Mix the Chili ingredients in a pot: get out a large pot or dutch oven and add the tomato paste and water to it. Use a whisk to combine these two ingredients until the tomato paste is fully dissolved in the water. Next, add the ground beef and stir it into the liquid with a wooden spoon until it forms a slurry (no large chunks of ground beef). Finally, add all of the remaining chili ingredients and stir until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

Cook the chili: Place this pot over medium-high heat and let it come to a light boil, making sure to frequently stir the chili as this happens. Then reduce the heat to medium-low/low and let the chili simmer uncovered for 2 to 3 hours. Just make sure that you stir the chili often (about once every 5 to 10 minutes), as we want the chili to become nice and thick. But if at any point the liquid in the chili reduces too much you can always add in another ½ to 1 cup of water as needed. Once it has cooked long enough and is thick enough to you liking take the chili pot off the heat.

Serve the hot Cincinati chili any “way” you want and enjoy!