Cincinnati Chili, Starving Artists in the Kitchen Style

Yummy!

Traditionally,  Cincinnati Chili is served over spaghetti, but since we're wheat-free we act like barbarians and skip that layer.  There are any number of recipes and approaches, some juicier, some thicker, some using different ingredients, but cinnamon and chocolate are constants.


My friend Ann Emmert Abbott says in Cincinnati you pick which restaurant to go to depending on which variant you're hungry for!

So here's my version, put together to taste and from several different recipes...let me know if there's anything YOU consider absolutely essential.

Ingredients

            3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or high quality light)
            2 finely chopped onions
            4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
            3 pounds ground beef (or lamb, bison, or venison–we had grass fed beef)
            1 T. Sea salt, more or less, to taste
            2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
            2 tablespoons chili powder (Joseph makes his own, the recipe is in this post.)
            1 ½ teaspoons cumin (more or less to taste.  I probably put 1 ½ tablespoons instead)
            1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
            1 ½  teaspoons ground cinnamon
            1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (more or less, to taste)
            1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (couldn’t find mine so J. ground fresh...)
            2 tablespoons cocoa powder or finely chopped, unsweetened baker's chocolate
            1 teaspoon paprika  (I used smoked...)
            1 tablespoon dried oregano (we had organic Mexican)
            1 tablespoon organic sugar (or brown sugar)    (optional)   
            1 can organic cup tomato sauce
            1 can organic diced tomatoes (or your own, if you have them)   
            2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
            1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce       

Top with grated cheese of your choice–cheddar, Parmesan, 4-cheese, goat cheese, whatever...and raw chopped onions if you like.
      
Many recipes call for beans, but I skip them because of the lectins.  I gave up wheat 4 years ago and never looked back–just felt so much better!–but lots of people DO consider it blasphemy if you don't serve this over spaghetti.



Directions

I decided to finish this in the crock pot, but if you prefer it can be a one-pot dinner.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and the garlic and cook until soft, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook the mixture, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, breaking up the large chunks.

I moved the cooked onions to the crock pot...

Break up the ground beef and cook till it's all brown...

 

We go for organic if we buy in the store...IF it's available!  Sometimes we have our own garden-grown stuff...

 

Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, cayenne and cloves. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt.


Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaf and 1 1/2 cups water–you can rinse out the tomato can and use that. simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thicker. Add the chocolate, vinegar and Worcestershire and cook until the mixture is thickened but still soupy, about 15 more minutes.

Hershey's was fine, but I would use the fancier organic stuff if I had it...

At this point I transferred everything to the crock pot, covered it and put it on low heat for a few hours.

To serve, discard the bay leaf and season the chili with the freshly ground pepper. Top with cheese and chopped onion.

We don't eat wheat, so J. made zucchini noodles to put under the chili.  Darn good, and no, it is NOT blasphemy!  Besides we keep trying to eat more vegetables...

Topped with a 4-cheese blend and plain yogurt instead of sour cream...absolutely delicious.

Joseph's Delicious Chili--AND his home made chili powder recipe, bonus!

Joseph's chili is GOOD!! 

We get organic beef from a farm near St. Joseph, but you can buy some good stuff in the store, too.  If you prefer ground beef, that’s fine; Joseph is a big fan of chunks instead.  Pork chili is good, or you can even make “white chili,” with chicken. (And of course if you hunt, it doesn’t get any fresher or more primal than venison!)  

The recipe is not QUITE Paleo, using commercially canned stuff, so if you've canned or frozen your own, good ON you! Our garden wasn't great this year... :-(


JOSEPH’S CHILI



I seldom make it the same way twice, but here are the standard ingredients:



2 lbs meat – beef, venison, pork, turkey, whatever

5 T chili powder (see below)

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I like Hunt’s fire roasted w/garlic) (or if you have them, 2-3 chopped fresh tomatoes, or your own home canned or frozen...)

1 6 oz can tomato paste (organic if you can find it, or can your own)

3 4 oz cans diced green chilis

½ sweet yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced



Sometimes I may add beans – either pinto or black beans or maybe even both. But never, never, absolutely, positively NEVER kidney beans.

[I don't remember beans in Joseph's chili, ever! And don't miss them in the least. -Kate]



I use a slow cooker but any pot will do.



If using ground meat, first brown it with the onion, then add the remaining ingredients and simmer (low on the slow cooker) for at least an hour, preferably two or three. If using a roast, slow cook it with all the ingredients until it can be pulled apart with two forks. Shred it and simmer until you can’t wait any longer.

[I make mine with ground beef or bison sometimes...it's fine too! -Kate]

Yep, this photo's the ground meat version...and done on the stove...hey, I had the photos in my file!

Serve with chopped onion, sour cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, vinegar – whatever you like on your chili.


I’ve never really been happy with commercial chili powders so I decided to make my own. (I don’t care if silicon dioxide is harmless, I don’t want it in my chili powder.)



JOSEPH’S CHILI POWDER



¾ c ground Ancho chili pepper

3 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground Mexican oregano

1 tsp cayenne pepper



The only thing not available at most supermarkets is Ancho chili powder and the Mexican oregano, which is stronger and not as sweet as the more common Turkish oregano.  Penzeys Spices is a good on-line source for both. http://www.penzeys.com  Note: I bought a 1 lb bag of ground Ancho chili, which is about a quart. I also bought a 4 oz bag of leaf (the only form they sell it) Mexican oregano and that was ALSO about a quart! So I have LOTS of Mexican oregano! I store it in the freezer and grind it with an electric herb grinder. Well, OK it’s a coffee grinder, but the two devices are exactly the same thing.