Skyline Chili is a Cincinnati staple that has been open since 1949! In this video, I’m making a very accurate copycat recipe of their chili, then cooking up two Skyline Coneys on my Wildfire Griddle https://wildfireoutdoorliving.com/griddles
Skyline Chili (With My Adjustments)
Prepare at least one day before use for best results.
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground beef heart (or substitute ground beef)
Water (to cover)
15 ounces tomato paste
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 ½ tsp salt (I adjusted to taste after simmering for 2 hours)
1 ¾ tsp onion powder
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
7 tsp Fleischmann’s instant dry yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Brewer’s/Nutritional yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp unsweetened cacao powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 3/8 tsp paprika
1 tbsp + 1 tsp allspice
1 5/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ¼ tsp ground clove
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
Place ground meat in a large pot and cover with cold water. Whisk meat until it is broken up into a slurry, then add tomato paste and tomato sauce. Turn the heat to medium-high and simmer until the meat turns gray. At this point, add the rest of the ingredients and adjust the heat to a low simmer with no lid; after two hours of simmering, taste and adjust the ingredients as necessary. Allow to cool and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat and use.
Shout-out to Elite Recipe Source: https://www.youtube.com/@eliterecipesource9646 for the base recipe that led to my version. He did the heavy lifting!
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43 Comments
Skyline Chili (With My Adjustments)
Prepare at least one day before use for best results.
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground beef heart (or substitute ground beef)
Water (to cover)
15 ounces tomato paste
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 ½ tsp salt (I adjusted to taste after simmering for 2 hours)
1 ¾ tsp onion powder
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp + 1 tsp Fleischmann's instant dry yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Brewer's/Nutritional yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp unsweetened cacao powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 3/8 tsp paprika
1 tbsp + 1 tsp allspice
1 5/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ¼ tsp ground clove
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
Place ground meat in a large pot and cover with cold water. Whisk meat until it is broken up into a slurry, then add tomato paste and tomato sauce. Turn the heat to medium-high and simmer until the meat turns gray. At this point, add the rest of the ingredients and adjust the heat to a low simmer with no lid; after two hours of simmering, taste and adjust the ingredients as necessary. Allow to cool and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat and use. Shout-out to Elite Recipe Source: https://www.youtube.com/@eliterecipesource9646 for the base recipe that led to my version. He did the heavy lifting!
Love the videos, you should be able to buy a can of Skyline chili online.
Sorry Greg. I wasnt raised in the Ohio area. This is not a receipe I would use to make a Coney dog. Allspice,cinnamon and clove has not place in my coney island hot dogs. So if your from that area I guess it would work,but not in mine.
SKYWAY DOGHOUSE IN SOUTH CHICAGO ILLINOIS!! 1/4LB CHICAGO DOGS!!!!
Looks so good! Cheers, Greg! 👍🏻👍🏻✌️
Wow, thanks some series spices! 🎉💯💘💝💖
Sounds great, I have never eaten any hotdog like that, I'll bypass the heart though!
There's nothing like a good hot dog or a good hamburger.
3 ways are spaghetti noodles, chili, and cheese. It's not a coney with cheese and onions.
i'm really glad you mentioned mixing the raw beef with water to get the fine texture. i accidentally discovered that a while back and haven't seen anyone else mention it. nice job.
Worked at a Skyline Chili in my hometown of Middletown, Ohio during my senior year of HS in 1998. Looks like you nailed it. Blue Grass Meats was their hotdog supplier, but Nathan's are close and I pretty much always have them in the fridge. I never got any privileged info on the chili recipe, but I recognize you've done your homework. We cooked the dogs on a flat top and steamed the buns and made a great point of keeping those heaping mounds of Wisconsin cheddar tall and cold so they could melt at the table or in the takeaway box and have that lovely contrast.
Strangely enough for me here in Canada Greg, I still do everything i imperial mesurements when it comes to cooking.
Body weight is also in pounds, and height is still in inches, although we are supposedly totally metric. – lol
Also oven and meat temps are also imperial. – Go figure – Cheers!
Try Tumeric to slightly lighten the color and an ever so slight lemony hint.
Skyline does NOT put cocoa powder in their chili! There are many YT videos with Skyline and other chili parlors, almost all do NOT use cocoa!
Also, the chili that comes in a packet, tastes much different than this skyline chili at the restaurants!
I live in Kentucky and I used to drive an hour and a half to the north part of the state to get Skyline chili (and LaRosa Pizza). Skyline is my favorite Cincinnati chili. Skyline chili now has a location a half hour from my house, so now I don't have to drive so far to get my fix. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Another video that says Skyline doesn’t NOT use cocoa/chocolate in their chili!
https://youtu.be/MPHCDThvSXU?si=8Ik7Kdu1mljdDqBz
👍❤️
Great video as usual. I am born and raised in Cincinnati. Skyline is a tradition and one of the foods Cincy is known for. I'm glad you showed it the love and respect that we all know it deserves.
Great video! Looks very similar to the real thing! I really enjoyed watching this one!!
When youj've had Cincinnati chili on pasta — especially spaghetti — you'll never be satisfied with chili dogs.
Cinci resident. Long time watcher of your channel. I think the cinnamon is the most destinct flavor/smell of Skyline. Also fyi, they use Kahns pork and beef weiners, very mild cheddar and Klosterman bakery buns. Keep up the good work.
I was in Cincinnati as part of a team for a large machinery acceptance test and were taken out for dinner by the company to Skyline Chili. I have no idea what all the fuss is. Watery spaghetti noodles, weird tasting chili and cheddar cheese. As we all tucked in I could see the faces of the locals expecting our nirvana experience so I pretended it was great so as not to insult them. I guess you need to grow up with it.
