Cincinnati Chili Con Carne Recipe (2024)

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.

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

2 TBSP chili powder, not 41 TBSP dried oregano3/4 tsp ground allspice, not 1/41/2 tsp ground cloves1 oz unsweetened chocolate Red beans, not kidney beans

Born and raised in Cincinnati, now live in the Northeast so have to make by own Cincy Chili. No broth, just water. Don't saute the onions, add them raw to the water, along with all other ingredients. Simmer for 3 hours, don't skim off the fat. Oh, and no beans, just cheese and onions make the best 4-way.

Followed the recipe. (I know, right?) It's tasty, but it isn't what I think of when I think of Cincy chili. Needs more cinnamon, maybe a shoch more unsweetened chocolate. More tomatoey than I'm used to. I'll now join the rank of those who mess with the recipe. :)A really nice flavor profile for Cinc chili is the stuff they make at Hard Times Cafe in the DC Metro. Would like to bring this closer to that.

halved this, since all I had on hand meatwise was a pound of ground turkey. this totally delivered! even better the next day.

Sautéed spices quickly after adding garlic. Added chocolate after tomato sauce. Turned this mixture off while beef simmered.

My husband, a Cincinnati native who loves Skyline Chili, gave this recipe 5 stars! Said it is very, very close to the original. (I didn’t care for it, and prefer a more classic chili). I think it was much tastier the next day, so from now on will make it a day in advance. Overall an excellent recipe - thanks NYT!

April 15, 2023The first time I tried Cincy Chili, i wasnt sure about it. But this was bussin. It was super good and easy

4 way - spaghetti, chili (with ground pork), kidney beans and sharp goat cheddar with additional chopped tomatoes and avocado on top (California style?) Loved it on a rainy night.

I've made a different Cincinnati Chili recipe several times but decided to try the NY Times recipe to compare. I am very frustrated because the "Refrigerate" instruction in Step 3 has no specific time attached. The total time at the beginning of the recipe is 1 hour 40 mins so I thought I would be able to have it for dinner tonight but I now see it clearly needs to be refrigerated overnight. So now it is 11pm and I have to put a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. Please update the directions!

This a great recipe to mimic popular cincinnati chili restaurants like Skyline. I was raised on cincinnati chili and over time it's lost a bit of its meaning. I guess a example of what I am trying to say is the chili is to cincinnati like curry to Indian, Thai...in that it varies from family or neighborhoods. Like curry, cincinnati chili has been made uniformed for mass appeal.

Not sure why the sauce seems thin when I cooked it the length it said. It’s also not as flavor forward as I remember in Cincinnati.

I think the intention was “add the cider vinegar or white vinegar.” I doubt that apple cider was an ingredient.

Pretty close to how I make it now that I live in Iowa and can't go down to the Skyline, except I use a beer and some water instead of beef broth, and I usually sub crushed tomatoes for the tomato sauce. Also, I recommend at least an ounce of chocolate. Be sure to pile the cheese on high! and feel free to skip the beans and/or the onions. Chili/spaghetti/cheese = 3-way, add beans or onions for a 4-way, add both for a 5-way.

Perfection

type: 2 tablepoons cider or white vinegarshould be 2 tableSpoons cider or white vinegar