Recipe#5498

Title: Cincinnati 02

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 From: yost@mekon.mro.dec.com (Gregg Yost) 
 Subject: Cincinnati Chili 
 Message-ID: YOST.94Jul25111312@mekon.mro.dec.com 
 Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Marlboro, MA, USA 
 Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 11:50:17 GMT 

The good recipes have both cinnamon and unsweetened chocolate....also,
 the ground beef is not browned, but rather boiled.  That's the only way
 to get the beef separated into tiny bits, suitable for spaghetti or coneys.
 Anyway, here it is:
1 quart water                           5 whole allspice
 2 lbs. ground beef                      5 whole cloves
 2 medium onions, finely grated          1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
 4 garlic cloves                         1 tsp. cinnamon
 2 8-oz. cans of tomato sauce            1-1/2 tsp. red pepper
 2 Tlb. vinegar                          1 tsp. ground cumin 
 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce             4 Tlb. chili powder
 1-1/2 tsp. salt                         1 large bay leaf, whole
 Directions:  add ground beef to water in four-quart pot.  Stir until
 beef separates into a fine texture.  Boil slowly for 30 minutes.  Add
 all other ingredients.  Stir to blend, bringing to a boil.  Reduce heat
 and simmer uncovered for about three hours.  (pot may be covered the
 last hour or so, after desired consistency is reached).  Should be
 refrigerated overnight, so that fat can be lifted from top before 
 reheating.
 Serving:  serve over spaghetti (2-way);  add grated mild cheddar (3-way);
 add chopped onion -- before cheese (4-way);  add drained red kidney beans
 (5-way);  have oyster crackers and tobasco on the side.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 pound chuck, ground *fine*       1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
      (twice in a meat grinder)     1/2 teaspoon tumeric
 2 medium onions,                   1/2 teaspoon marjoram
      chopped fine                  1/2 teaspoon allspice
 2 cloves garlic, minced            1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
 1 cup tomato sauce                 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
 2 tablespoon ketchup               1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
 1 cup water                        1/4 teaspoon mace
 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar      1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
 1 tablespoon chili powder          1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
 1 tablespoon paprika               1/2 dry bay leaf, crumbled
 1 teaspoon ground black pepper     1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon honey                        
 1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate,
      grated
      Salt a large cast-iron skillet.  Turn heat to medium and add
 meat, onions, and garlic.  Cook until all meat is browned.  Add tomato
 sauce, ketchup, water, and vinegar.  As mixture begins to boil, add
 everything else.  Adjust spices to taste, adding more salt if it needs
 perking up, tumeric and cumin for a sweatier chili flavor, cinnamon,
 cloves, and mace if you want it sweeter, cardamom for more bang,
 unsweetened chocolate for body.
      Cover and simmer at very low heat for about 1 hour, stirring and
 tasting occasionally, adding tomato juice if it is getting too dry to
 ladle up easily.
 Constructing the Chili
 8 ounces thick spaghetti           1 pound Wisconsin Cheddar cheese,
 1 16-ounce can red                      grated fine, as fluffy as
      kidney beans                       you can make it
 2 onions, chopped
      1.  The bottom layer is always spaghetti, the thickest you can
 find.  In fact, we found none in our supermarket that was thick
 enough, so we got perciatelli -- long, thin macaroni.  We broke it
 into 4-inch pieces and boiled in salted water to which 2 tablespoons
 of olive oil were added.  For a touch of swank, melt a stick of butter
 into the just-cooked noodles before you dish them out.
      You will need about 2 to 3 ounces per serving.  You want them
 soft enough to cut with a fork, but not so soft they lose their oomph.
 Remember, they are the support layer for four other ingredients.
 Spread them out to cover the bottom of a small plate (preferably
 oval).
      2.  Next comes the chili.  Ladle on enough to cover the noodles.
      3.  Kidney beans.  One 16-ounce can.  Wash, heat with 2 cups
 water, then drain.  Don't season them or do anything fancy, though.
 They're here more for texture than for taste.  Spoon a sparse layer
 atop the chili.
      4.  Chopped onions.  Spread them out, to taste, over the beans.
      5.  Quickly now, so it melts a bit, spread the grated cheese to
 cover everything.  Don't skip.  Cheese should completely blanket the
 plate, enough so that you can pat it into a neat mound with your
 hands, just the way they do in Cincinnati.
 You may, if desired, omit either the beans, or onions, or both, for
 Three-Way or Four-Way Chili.