Cincinnati-Style Chili

One of the sad parts about living the military life is that you're often forced to live far away from regional chain stores and restaurants that are near and dear to your heart. For me, Skyline Chili is one of those places (along with Hobby Lobby and my true love, Steak N Shake). Living far from Ohio meant that finding a way to make my own "Skyline" chili was a necessity. This was a lucky google find from cooks.com. It's not a perfect replica of Skyline's recipe, but it is really excellent Cincinnati-style chili. Of course, that means you have to serve it Cincinnati-style: either on a hot dog with shredded cheddar and diced onions, or (my favorite) over spaghetti noodles with shredded cheddar and diced onion. And of course, a bottle of hot sauce on the side.

For those of you whose life has sadly not included Cincinnati-style chili so far, allow me to try to explain how this is different from any other chili you've ever had. If you look at the ingredient list, you'll notice a lot of flavor you don't usually find in chili - like cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and - yes, I really mean it - chocolate. It looks bizarre to see these listed next to vinegar, cayenne, and garlic, I know. But the result is a sweet-and-spicy combination that will blow your mind. If you've never had Skyline before, do yourself a favor and make a half-recipe and give it a try. For those of you like me who wanted to bring Skyline home - here's your chance!

Cincinnati-Style Chili
From: here
Serves: 8

You'll need:
3 lb lean ground beef (your beef will not be drained, so fattier beef means greasier chili)
2 qt water
2 lg onions, diced
2 (16 oz) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
29 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 c chili powder
2 T white vinegar
2 t cinnamon
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 oz unsweetened baker's chocolate
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t ground cloves
hot sauce to taste (Take it easy - just a few dashes for now. You can add more on your plate, but you don't want to cover up all those spices.)

In a large kettle, heat your water to boiling. While the water is heating, use your fingers to crumble the raw ground beef into little pieces into the kettle.

Appetizing, right? It gets better. Add the onions and simmer for 30 minutes.

When 30 minutes is up, throw everything else in the kettle.

Stir it in. And voilà... your kitchen (and soon your entire house) will now smell like a Skyline restaurant.

So now the hard part: let it simmer on low, uncovered, for 2-3 hours. That's right... you have to wait. Just tell yourself it will be worth it to have all those flavors married together. It will also reduce down to a nice, thick consistency.

When the interminable waiting is over, boil your spaghetti, grate your cheddar, finely dice your onion, and sit down with your plateful of heaven.