"Macedonian immigrant Tom Kiradjieff created Cincinnati chili in 1922. With his brother, John, Kiradjieff opened a small Greek restaurant called the Empress. The restaurant did poorly however, until Kiradjieff started offering a chili made with Middle Eastern spices, which could be served in a variety of ways. He called it his “spaghetti chili.” Kiradjieff’s “five way” was a concoction of a mound of spaghetti topped with chili, chopped onion, kidney beans, and shredded yellow cheese, served with oyster crackers and a side order of hot dogs topped with more shredded cheese."
What you need
Cincinnati Chili:
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound extra-lean ground beef (hamburger)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin*
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (red pepper)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa or 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate*
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 (16-ounce) package spaghetti pasta, uncooked, dried
Toppings:
Oyster Crackers
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Onion, chopped
1 (16-ounce) can Kidney Beans
Instructions
- In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, sautonion, ground beef, garlic, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly cooked.
- Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, and water.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions and transfer onto individual serving plates (small oval plates are traditional).
- Ladle Cincinnati Chili mixture over the cooked spaghetti and serve with toppings of your choice.
- Oyster crackers are served in a separate container on the side.
Cincinnati chili lovers order their chili by number.
Two-Way Chili: Chili served on spaghetti.
Three-Way Chili: Additionally topped with shredded Cheddar cheese.
Four-Way Chili: Additionally topped with chopped onions.
Five-Way Chili: Additionally topped with kidney beans.