Chili Cincinnati-style

Yikes! It's been almost a month since my last post. A lot has gone on in the meantime. Last weekend I won second place in the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival's Grand Lamb Cook-Off with my Chili Cincinnlamby - recipe below.

Chili Cincinnlamby by Jan Derry

Ingredients:

Spice Mixture:

2 Tablespoons cinnamon chips (broken cinnamon stick)

2 Teaspoons allspice berries

1 Teaspoon cumin seed

1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 Teaspoon black peppercorns

½ Teaspoon coriander seed

For the chili sauce:

1 lb. ground American Lamb

Non-stick cooking spray, QS

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup canned beef broth

1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz. undrained)

2 Teaspoons dried oregano

1 Teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2” stick cinnamon

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Teaspoon salt

More salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

½ lb. spaghetti, prepared according to package directions

½ lb. shredded cheddar cheese (I like it sharp)

1 cup finely chopped spring onion, white and green parts

Oyster crackers (less than a bagful)

Special equipment: You will need a spice grinder or coffee mill and a sieve to make this

Method:

Prepare spice mixture by combining spices and grinding in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder. Sieve the powder and regrind the coarse tailings. You should have three tablespoons or more of mixture. Set aside.

Prepare your pan with nonstick cooking spray, soften onion without browning it, and add garlic. When garlic is warm and aromatic, add lamb, stirring to break it up.

Add the cup of beef broth and two tablespoons of the spice mixture, the bay leaf and stick cinnamon. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their juice and the rest of the herbs and spices, including 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer 30 minutes more.

Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick, taste, correct seasoning with salt, pepper and more spice mixture if needed.

Simmer further only if needed to reduce the liquid to ‘spaghetti-sauce consistency’.

To serve Cincinnati Four-Way:

Place serving of spaghetti in the serving bowl, add meat sauce and stir slightly to coat. Top with green onion, shredded cheese and oyster crackers to taste.

The yield is approximately 4 cups of meat sauce, which in turn yields 4 giant or 6 or 7 more reasonably-sized servings. It takes about 90 minutes to prepare, depending on the time needed to reduce the liquid.

If you freeze the meat sauce, the pepper flavors will be hotter to the taste after reheating – you may want to keep that in mind.

For those who prefer not to grind fresh spices, substitute packaged ground spices as follows.

2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 Teaspoons ground allspice

1 Teaspoon strong red pepper (ancho suggested)

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

½ Teaspoon ground coriander

1 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

You may need to add more at the tasting point.

This is my original work, inspired by a magazine recipe for beef chili and after many years of tweaking to my family’s taste. 3/27/2010

I only got 13 out of a possible 20 points for 'Ease of Preparation'; a valid criticism, I think. I believe my recipe had about two or three times the number of ingredients of any of the others, and three stages of preparation, the spice mixture, the ragu and the presentation. But we love this here at my house and I hope you like it too.

Keep an eye on the MS&WF here. Usually new material about the upcoming festival comes out in March.