By Summer training camp begins next week. This will be my first real fall camp since 2019 — the pandemic spring season was a compressed version of what camp is supposed to be. I've been planning August for four months. The volume, the sequence, the conditioning benchmarks, the installation order of the playbook. I have a binder. The binder has color tabs. Lisa saw the binder and said, "Are you okay?" I told her I was great. She said she knew. The color tabs worried her.
Fifth chile roasting season. I drove to the Sprouts parking lot on a Saturday in late August and stood in line with my cooler and my bags and watched the propane roaster spin and thought about Ruben. Every year I think about him here. Every year it gets softer — not less, just softer, like the difference between a fresh wound and scar tissue. Both are real. The scar tissue doesn't hurt the same way. It's still there.
Diego is on the varsity roster officially. The announcement went up on the school athletic portal on Friday. He called me — he was at his friend Marcus's house — and said "It's up, Dad." I said I knew, I saw it. He said "I worked really hard for that." I said I knew. He was quiet for a moment. "Thanks for not making it weird." Fourteen-year-old philosophy right there. I told him I'd try to keep not making it weird for as long as I could.
Green chile cheeseburgers after the roasting. Annual tradition. The first use of the fresh-roasted chile. The twins built theirs with the structural integrity of people who take burgers very seriously, which they do, which I find deeply satisfying.
The burgers are the first-night tradition — nothing touches those. But the second use of the fresh-roasted chile, the one that has to feed a crowd and carry the weight of the whole week starting up again, that’s where Cincinnati Chili earns its place. There’s something about a pot that simmers low and long that matches the mood of late August: school starting, camp starting, Diego on the varsity roster, the season actually beginning. The twins want their five-way. I want something that takes a while to make and fills the house with a smell that slows everyone down for twenty minutes before the chaos resumes.
Cincinnati Chili
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min | Total Time: 1 hr 45 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 2 medium yellow onions, finely diced (divided)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb spaghetti, cooked and drained
- 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional, for 4- or 5-way)
- 1/2 cup diced raw white onion (for serving)
- Oyster crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the beef. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat, add the ground beef and half the diced onion. Cook, breaking the meat into very fine crumbles with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Build the base. Add the garlic and remaining diced onion to the pot and cook 2 minutes until softened. Stir in the chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, cayenne, and cocoa powder. Toast the spices with the meat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the liquids. Pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and beef broth. Add the apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Stir everything together thoroughly.
- Simmer low and long. Bring the pot to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the chili thickens and the flavors meld. Remove bay leaves. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the spaghetti. While the chili finishes its final 15 minutes, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain well.
- Serve your way. Plate spaghetti in a mound in shallow bowls. Ladle chili generously over the top (2-way). Add a heavy layer of shredded cheddar for 3-way, diced raw onion and/or warm kidney beans for 4- and 5-way. Serve with oyster crackers on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 680mg