Cincinnati Chili Con Carne

cincy chili is about tawdry austerity. don't use olive oil in this. it's a waste of money, you won't taste if (even if it's authentic, given the chili's mediterranean origins). water instead of beef broth would go unnoticed.
i think sharp cheddar is a distraction, but i'm hidebound to the cincinnati orthodoxy. beans should be small red, not kidney. otherwise, it's spot-on.

Late to this discussion, I find many responses humorous. I worked at Empress Chili in White Oak, a suburb of Cincy, from 1979-82. I can report the beans we used WERE kidney beans. Except for the 5-way (chili on spaghetti with beans, onions and cheese), 2-, 3-, & 4-ways are variable combinations of chili and the others. A 2-way could be chili on spag or chili and onions in a bowl, etc. "Coney Islands" were chili served on 1/2 size hotdogs in steamed buns with onions and cheese.

Absolutely oyster crackers, many Cincinnatians
crush them up and throw them into the mix.
Also in chili parlors all over Cincinnati and Northern
Kentucky, they use medium cheddar cheese, nothing
is supposed to really stand out on its own, its the
amalgamation of the whole dish that makes it comfort
food.

If you are altering the ingredients to the point of it being a different dish, it's not true Cincinnati chili.

Spaghetti? Oyster crackers? GASP. I know it's not what you're used to, but it's what Cincinnatians have grown up on for generations. Not from Cincinnati? You won't understand it.

Lifelong Cincinnati guy; I eat chili (plain) across town, and while they all have more in common with Greek meat sauces than Texas chili, they don't taste the same. Some have chocolate; some have a more pronounced taste of cinnamon or allspice. There isn't one "right" recipe. This one is fabulous. The salt content some complained about can be solved by using a blend of water and stock or (duh) low sodium broth. Just follow the recipe. I use a potato masher to make the meat chunks finer.

I moved to Cincinnati in 1986 for grad school and got a part time job as a catering waiter at the Netherland Plaza. First week there I worked a wedding and waited on the bridal party. Towards the end of the meal I approached the bride & groom and asked if there was anything more I could provide. The groom looked up and said “yeah, how about a three way?” I knew nothing about Skyline chili or it’s lingo so there was a very awkward silence and much embarrassment!

For those who wonder what Cincinnati chili is: A century ago, struggling Greek food cart vendors in the most Germanic of US cities put their traditional meat stews onto hot dogs. It worked. By 1922, the recipes were tweaked to make them more chili-dog friendly, though still distinctly Aegean, and the first chili parlors appeared, adding typical Coney Island toppings and putting the lot over Italian spaghetti. Love it or not, it's both improbable and unique; a literal American melting pot.

There're two uses of the onion, listed twice in the ingredients. One for cooked in the chili, one left uncooked for a topping.

Cut the beef broth down by half and add 28 ounces crushed tomatoes. Add 2 Tbsps. of Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa too.

There are a TON of us Cincy-expats who crave Skyline or (for us oldies) Empress chili. We have Cincy chili gatherings here that are well attended by folks with diverse tastes. I'd even be happy with some Camp Washington chili. Speak for yourself!

No need to sautée the onions. No one here in Cincinnati does that. Just chop them up and add them on top of the chili (which is added on top of the spaghetti) like in the picture. Then add the cheese....only about twice as much as is in the picture!! Yum.

You can eat it however you like, but it won't be Cincinnati chili.

Tasty riff on Cincinnati chili. Not quite the same - a little more sophisticated, but a great introduction. Consistency of chili should be pretty thin. I like a 4 way -- spaghetti, beans, chili and cheese. Piniquitos are more authentic to the original than kidney beans. In a pinch S&W makes a good canned version. In NorCal Rancho Gordo dried piniquitos are a great approximation of the original and delicious.

I would LOVE to emulate Frisch's tartar sauce. I gotta get to Cincy, miss Big Boys (no middle bun, extra pickles), onion rings, extra tartar sauce, and hot fudge cake for dessert.

If you've never had Cincinnati chili, Kroger and I'm sure other supermarkets carry Cincinnati chili in a can. Give it a try and you'll find out how good it is, and then make your own. Just some pasta chopped onions and grated cheese and you'll love it. By the way, that's called a four-way