Cincinnati Style Chili

An experiment this week at our house - Cincinnati Chili served 5-ways. I took a bit from a couple different recipes I found online which means I better write down what I did before I forget. It turned out really yummy!

1 quart cold water
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups (16 ounces) tomato sauce
2 yellow onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 ounce Ghirardelli bittersweet baking chocolate
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 whole bay leaf
1 whole clove (the kind you make ground cloves from)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt

Extras:
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
about a pound of spaghetti, cooked and drained
shredded cheddar cheese
1 chopped onion
oyster crackers

Add beef and water to a 4-quart pot. Bring to a simmer while stirring until the ground beef is in very small pieces. Simmer for 30 minutes and add all the rest of the ingredients.

Simmer on low, uncovered, for 3 hours. Add water as needed if the chili becomes too thick.

Refrigerate the chili overnight (I put ours in the freezer for an hour), and then remove the layer of fat from the top before reheating and serving.

We added the beans to the chili while reheating it, then served it over spaghetti with cheese and onion on top, and oyster crackers on the side.