Recipe Tuesday ~ Cincinnati Skyline Chili

First I want to congratulate Ladybug Graphix for winning the flowers from CRD!  I'll be in touch and thanks to everybody for stopping by!  Email me and I'll make sure you get your goodies.  I might have another give-away later this week, so be sure to check back. Thanks to everybody who stopped by yesterday!  And thanks to Random.com to making it a fair drawing.

I got a few more photography questions yesterday but today is Recipe Tuesday, so I'll be back to talk about those tomorrow.  In the meantime.....Yesterday was Red's Opening Day for baseball here in Cincinnati, which is always celebrated like a holiday. There's a huge parade, a big fuss down at the GABP for the Reds' first game (which is traditionally the first major league baseball game every season), and a lot of blowing off of work!

So to celebrate Cincinnati and Opening Day, I thought I'd take the opportunity this week to post my "South Beach Friendly Skyline Chili" recipe.  If you're never had Skyline Chili or Cincinnati chili, you must put aside your preconceptions about what chili is, because although Cincinnati chili shares many of the basic ingredients with Texas chili, it is seasoned and cooked quite differently, as it originated from a Greek stew. Cinnamon and chocolate in a chili? Yep, you got it right. But no one will guess! People seem to either love it or hate it.  We love it at our house, my mom hates it!

• 2 lbs ground meat (I use half turkey and half beef)
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 4 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3 T chili powder (depending upon the heat of the powder and your taste)
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 T paprika
• 1 T Worcestershire Sauce.
• 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 bouillon cubes
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 T red wine vinegar (optional and traditional)
• 1/4 C red wine (very optional and very non-traditional)

Originally, the meat for the chili was boiled instead of browned. This gives a different consistency to it - the pieces of meat are very small and separated - no clumps. Most recipes I've seen do brown the meat with the onions, though. This is the way I do it, which is kind of a cross between the two:

Put the meat and onions in a stock pot or large deep frying pan, and cook for 5 minutes, then add about 2 cups of water and mix and chop with a spatula until the hamburger is pretty well broken up. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Correcting the seasoning at the end is important, be sure to taste it. Although Cincinnati chili isn't supposed to be super-spicy, you can add heat if you like, or a little vinegar to perk up the flavor, or salt, or a bit of sweetener if it's harsh.

In Cincinnati, you can have it as above with or without cheese and/or onions. Or you can have:

Two-way chili - on spaghetti (we use spaghetti squash or whole wheat pasta)
Three-way chili - on spaghetti with cheddar cheese
Four-way chili - on spaghetti with cheese and onions
Five-way chili - all of the above, plus beans

I like mine dry (extra liquid drained off) with a little bit of cheese and beans. 

FYI for you Weight Watchers out there.....a Skyline Three Way is a whopping 17 points! My version, according to SparkPeople recipe calculator has only 4 points for the chili, but dont forget to count the spaghetti or cheese if you add it.  Still, it's a huge improvement!

Comments

[DawnMarch]

Hey, my comment didn't go through yesterday. Were we separated at birth, or what? I LOVE Cincinnati chili! Gary came home with a packed of spices to make it when he came home from a business trip one time. We are HOOKED, and make it all the time, though I confess I've never made it from scratch. I'll have to try your recipe! I'm a 4 way girl.

[Jan C.]

lol--Beth, my bff in high school also had a huge crush on Johnny Bench. Those were the days.

Okay Barb, you taught me something I didn't know. I made up my own Cincinnati Chili recipe years ago, and naturally it contains cinnamon and chocolate. But I didn't know about the red wine vinegar. Can't wait to see how that changes the flavor of my version!

[beth]

Cincinnati and chili and The Reds (had such a powerful crush on Johnny Bench back in the day)lots of memories here for me...

[AfriDigiDiva]

Congrats Ladybug!!!! Do you know if she's telepathic?

[Ladybug Graphix]

YIPPEE!!!! I won, I won....just got my pm for the link!!! This is soooo cool.. :) can't wait to play.....see you tomorrow..... :)

[Char @ DigiScrapChat]

Yummy recipe, now I'm super hungry!

[ckugrad]

I have had Cinci chili before and it was tasty! How about whole grain pasta instead of white pasta...hehehehehe! Always love visiting yoru blog!

[jess]

Im so going to have to try that recipie! thanks

[Mary]

OMG don't remind me baseball again it was on every tv yesterday when I got home dh kept moving from room to room, ackkk I hate ball any kind especially soccer! Thanks for the recipe!

[Heather Manning]

See, that's what happens when my kids are sick. I miss out on fun things. Dang it. LOL

That chili looks awesome! You know, your blog is becoming my own personal recipe book. LOL

[Eve]

This sounds interesting! I may have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing. :)

[Ladybug Graphix]

Gonna check this one out too!!! I love coming here...HEHE...Have a great day!!!

[Juliana]

I have never heard of chili on spaghetti! Maybe because I live in California?! but it sounds so yummy. I'll have to try it sometime!

[Jane]

Well how did I miss visiting you yesterday and not getting my name in the draw? I'm sorry, I blame the pills LOL

Your recipe sounds great: I will show it to the Resident Chef and see if he fancies trying it out :o)

[Carjazi]

Gotta love opening day. I'm not a real big baseball fan, but I rememmber my days of watching Detroit Tigers play in the old stadium. Not a fan of Skyline either, just too different from the coneys I'm used to from Greektown and other corner Coney Islands in the Detroit area. It's what I miss most, other than family, about living there. Love your recipe though and may try it without the cinnamon & chocolate. Like you said, people either love it or hate it.

[Kitty Chen]

You are really creative, Barb! Love ur blog!