Darren’s (Vegetarian) Cincinnati Chili
Tonight, I have Cincinnati chili simmering on the stove. The recipe comes from Darren, a friend who grew up in northern Kentucky cheering on the Reds just as long as they didn’t interfere with Wildcats basketball. In fact, it was Darren who introduced me to the dish. Before I knew him, I had no idea it even existed, and I’m not sure what I would’ve thought of it if I encountered it on my own. Darren introduced me to its all-too-satisfying working-class blend of spice and substance.
Cincinnati chili has since become an autumn staple in our house, especially after Kathy worked out a few changes to Darren’s original recipe. For one, Darren’s recipe is for a meat sauce (2 lb ground beef), but veggie crumbles (like these) work just as well as ground beef.1 For another, Darren’s spice measurements were eclectic: for example, they called for counting out a precise number of cloves for grinding. We didn’t want to bother with such tedium, so Kathy substituted standard measurements for ground spices. The following recipe reflects her changes.
Darren’s (Vegetarian) Cincinnati Chili
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 qt | water |
| 2 packages | veggie crumbles (or 2 lb ground beef) |
| 2 | onions (med.) |
| 5–6 cloves | garlic |
| 1 (15 oz) can | tomato sauce |
| 2 tbsp | apple cider vinegar |
| 1 tbsp | Worcestershire sauce |
| ¼ tsp | black pepper |
| ¾ tsp | ground allspice |
| ¼ tsp | ground cloves |
| 1 | bay leaf (large) |
| 2 tsp | salt |
| 2 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| ¼ tsp | cayenne pepper (or to taste) |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| ½ oz | unsweetened chocolate |
Directions
Bring water to a boil in a 4–6-quart pot. Add the veggie crumbles. Stir until separated. Add onions, garlic, tomato sauce, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir, mixing well. Add the remaining spices. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2½ hours. Cool uncovered and refrigerate overnight.2
| Optional Toppings |
|---|
| pasta and chili (“Two Way”) |
| cheddar cheese (shredded) (“Three Way”) |
| onion (chopped) (“Four Way”) |
| kidney beans (“Five Way”) |
1 I expect tofu or maybe even bulgur wheat would also work with some minor spice accommodations.
2 The dish can be eaten right away, but the sauce becomes more poignant with a honeymoon in the fridge.
Comments
December 09, 2010
dae / Dec 9, 06:45 AM
why don’t meatless meat products tempt me?
i like tofu, i like tempeh, i even like veggie burgers, as long as they don’t try too hard to make them look like meat…
greg / Dec 9, 09:08 AM
I dunno. As spiced-up as Cincy chili is, I have a hard time imagining that the ground beef adds that much to the flavor. Perhaps a few more fats floating about?
Then again, I’ve been away from meats long enough that I’ve lost flavor memory of just about everything but Memphis ribs.
dae / Dec 9, 09:10 AM
well, it’s not the flavor, really. after all, tho we eat meat, we barely eat meat. it’s just the this is non-meat made to feel like meat that gets me.
i could totally back a veggie cinci chili with extra vegges and legumes… maybe some eggplant, but i’d have to think about how those flavors—chocolate and aubergine—mix before fully endorsing it.
greg / Dec 9, 09:27 AM
We’ve been trying to move away from cooking with processed soy products like the crumbles, but this recipe is pretty much as we got it. The crumbles were a quick, easy substitute. I haven’t done much experimenting with it.
I thought of bulgur thanks to a standard chili recipe we have. The biggest problem is that the wheat tends to absorb all the liquid in the pot.
But frozen tofu might work out best—better than eggplant anyway!
dae / Dec 9, 01:08 PM
yeah. i could see using barley… but it would no doubt have the same effect. now. barley risotto is pretty tasty… but, i’m sure you could also increase the liquid content to keep it more chili like.
Commenting is closed for this article.