato sauce
2 tbl chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cumin
1 tbl cocoa powder
2 tbl cinnamon
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbl cider vinegar
1 tbl worchestershire sauce

In a heavy pot, lightly brown the beef, and saute the onions and garlic. Add the tomato sauce and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer for two hours. Yes, I said two hours.
Serve over a bed of spaghetti and top with a bunch of finely shredded cheddar.

Some notes.

Although this recipe is darn close, here are some things that I may change next time.
It's a little hotter than the real thing. I may eliminate the cayenne pepper. I'm not sure about the salt. I started with 1/2 tsp and added some until it was right. I'm guessing it's 1 tsp. Many of the recipes called for bay leaves. I may try that. Some also called for various other spices. Paprika, nutmeg, peppercorns and crushed red pepper flakes. I probably won't try any of these.

Be sure to read the wikipedia article that I linked above. It's really accurate.
And tri-staters, give me your thoughts.