Seven Hills Chili Original - Original Cincinnati Style Chili From The 1930's

I lived in Cincinnati for 7 years, and have always loved that dang chili. I haven't lived there in quite some time, but I still want to remember that flavor again. This spice mix is incredible! Just put the called for amount in some beef and tomato juice, cook it for awhile, and then spoon it over some spaghetti, top with some finely shredded sharp cheddar, top with some diced onion, and you are back in Cinci. I don't even eat meat anymore, but it tastes awesome with Beyond or Incredible. I will always have this stuff in my cupboard, partially because the container is huge and lasts forever unless you are making this weekly. Which you might!

My husband is a huge Cincinnati Chili fan. This was an Xmas gift and an absolute hit. Super easy to make. Throw two pounds of ground beef, 45oz of tomato juice and 7 tablespoons of this spice into a pot. Bring to a boil then simmer for 45 min. Could not be easier. Tastes fantastic. I do not find it too spicy at all and I am not a lover of spicy things.

Love this stuff- Easy to make small batches of Cincy chili, or can use it to sprinkle on different foods for a great "spice"-

I grew up in Cincinnati and have an unhealthy addiction to my hometown chili! Currently live in a different part of the country and decided to give this a try. This tastes really really close to an old Empress recipe that has floated around the greater Cincinnati area for decades. And to me, it does taste very very close to how I remember Empress Chili. But it is spicier! Extra red pepper seems to be what they added. I personally don't mind that. In the past, I've regularly bought canned Skyline, season packets of Gold Star - This is better to me for a couple of reasons. I can control it, and I can control how much I make. A couple of tips:-they say use 7 TBS per 2 lbs of meat. I use 8. I thought 7 was just a pinch too subtle for my taste.-they say to cook it relatively quickly. But ground beef is a lot like stew meat - it doesn't get truly soft until its cooked slowly for hours, so let that pot lightly simmer for 2.5-3 hours (cover or add water as needed to keep the constancy) and you'll have something just as soft and tender as a chili parlor! (instead of beef flavored gravel).-The constancy (or grind) of the beef at chili parlors is very fine, much finer than what your average grocery store is selling. I like to use a stick blender to give it just a couple of bursts late in the cooking process to bring it down.-Don't brown the meat. That's a well known Cincinnati chili thing - I use 8 cups of water and 6 oz of tomato paste per 2 lbs ground beef. Mix it all together. (I think the directions on the package call for tomato juice instead of water and paste - haven't tried that because I know the water and paste thing is considered normal....)-price seems high, but where I live, specialty chili powder mixes (and all spices) are typically 5-6 bucks for very small bottle, so considering the size of the container, I personally don't consider it more expensive than most things-I LOVE that its a shaker instead of an elvelope - that way I can use it as seasoning for wings and other things. I love to make regular chili (not Cincinnati) and put 1 or 2 Tlbs of this with my regular texas chili powder to give it a bump.

Loved that the recipe was only 3 ingredients and super easy to follow written on the side of the bottle. Added a little cocoa and cinnamon hot sauce to adjust to our tastes.

A very spicy blend that we like very much. If you don't prefer hot and spicy, this is probably not for you but if you enjoy a hot chili flavor I would highly recommend. Easy to make and freezes well. We use for chili-spaghetti, chili dogs and add beans for chili. Different from others in that you tomato juice as the base.This has become our "preferred" mix for chili.

I found this to be very spicy. I even followed the recipe to a T. Perhaps I will try 3 tbsp rather than 7 on the next batch. It was very spicy and not in a good way. Did not turn out like skyline or goldstar chilis in taste. Consistency was great.

The taste is very similar to what I remember about skyline chili. However it is a good bit spicier. The recipe is solid but I would increase your time to minimum 2 hours instead of 45 min.