We had some crazy storms about a week and a half ago and my cousin and her family suffered the worst from it, they lost power for almost a week. They decided to do the smart thing right away and clear out their deep freezer and give away some of their food because it would otherwise go bad. So, I luckily acquired about 5 lbs of ground deer meat! What a treat!
I had a few ideas on what to do with some of the meat and I couldn’t pass with the first, venison chili. A friend of the family growing up used to make some killer venison chili and Mrs. B, I won’t ever forget that as being one of my favorites! 🙂 So, it was my turn to make my first batch of venison chili. Couldn’t be any harder/worse than regular chili, right? Well, survey in this house said that it was some pretty rock star chili.
As usual, I didn’t follow a recipe, but I wrote down the ingredients I used and I’ll give you some approximations. If you decide to follow my “recipe” I suggest you use the same ingredients (or similar ones) and make it to how it tastes/smells the best to you. I served my spicy venison chili atop some creamy homemade mac n cheese(is there any other kind???). Killer dinner, if I do say so myself!
Spicy Venison Chili
2 lbs ground deer meat
1 large can tomato puree (28 oz)
1 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes
3 hot banana peppers
4 jalapenos (they were small)
4 small cajun bell peppers (you can sub a serrano and an extra bell pepper)
2 small green bell peppers
1 white onion (small-medium size)
1 small red onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp spicy brown mustard
3-4 tbsp cumin
2-3 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
1-2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
In a stock pot or 5-6 qt sauce pan, over medium-high heat, heat about 2-3 tbsp olive oil and start to brown meat. Season with salt and pepper. When meat looks to be about 3/4 of the way cooked, add peppers and onions (all finely chopped). Start to sweat peppers and onions. When they start getting a little soft, add all seasonings and stir together well. Add sauce, tomatoes, garlic and mustard.
**Yes, add the spicy brown mustard. This was my “secret ingredient” that helped cut through the “gaminess” of the meat and helped to give the chili a nice, balanced flavor.
Let everything stew together until chili is lightly bubbling. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
I served my chili over homemade mac n cheese… but just about any GOOD mac n cheese will do.
Top with sour cream and shredded cheddar. Chopped green onions would be good too, especially for some color!
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