Hi Greg, fellow european here ! Don't worry about the measurements – the guys here following U.S. recipes (at least that I know) have those measuring cups, which is hundred times easier than starting to convert into grams…
Hats off for spending the time trying to get the closest to the original, step by step. Another great video !
Tbh, Europeans get annoyed at anyone who claims to validate a food culture not based on their notion of what it should be. Best to just ignore them and their narrow views…
Nope lost me on heart
Great Job Brother! I want to try to duplicate this one!
Hey Greg, would you please put more cheese on that dog? Thanks! 😆
Skyline uses a very small hot dog that is boiled to death…lol..it almost seems to soak up that chili like a sponge!! BTW..the Cocoa powder was the right move,it's pretty common knowledge that Skyline uses cocoa or chocolate in the recipe!! I was born and raised in Cincy and can almost smell the chili as I watch you make it!!
Cinnamon ruins chili
Im from Cincinnati and I know how to make this chili
If you ever get a chance to make it, you should get a can of skyline chili and add it to stouffers mac n cheese and add some extra cheese as you want.
I absolutely love making chili mac this way
There are too many ingredients.
I'm from Europe, I watch many American cooking Video's, and I don't expect you guys to recalculate it in the European measurements. Don't worry😊
Just made this, and awesome job on the recipe! It’s comes really close to the original. The only things I’d add are, if you’re buying ground beef from the typical grocery, there’s no need to grind it again at home as long as you mash it well in the water, and the cheddar cheese from Skyline is a pretty fine grate.
Nice detail on this cook. I've long heard of the Beef Heart component in Cincy/Skyline chili. I've not been able to get Beef Heart. I really want to try it out. The Coca Powder I have heard plenty of times. I don't recall it being listed as an ingredient on the cans available online. I will have to give this recipe a try without the Beef Heart. Wienerschnitzel makes a great Chili Dog or Coney. At least they did in the early 80's when I lived in the LA area. Would be nice to see your take on Wienerschnitzel. I know you have made Tommy's Chili before. Would be nice to see a redo on a hot dog.
Greg, I live in Columbus, OH and live maybe 10 minutes from a Skyline restaurant. I've been eating their food for years! I've tried duplicating their recipe with what I find online and something always seemed missing. I saw a video from Food Wishes about chili and he used cocoa powder. I tried that in the Skyline recipes I had and that was it! I will say this about Skyline now with their dogs: Their dogs are about 1/2 the length and 1/2 the width of normal hot dogs (more like lil smokies on steroids). This is a great video. My son loves Skyline so now I can make it for him!
I made this yesterday (7-14-2024) and it was great out of the pan, even better after over night. The only thing I did different was I used 80-20 ground pork in place of the beef heart. I couldn't find it in a pinch. Absolutely the best chili dogs I have had in a long time. My toppings were grated white sharp cheddar, diced yellow onion, and thin sliced jalapeno. JUST WOW 11 out of 10 would recommend!!
Thank you for this one Greg.
Happy cooking!!!!
Looks dead on. The only tweak I would make is you need much more finely shredded cheese. Even the "skyline" cheese you can buy at the grocery is not as fine as the stuff they use at the restaurant. Shred it yourself from a block of good quality soft mild cheddar with the finest shredder you can find.
Fuck the metric system!!!!
Okay you picked up on a lot of the secrets, but I think the technique you used for some of it reached the same goal but in a different method. People get really lost trying to make/copy this Chili. My father worked for Skyline and we have been cooking it at home since the '70s. At the time my father worked there Skyline had a deal with Hershey, so believe it or not there was a Hershey chocolate bars not Hershey Cocoa in the chili. I have no idea if that is still the case or not. I am also sure the recipe has changed from the time it was made in the '70s as well, being that Skyline is a much bigger organization now. Below is the recipe:
In a large pot, cook the following ingredients for two (2) hours after reaching a boil:
2 lb. Lean Ground Beef – raw do not brown
1 quart + 1 cup Tomato Juice
1 small can Beef Stock (broth)
1 tablespoon of Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 pinch Ground Clove
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Allspice
1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 – 4 tablespoons Hot Chili Powder (or to taste)
2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon of White Vinegar
1 Large Onion, peeled and whole scored, do not slice or dice
2 Bay Leaves
1 tablespoon of Crushed Red Peppers (or to taste)
1 Hershey Bar
Pour tomato juice in a large pot. Tear apart Ground Round into small pieces and stir them into the tomato juice (with food safe gloves massage meat until fine). Add other ingredients (except Hershey Bar) in no particular order. Heat on HI until it comes to a boil (stirring occasionally). Reduce heat to LOW, cover, and cook for 1½ hours (stirring occasionally). Add one Hershey Bar (NOT OPTIONAL) and continue cooking for a half-hour. Cool over night in a non-metal container. Skim fat, reheat on stove, and serve over Spaghetti noodles with shredded cheese and chopped onions (Kidney Beans are OPTIONAL and served on the side or a layer not cooked in Chili).
chili is way too thin
@BallisticBBQ you are killing it man – thank you for these recipes! They're awesome! Any way you could do a copycat recipe of the Cherry Pepper Hot Mashed Potatoes at Chris' Red Hots in New Jersey?
So I used this recipe as a way to make my own. While the reviews on here all say this is damn good, I made a few substitutions due to various reasons. 1st, I omitted tomato sauce and just used 18 oz of paste altogether. Instead of nutritional yeast, I used beef bullion. Everything else was the way you have it laid out and damn this is a good recipe. Thank you for your guidance.
Skyline uses blue grass hot dogs , that much I do know I use to work at blue grass in Kentucky, that's were skyline and gold star gets there dogs from but both hotdogs are just a little different in ingredients