Cincinnati Chili I Recipe

While the flavor of this chili is close to Skyline (not quite there though) the texture is all wrong. You do NOT brown the beef in a Cincinnati chili recipe, there are no "chunks" or bits of meat. You have to boil the raw beef in the broth first then add the rest of the ingredients once the meat has cooked down into a pasty-type consistency. Also the onions are meant to stay raw and be put on top of the finished dish.

This recipe was great!! We eat at a Skyline or two every time my family passes through the Ohio/Kentucky area where they are prevalent, and I have eaten at the original, with lines out the door for lunch every day, many times. I have tried a number of other recipes for Skyline (Cincinnati) chili (from this site and others)and this is the closest recipe to "the real thing" at the original Skyline (downtown Cincinnati) of all of them--especially when you include the notes from the other reviewers and mine below: 1. if you want the very fine consistency, You must cook the hamburger in the broth first. Then drain, and add back new broth--I recommend using beef bouillon cubes for the broth--works fine, and it's cheap. (You can do this in a crockpot for 12 hours on low, the night before.) However, this recipe comes out just fine if you skip this step. 2. Once beef is browned or cooked with onions: -Do double the cinnamon and increase the chili powder as others recommend -I used at least a tablespoon of onion powder and garlic powder -I substitute 3 tbsp cocoa powder and a tbsp of butter for the chocolate square (cuz I didn't have any the first time)--then add a couple of Dove Milk Chocolate squares for the touch of sweet, where some used molasses--works great 3. Cook the mixture on high in your crockpot or (simmer on the stove) for the time recommended in the recipe, and serve over pasta with finely shredded cheese and finely diced onions as shown in the picture.

I used 1.25 lb ground turkey (browned in a skillet) and 2 cans of pinto beans instead of the ground beef. I know it's not authentic that way but I knew we'd prefer it that way and it's my kitchen. Also used 1/4 C chocolate chips stirred in shortly before serving. Mine cooked in a slow cooker for about 5 hours and it turned out really, really well! Just perfect. The cinnamon, allspice, cloves and chocolate were so good and subtle and everything just came together really well. Heck, I tasted it right after I put everything in the crock pot and it was good then too! I brought the chili to a potluck that had a noodle theme and it was different from all the other offerings (which were all Italian). Everyone else liked it too. Will definitely make it again. Next time I'll try boiling the meat but I'm still going to use ground turkey and pinto beans :)

Wow, you can't get much closer than this. I used beef broth instead of water and mixed all ingredients together(ground sirloin went in raw) and boiled for three hours- I used a total of 64 ounces of beef broth, I just kept adding it as it cooked down-then to get the texture just right i put it in a food processor for a quick spin-perfect. Also, I did not have any bay leaves on hand so i left them out, I couldn't taste any difference. NOTE: If you have never had Skyline chili, don't think of this as a chili, just give it a try. I served it on Spaghetti with lots of cheese and onion- classic four way!

There are so many reviews it could make your head spin, but we did a good sampling of them to find the best method. We boiled the beef in broth, adding water as it evaporates over time. Boiled for 2 hours seemed best (we made this twice in 3 days). Chopped onion was only for garnish. We used 1 1/2 TBSP of unsweetened chocolate powder. We added garlic powder, onion powder and a little black pepper. Served over #3 Melissa. It's a Slovenian? or Greek? or Bosnian? pasta that is like a huge, hollow spaghetti. You can find at ethnic markets.

I live in the Cincinnati Area and have for my whole life. This is a good recipe. -- Here's what I did. After boiling it in beef broth for about a 1/2 hour and draining it, I put the meat in the food processor for a few seconds. It was the perfect consistency and looked exactly as it should. How to serve it up: For 3-Ways, 4-Ways and 5-Ways. On a small warm plate layer the following: (1)"Thin" Spaghetti (2)Kidney Beans (3)Chili (4)"Diced" Sweet Onions (NOT chopped) (5)Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese piled high. It's best to shred your own so it's still nice and fluffy, if cheese can be called fluffy. Also, try dribbling some Hot Sauce and Oyster Crackers over the top. How to eat it -- DON'T MIX IT UP or anything. Just take your fork and slice into it one bite at a time. --- Serve up a Cheese Coney like this: On a warm hotdog bun (1)A thin line of mustard. (2)Small, skinny Hotdog (if you can find them) (3)Chili (4)"Diced" Sweet Onions (5) Cheese. (Don't forget the hot sauce, if you prefer it.) Omitting any of the layers is totally up to your taste. Just my opinion: Cincinnati Chili is meant to be eaten with spaghetti or as a coney and not as an actual "bowl" of chili. Most Cincinnatians would agree with me I think. Another side note: It's not "Gold Star Chili" which is my favorite Cincinnati Chili, but I plan on tweeking this recipe to get it as close to that as possible. Though this is a very good Cincinnati style chili recipe.

