Cincinnati Skyline Chili
- 2lbs fresh ground beef
- 1 quart water
- 2 medium onions
- 2 8oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 garlic gloves, minced
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2oz unsweetened chocolate
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1-1/2 tsp salt
1- Add ground beef to water and bring to a boil; stir as beef separates to a fine texture
2- Boil slowly 1/2 hour
3- Add remaining ingredients
4- Bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3 hours (or all day in the crock pot)
5- Serve over spaghetti and top with beans, onions, cheese, etc.
6- Freezes well and is better prepared a day ahead. I add extra of all spices to get a “true Skyline taste”
I really wasn’t sure if I was going to post this recipe because, if I’m being honest, I don’t think it tasted anything like Skyline. But, it really isn’t a bad chili recipe if you like Cincinnati chili, so here it is anyway.
I started the recipe by getting the ground beef cooking. I can confidently say, that not once in my life have I ever boiled ground beef. Quite frankly, if someone would have shown me boiled ground beef when I was a kid I probably would have became a vegetarian about a decade sooner. But that’s neither here nor there.
After a few surprisingly short minutes of breaking up the ground beef, I let it come to a slow boil and left it on the stove for 30 minutes. As this was boiling, I worked on the sauce part of the recipe. My husband and I occasionally stirred the meat mixture to ensure nothing stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Unfortunately for me (and maybe my family too), there was little that I felt confident in about this recipe. If you ever never had Cincinnati chili, take everything you’re picturing about it being similar to chili con carne and throw it out the damn window. Cincinnati chili is a meat sauce that’s been around for about a hundred years, first believed to be made by Greek immigrants in Cincinnati. It’s characterized by a different blend of spices than what you’d typically see in chili con carne, as well as it being much more soupy and less hearty compared to chili con carne. Cincinnati chili isn’t made with beans, but typically beans are an option to add on top when it’s served over spaghetti.
That leads me to my criticism of this recipe.
While you will find that most people in my beautiful home state of Ohio have very opinionated feelings on Cincinnati chili, my strongest opinion will always be that Skyline is better than Goldstar. There, I said it. This recipe claims to be copy cat of Skyline chili, and unfortunately the seasoning measurements are just too far off.
One thing I think is worth noting, is that it’s been documented by both The Cincinnati Enquirer and the author of The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili, that Cincinnati chili does not contain chocolate. But for the sake of following family recipes, I did add the chocolate to this recipe.
Another thing to note, is that the person who gave my aunt this recipe left a note on the bottom that she adds extra of each spice for that “the Skyline taste.” That was very loose guidance on how to season this chili, and I’m afraid it did not go well. I’ll admit, I had myself some what confused on my measurements because I was doubling the sauce recipe to be able to remove some of it to make a vegetarian version for myself, and 1.5x the meat recipe to make enough to feed my family. The math ain’t mathin’.
Despite being confused on seasoning measurements, I can confidently say this recipe needs cut down on both the clove and the chili powder. If I were to remake this recipe I would probably use 1/8tsp cloves, 2tsp chili powder, and maybe 4tbsp cumin. I would omit the chocolate and add more cinnamon. I would also add in nutmeg to try to get closer to Skyline flavor.
Anyway, back to the actual recipe. I mixed these ungodly amount of spices into the tomato sauce with the vinegar, Tobasco and Worcestershire. When the boiling meat was done, I poured the meat water into our crockpot, added in the onions, sauce, bay leaf, and chocolate. I let it simmer in the crockpot on high for several hours.
I did have to drain a considerable amount of fat off of the chili. Unfortunately, I think that’s the name of the game when you’re boiling ground beef in water. I’ve never worked at a restaurant that has served Cincinnati chili, so I am not sure if that’s what they do, but an inch of fat sitting on top of dinner won’t look appetizing to most people.
After draining the fat and fishing out the bay leaves, it was pretty much ready to go. I think it sat in the crockpot for about 4-5 hours before we ate it. I separated this and brought some to my parents for dinner, and then we took the rest to my brother’s house to have dinner with him and his boyfriend.
I made mine separate by removing a portion of the sauce before it was added to the meat water. I mixed mine with black beans and added more cinnamon. I think mine turned out too spicy for my personal taste, and it had too much cloves, leading it not to taste like Skyline at all. However, I do think it was a good dinner. Skyline is just one of those foods that had such a specific taste, that even the tiniest difference in ingredients throws off the whole thing. Skyline is also one of those things that I am a die hard fan of, and this is a fully if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it situation. I love Skyline, that’s it. That’s the tea. And I am more than happy to just drive the 35 minutes and get it straight from the restaurant as opposed to making it at home.
As for my family, I think they were all pretty much in agreement that it didn’t taste like authentic Skyline either. While everyone ate it and said I was a good dinner, it just wasn’t Skyline.
So, would I make this again? Maybe.
But I would completely change the spices on this recipe and omit the chocolate. It just doesn’t need to be in there. I think some people confuse chili powder and cumin. Cumin is usually your main flavor in chili, not chili powder. I think the measurements of those two needs swapped. I think the cloves either needs cut down to maybe 1/8 of a tsp, or omitted all together. The cinnamon measurements needs increased, and I think it needs nutmeg added to it. I think maybe I will revisit this recipe in the future and see how close I could get it to Skyline. In the mean time, I’ll just take a drive to a Skyline restaurant when I’m craving chili spaghetti.
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