Posted on 02/10/2022 12:51:44 PM PST by mylife
Back in my 20s, when I was working as a sports reporter, I long-distance dated a guy from Cincinnati.
The first time he said we should “make it a three-way” my eyes bugged out of my head. No, it’s not as dirty as you’re probably thinking. But I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Cincinnati is known for many things. Hosting “Oktoberfest Zinzinnati,” the biggest Octoberfest in the U.S. Its ongoing hatred of Bengals owner Mike Brown And, most importantly, its love for a very particular type of chili.
“Cincinnati-style chili is a big thing,” says Joe O’Brien, a father of three who graduated from Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati in 1994. “People who visit have a binary reaction. You either love it or hate it.”
It’s nothing like Texas chili or any other type of chili. It’s runny. Its Greek-style tomato sauce makes it tangy instead of spicy. It’s made with tiny bits of crumbled-up ground beef boiled in water (or broth) and mixed with an assortment of spices (cumin, cloves, allspice) and tomato paste, among other ingredients, into a sludge-like concoction.
“It almost has a moussaka-like quality to it,” O’Brien says. Others say it looks like diarrhea. (You can read more about the Greek history of Cincinnati-style chili here.)
Some recipes, like the one by Meggan Hill, the executive chef and head of the Culinary Hill Test Kitchen, include apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, brown sugar, and garlic. Regardless of how it’s made, oyster crackers are thrown in to soak up the juices.
“It is so unique,” O’Brien says. “You have to forget the word ‘chili’ because there’s no other style of chili you can compare it to.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thetakeout.com ...
Yes...there should be stiff sentences for the perps
It is and acquired taste to be sure.
Our old neighbors here in Fla were originally from cincy.....every time they went back they brought home 2 cases of Skyline chili in the can.
Woulda taken me the rest of my life to eat 2 cases......and then only MAYBE.
Rams are favored but go Bengals! Who Dat!
5-Way Chili Mac,
Spaghetti, chili, cheese, onions & beans sour cream! My kids love chili mac, but they cannot abide beans.
Looks and sounds awful and flavorless.
Cincinnati, early `90s.
Skyline Chili, three way.
The indigestion was horrific, it came in waves.
But north of Cincinnati there are some great German food restaurants.
.
My Mom was 100% Czech. For all of my youth (Iowa) I thought I was eating real Texas chili. Until I visited Texas and realized Mom had no idea what she was making. It was a recipe out of a 1950s Betty Crocker book, and it was pretty much spot on Cincinnati style chili. Which because I was raised on it, I like. But, yea. It’s not really chili, it’s just it’s own thing. And I’m 5-way all the way.
“I’m partial to the Skyline burrito with chili, beans, onions and topped with lettuce and tomatoes and sour cream.....Cheese Coney dogs.....mustard, onion and chili over a small dog on a small bun”
I suspect if you don’t have a relationship with a cardiologist one day you will.
Real chili, my base recipe.
Serving Size : 18 Preparation Time :2:00
Categories : Healthy And Hearty Soups & Stews
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 pounds ground chuck extra lean
1 pound ground pork extra lean
1 1/2 cups each onion, celery, green pepper — diced
1 medium jalapeno pepper — diced small
2 large garlic clove — minced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups beef broth
1 quart tomatoes or 1 large can — crushed
1 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons tabasco sauce
2 medium bay leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons Masa flour
1/4 cup water
2 30 oz.cans chili beans hot (do not drain) or
2 can red kidney beans (drained)
In skillet heat oil smoking hot. Add beef and pork, cooking and
break up meat until lightly browned; drain well. In large heavy
soup pot cook onion, celery, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, and
garlic; for 2 minutes in butter. Add beef broth, tomatoes, chili sauce,
and remaining ingredients except; masa flour water and chili beans.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat; cover simmer 35 minutes stir every few minutes.
Combine Masa flour with water, add to pot stirring; cook,
until thickened about 10 minutes. Add beans of your choice and cook
until just hot.
Serve with garnishes; finely chopped onion, shredded Monterrey jack
cheese, or shredded Cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped
Coriander, sour cream, and crisp crackers.
Excellent stuff but skip the beans
The Cheese Coney dogs are also a fav of mine, mustard, onion and chili over a beef dog on a bun.
I eat those all the damn time!
“...ground beef boiled in water...”
-
That’s just nasty.
5 way for me as well, chili, spaghetti, beans, onion and cheese, yum yum. Plus oyster cracker bombs. They give you a bowl of oyster crackers to put on your chili spaghetti and there’s a bottle of hot sauce on the table. Most people eat the crackers with a dot of hot sauce while they wait on the food to be brought out.
That is Wayyyyy too complicated.
the writer is a girl.
I like three-way. My first time having Cincinnati Chili was a bit of a hurdle, but it is good. Just forget it is called chili and you'll enjoy.
We call that chili mac.
Anything else requires qualifiers. Chili with beans for example.
Not sure what that abomination from Cinci is... But naming it "chili" is kind of insulting.
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