Kitchen

[beach-mom]

On 1/8/2015 kcladyz said:

Sounds a lot like regular chili with cinnamon and allspice really the only difference?

We lived in both Ohio and Texas. The thing I remember about Cincinnati chili is the CINNAMON! And the spaghetti! I love it! But I also love Texas chili. In Cincinnati chili beans are optional; it's mostly a meat sauce with spaghetti. In Texas there is lots of beef and NO beans and certainly NO pasta! I love both. I love to try different recipes and there are a lot my family likes, but most of the time I use my mom's recipe with ground beef AND beans!

[Hoovermom]

You can purchase the frozen Cincinnati or Skyline chili at Publix. DH is a native Cincinnatian and loves it. Me, not so much LOL.

[05gage25]

Love Skyline chili!! However, as Still Raining said, it is an acquired taste. Sooo much better when you actually go to a Skyline restaurant and get it fresh....love the 5 way, and their Coney dogs. For hubby it's a no go, but my daughter and I will get it when we are out together, once in a while.

[D Oro]

I love chili. It's one of my favorite things to eat. Day or night. Summer or Winter. However, I absolutely hate Cincinnati Chili! I dislike the chocolate, cinnamon, and allspice in the recipes.

[BeckiWV]

I love it!

When I go to Cincinnati, I must get Skyline Chili. Goldstar or other kinds are okay, but for me, Skyline is the BEST. Yum.

I love it, freshly made at the restaurant with the huge pile of cheese and the little bowl of oyster crackers.

Now, at my local Kroger and Foodland, I can get Skyline chili sauce in the can or frozen to make at home with my own spaghetti. I always add chopped onion and kidney beans on top, along with a pile of shredded cheddar.

The homemade Skyline is good, but it cannot beat going to Cincinnati and getting the REAL thing.

[KathT]

We had this at a wedding reception. It was a favorite of the bride & her family. They have it Christmas Eve & other times, like birthdays, during the year. They had both a traditional meat sauce plus a meatless sauce, since the bride is vegetarian. Dh & I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't fix it at home.

[Carole22]

Cincinnati native here and the secret to truly Cincinnati chili is NOT to brown the meat. You do put it in the water and spices to get a finer textire. The mix they sell on Amazon isn't bad either. For a couple bucks a pot, you only have to add your meat and tomato paste and simmer for about an hour. Just search Amazon for Cincinnati chili. By the way, I love Skyline chili at a chili parlor but NOT the canned Skyline chili. Way too little meat and too watery.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

We were on a weekend trip to the Cincinnati area last spring and were very close to where an old friend lives. We haven't seen her in over 30 yrs., and planned to meet if our schedules allowed, which they did. She suggested going for chili at a Skyline Restaurant (there are many of them scattered throughout the area). It's pretty much something you should do, if you're in Cincy, like "when in Rome...". I can say I tried it, but I did not enjoy it, would not go out of my way to get it again or make it at home. If you like traditional chili, Cincinnati Chili is nothing like it. It must be an acquired taste. Other meals we ate in the area were much better.

[Emilysgrandma]

Absolutely love Skyline - live just north of Cincinnati, so we have the restaurants here, too. It's definitely not regular chili, but very good in it's own way. Goldstar is similar, but not quite as spicy. The Cook's Country cookbook with all of the recipes they've had on the show has a good recipe for it - made it last night. Closer to Goldstar than Skyline, but still very good. Just added some hot sauce to mine to spice it up more. I think you can pull the recipe from the website.

[BooBoo2]

Cincinnati Chili is NOT a typical "bowl of chili" type of chili. I cannot imagine eating it that way. But on top of spaghetti and loaded with finely shredded cheddar cheese is addictive! I crave Skyline Chili! The chili dogs are good also.

As far as all of the recipes for Cincy Chili, many argue about the chocolate. And the meat is very, very fine in texture; no big chunks at ALL. Also there are no chunks of tomatoes. It is a very fine, smooth "chili".

I used to live in Cincinnati and had it all the time. Now I can buy either the canned or frozen sauce at the store but it is NOT the same as going into a Skyline restaurant.

I always order the 3-way; spaghetti, chili and cheese. There is the 4-way which is the 3-way plus either kidney beans or onions. The 5-way is all of the above.

Finally, there is a "method" of eating the chili spaghetti. NO TWIRLING the spaghetti on a fork like you would with traditional spaghetti!! You cut down through the cheese to the spaghetti just like you would cut a bite of pie or cake. The idea is to not mix the cheese into the spaghetti. This sounds weird I know but I'm not making this up! I've heard this time and time again and it is how we eat it!

Now I'm craving a 3-way chili spaghetti