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Cincinnati five-way chili

Cincinnati Five Way Chili

Cincinnati chili is a unique type of chili that's flavored with not just chili powder but lots of other spices, including cinnamon, allspice, chocolate, and cloves.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings: 8 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Lbs. Ground Beef Lean
  • 2 Onions Medium chopped for browning with meat.
  • 20 Ounces Tomato Sauce
  • 2 Tbl. Vinegar
  • 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
  • 2 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Ounce Chocolate Unsweetened
  • 1/4 Cup Chili Powder
  • 1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tsp. Cumin
  • 1 Tsp. Cinnamon Ground
  • 3/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
  • 5 Cloves Whole
  • 5 Allspice Berries Whole
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 Tsp. Paprika Sweet
  • 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg Grated
  • 1 Tbl. Brown Sugar Light & Packed
  • 1 16Ounce Can Kidney Beans
  • 2 Tbl. Ketchup
  • 1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce Sweet & non-smokey
  • 1 Lb. Spaghetti Thick
  • 1 Tbl. Canola Oil
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1 Cup Sweet Onion Finely Chopped for topping the spaghetti.
  • 2 Cups Cheddar Cheese Shredded

Method
 

  1. In a small bowl combine chili powder, salt, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cloves, paprika and nutmeg.
    mixed spices
  2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
  3. Add ground beef to the pot; cook until meat is browned, breaking up into small crumbles with a wooden spoon.
    ground beef
  4. When the beef is browned, add in chopped onion, garlic, spice mix; stir/sauté 1 minute.
  5. Add in tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water, BBQ sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, chocolate, and bay leaf.
  6. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
  7. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hour. It should look more like a thick sauce than the chili most people are used to.
  8. Remove bay leaf.
  9. While mixture cooks, prepare spaghetti. Distribute between 8 bowls.
  10. Spoon chili over spaghetti.
  11. Top chili with cheddar cheese, finely chopped onion, and kidney beans. This is then five-way chili.

Notes

Created in 1922 by a northern Greek immigrant who wanted to put some of the Old Country spices into chili. This chili can be eaten several ways. One-way chili: spiced chili alone. Two-way chili: chili on top of spaghetti. Three-way chili: chili on top of spaghetti, topped with shredded cheese. Four-way chili: chili on top of spaghetti, topped with shredded cheese and chopped onion. Five-way chili: chili on top of spaghetti, topped with shredded cheese, chopped onion, and beans. In five-way chili, the cheese should be on top of the beans and the onion on top of the cheese.