Chef John's Cincinnati-Style Chili

You'll love this chili recipe if you tend to like foods from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Greek food, or Indian food, because of the spices and flavor profile. If you don't, you won't. If you finish this dish off with some diced onions and grated Cheddar cheese like I did, you'll be enjoying what they call in Cincinnati a "Four-Way," because of the four components, but feel free to serve as you like.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
• Calories: 753 Calories

Ingredients

• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 6 cups cold water
• 1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• ⅛ teaspoon allspice
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon diced onion, or to taste
• 4 cups grated Cheddar cheese, or to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Combine beef and tomato paste in a large pot. Rinse out tomato paste can with a couple tablespoons of water and add to the pot with garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, sugar, and salt. Add apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and cold water. Mash and stir with a potato masher or a large whisk to break up the meat into fine pieces.

Step 2

Place the pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until flavors come together and chili reaches your desired thickness, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Step 3

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.

Step 4

Taste chili and adjust seasoning. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle over spaghetti into serving bowls. Top with onion and Cheddar cheese. Cut and scoop the noodles up with a fork like you're eating a casserole.