So, those of you who follow me on Facebook know that pretty much every morning I post what I am making for dinner as my Facebook status. (This started when I first got my Facebook page and I wasn’t posting any status at all. The teenager was aghast, and told me I HAD to post my status and change it every day, and dinner was the only thing I could think of that changed radically every day. That, my friends, is the scintillating life that I lead. Not that I am complaining.)
Anyway. Most days the Dinner Status gets a comment or two, or someone hits the “Like” button, especially if there is bacon involved. Then came the day that I changed my status to “making three-way Cincinnati Chili.”
Oh my goodness. I think it is currently up to 19 comments and STILL going on, and that was a week ago. Everyone from my friend H, who is an AMAZING food writer and editor (and if you are looking for one of those, click here), to my friends C and D who are from or who are married to Ohio natives and so have first-hand knowledge of Cincinnati chili, to various folks just want to know what it IS. It was a Facebook/Chili free-for-all, and I loved it. Who knew chili was such a conversation-starter? But obviously this one is, so let me break it down for you.
1. Cincinnati chili is served on spaghetti. Not rice, spaghetti, and very well-cooked spaghetti. This is not the time for al dente.
2. Cincinnati chili does NOT have beans in it, unless you are having Five-Way chili. More on that later. It’s complicated.
3. Cincinnati chili includes, among various other flavors and seasonings: CHOCOLATE. (I’m starting to understand the passion now.)
Now that we have covered that, let me explain the various ways you can have this particular chili.
THREE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti.
FOUR WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions
FIVE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions, beans
My Ohio sources tell me that there is a variation on the FOUR WAY where you can swap out the beans for the onions. And that it is often served with oyster crackers. That is the sum total of what I know about this variation of chili, other that the fact that it is flat-out scrumptious, and if you let it mellow in the fridge overnight and have some the next day, it is even better.
So there you have it, Cincinnati chili, and all you Ohioans out there? Let me know if I got anything wrong, okay?
Ingredients
Directions






framedcooks
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Hooray for Ohio!!!
Can I friend you so I can read the dinner updates?
I'm all about the bacon love on facebook, but can't wrap my brain around chili over spagetti noodles. We eat some strange stuff around here, but that one takes the cake!
Oh I'm a Cincinnatian and I think you did a good job on our beloved chili! There's two small imperfections though, most importantly – looks like you skimped on the cheese. And secondly, it's often served with hot sauce, Tobasco does the trick perfectly. Yum!
I am MORTIFIED about the cheese skimping – never again!! And thanks for the Tabasco suggestions. Now I need to go make this again immediately.
cheese is our friend. there is never enough cheese.
Technically, you boil the hamburger in water. I never do as I like it sauted. Still, I do like to go to Skyline and eat it the proper way. And, just for the info, Gold Star is not the same and frankly, I do not like it. Skyline rocks!
Wow, I have never heard about the boiling in water part…must give that a try next time. And glad to hear about Skyline!