I do not eat meat so I replace it with 1 cup of lentils, use vegetable stock , and I use 3 tbsp cocoa if making a full batch, rather than chocolate. Up the cinnamon and chili powder, leave out the cooked onions (add raw on top).

This is an authentic Cincinnati-style chilli recipe! Tastes just like gold star chilli!!! With minor modification just as some of the other posts. I boiled the ground beef in the beef broth and added an extra teaspoon of ground cinnamon and an extra teaspoon of ground cumin and it came out perfect! With my serving adjustments to 20 servings, I was able to make a full five quart crock pot of cincinnati style chilli. Thanks

As a native Ohioan, this is the best homemade Cincinnati chili I've ever made. Much better than what you can make even using spice packets from Gold Star or Skyline. As others have said: Don't brown the meat. Boil it in the beef broth -- it really makes a difference. If you're worried about the fat, use lean ground meat or even turkey. Some alterations I made that others might like: -- My family doesn't like raw onions, so I minced about half a cup of white onion and added it to the beef broth while boiling the meat. It adds a bit of the onion flavor, but disappears into the finished chili without affecting the smooth texture. -- I added 50% more cinnamon, as others suggested. I didn't add significantly more chili powder, but did use rounded scoops. I prefer to add the spices while the meat is boiling down. Really concentrates the flavor. --I skipped the cayenne, as we don't like it spicy. -- I stir in a 15 oz can of pinto or pink beans for the last 30 minutes of cook time. It's just convenient when you're eating the batch over a couple of days. --Add the chocolate as the last step, so it melts but doesn't boil.

OH. MY. GOODNESS! I halved this, and skipped the vegetable oil. Also, I used cocoa powder (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon for the half recipe) instead of the unsweetened chocolate - and an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce. I simmered the beef in the broth for about 20 minutes, then added everything else to simmer for an hour. If you brown the beef first, you will have lumpy chili - you want the beef to be in very tiny bits. I was craving Skyline, and this was a delicious alternative for someone who lives hundreds of miles from the nearest franchise. Cheese and onions are a fantastic finish, and oyster crackers if you like. Thank you, MARBALET!

I had years ago a supposed bootleg Skyline Chili recipe. A few differences. Do NOT brown the onions and meat. Add 64 ounce tomato juice to the pot. I use V8. 2 beef bullion cubes, no broth. Add a whole peeled onion instead to the pot with the meat. Breakup the meat and add those spices, no additional salt, and cayenne optional. Partial cover pot. Cook down to Chile consistency. Remove onion, my wife's favorite, with the bay leaves.

This turned out great and the leftovers were even better

Great flavors and a family favorite! I read the reviews and doubled the cinnamon and chili amounts, plus doubled the onion and added 6 cloves of fresh garlic. If you skip the pasta, also a great recipe for those following a ketogenic diet. Thank you! Will definitely add to our rotation.

This is a great recipe. I used just one lb ground turkey (boiled it) and kept the same amount of seasonings. Used 1 can tomato paste and 1/2 cup water instead of sauce to cut down on sodium. Followed other tip to add 3 tbsp cocoa and grated some milk chocolate.

I tried this recipe last night, and it completely exceeded my expectations. It was so easy to make, and the flavors were absolutely delicious. My whole family loved it, and there were no leftovers! I’ll definitely be adding this to my regular rotation.

Tried on both spaghetti and hot dogs and it's a no from my whole family. I don't get how there can be so much flavor, yet none at all. The cloves and allspice are overpowered, but the tomato, beef, and aftertaste is basically non-existent. This doesn't really fall into sauce or chili for taste and texture, but something in between.

I had years ago a supposed bootleg Skyline Chili recipe. A few differences. Do NOT brown the onions and meat. Add 64 ounce tomato juice to the pot. I use V8. 2 beef bullion cubes, no broth. Add a whole peeled onion instead to the pot with the meat. Breakup the meat and add those spices, no additional salt, and cayenne optional. Partial cover pot. Cook down to Chile consistency. Remove onion, my wife's favorite, with the bay leaves.

Made several individual packets of all the dry ingredients so I’d have what I needed for future batches. I used coco powder which worked perfectly. This is an excellent copy of Skyline chili.

This is a very good recipe which I felt was blander than it should be. I increased the spices by half and used dark cocoa powder. My Cali SIL got me hooked on this chili recipe from her hometown Cincinnati back in 1980. Until now I survived on the hard to find store bought seasoning packet. I'm happy to make it from scratch. Thank you for the recipe.

It's fine; just cook the onions a bit less. (edit to be on top!)