Recently, an older friend here in SF, who went to high school and college in Joplin, was jonesing for some Spaghetti Red. As a surprise, I did some research to see how close I could come. In the course of that research, I noticed this thread, plus an article in Wikipedia (Fred & Red's apparently has now closed), what purports to be the authentic recipe (close variations of which appear on several sites, but I never did find the original source), a few interviews with Red and several reviews. Taking the linked recipe as my starting point, I reconstructed the dish using real ingredients rather than a seasoning mix. This probably means it no longer counts as authentic, but my friend was very pleased with the results, so I thought I'd share. It's an interesting chili precisely because it's so simple.
Saute 2 med chopped onions in 2 tbsp vegetable oil until golden, about 20 minutes; add 4 cl minced garlic and saute another minute. Add 3 lb ground beef (preferably chuck), 85% lean; saute until lightly browned. Add 4 c water, 4 oz crushed saltine crackers, 6 tbsp mild (and/or spicy) pulverized new mexico chile (and/or ancho, paprika, etc.), 2 tbsp cumin and 1 tsp each salt, black pepper and oregano. Simmer partially covered 1‑1/2 to 2 hours. Cook 1 lb spaghetti al dente in salted boiling water; drain; divide among plates or shallow bowls and spoon chili over. Traditionally served with dill pickle slices, chopped onion and saltine crackers, but I think bread-and-butter pickles work better (and don’t think the onion or crackers add much).
Note: The source recipe, as reported on other sites, makes much of using regular fatty ground beef. I've reduced it to 85% mainly because I don't like the mouthfeel of overly unctuous dishes. You can make your own decision. The real key to the recipe, imho, is the long simmer, which reduces collagen in the beef to gelatin. With that, you don't need the fat. Those same version, btw, insists you shouldn't use chuck, though it doesn't explain why. I'm quite certain chuck is right (because of its collagen content), so that's what I used and recommend.
