There’s a big pot of it on the stove right now- the tantalizing smells are wafting throughout the neighborhood, practically. Mmmmm. I haven’t made it in 4 years or so, and I can’t wait to eat it.
I found an authentic Skyline Chili recipe on some Democrat blog, surprisingly, and followed that. You put the uncooked beef in boiling water and start from there. Allspice, cloves, cumin, chocolate, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, vinegar, cayenne, bay leaf, worchestire, cinammon… it makes for a tasty dish.
Do you love it, too? How often do you make it? What recipe do you use?
I LOVE IT! I don’t make it, I just sneak across the border when the Buckeyes are anot looking and buy it and run back across the Brent Spence before they can stop me!
When we moved to CA we had to go without until a friend of mine gave me her grandmother’s recipe (grandma was originally from Cincinnati). I make it every year for my birthday. We don’t put chocolate in it but I see how that could work.
Just had a Cincinnati three-way for dinner this evening - it’s our traditional Superbowl-night dinner.
I’ve been very pleased with the Cincinnati Recipe spice packets from Skytime (I have no idea if they’re any relation to Skyline Chili.) You can get them in almost any grocery store in the Cincinnati area - I generally pick up a half dozen or so whenever we visit friends in the area. I’ve also seen them available in mail-order from various sites on the web.
It smells so good I can’t believe it. MsPrufrock, you should try the chocolate. Just 1/2 ounce of unsweetened. I had to buy a whole big bar of it, but that just means that next weekend I can make homemade brownies, another favorite!
I can’t eat my chili until tomorrow night, though. I cook it for a couple hours then put it in the fridge overnight, then in the morning skim the fat off and warm it up that night. A great meal after a busy Monday.
I just tasted it for the first time, after cooking 1.5 hours. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be this hot. <breathes fire> But it’s good. And now I’m thinking of Ron White, and he’s hot, too.
ACK! I miss my chili so much here in Nashville! Gah. Best I can get is frozen Skyline 3-ways at Kroger, or the canned Skyline. And I’m not a Skyline fan, I soooo prefer Gold Star. Dammit.
Now I want some coneys. Damn you all! With your wonderful wonderful chili!
I have threatened to open a Gold Star franchise here in Nashville, mostly so I could get chili whenever I wanted.
The Girl made me buy here some Skyline the other day. I was surprised to find that Publix carries it, at least ours does, in the frozen section near the kid’s tv dinners. So we bought the chili, made the noodles and shredded the cheese. There are actually TWO Skyline Chili parlors in Pinellas County, Florida. One is on south Clearwater Beach, the other is off of US 19 N between Curlew and SR 580, although it can be a bit tough to spot. I have no idea how they manage to stay in business here. But it’s nice to go in and have a plate every few months.
After several attempts to reproduce Skyline, I found that the secret ingredient appears to be turmeric. (Everyone knows about chocolate, so that doesn’t count as secret.)
I love the stuff. I’ve got my wife making it; she came pretty close on her first attempt (though she’s never been to Cinti). Subsequent attempts have been less successful. Looks like Sarah Moulton’s recipe is pretty good, while Cooks Illustrated doesn’t not shit from shinola about it.
I always liked Acropolis best, BTW, with Skyline coming in second. Never warmed to Gold Star, and never had Empress.
So is Skyline actually “genuine”? I’ve never had chili in Cincinatti, but there are a few Skylines in Cleveland, so I’ve had that a time or two when visiting the family. I agree that it’s very good, but I’m quite willing to be told by a Cincinattian that the “real stuff” is better. Certainly, most cities’ signature dishes don’t seem to be reproduced very well outside of the metropolitan area.
As a public service, it’s “Cincinnati.” Not “Cincinatti,” “Cinncinati,” Sinnsinnatty," etc. I’m not a great lover of the town, but I like to see correct orthography.
Yes, Skyline is quite genuine. I don’t know what it’s like in Cleveland. I had some in Florida (?!?) and it was beastly. The spices were right, but they kinda left out most of the meat, and what little there was was decidedly grainy.
Has anybody had the canned Skyline? Is it worth getting, or is it as crappy as every other canned chili?
Cincinnati chili is my Super Bowl tradition as well. Oh how I love that stuff.
I’ve always browned the beef in the traditional manner. This year was the first time I’ve ever heard of boiling the beef. I talked to my mom, and she had never heard of boiling ground beef. How is that done, exactly? I mean, does the meat turn brown? Gray? How do I know it’s done? What is the difference, consitency-wise?
Sounds great! Both you and MsPrufrock’s friend’s grandmother seem to have recipes, but I don’t. Any chance of a post or a link to something good? And (I hesitate to ask) what’s a “Cincinnati three-way” anyway?
