Small Batch Venison Chili

This post is obviously not going to be for everyone. Venison is one of those meats that some people just cannot eat, and while that is so foreign a concept to me it makes my brain hurt, I do understand that it's so. Me, I grew up on venison (and all manner of other game and fish), so for me it's worth its weight in gold. I was lucky enough to be gifted a pound of venison burger a short time ago, so I made a batch of chili.

About chili: There are two camps of people, and they're so adamant about being right they remind me of Capulets vs. Montagues, Hatfields vs. McCoys, or Republicans vs. Democrats. I'm talking about beans in chili, of course. I fall somewhere in the middle... Until very recently, in my world beans were for if you didn't have or couldn't afford enough meat for your chili. I'm good with or without them.

There are beans in this picture. I used them. No, you can't see them in the picture of the bowl above, because I used the trick I was recently taught and it was wonderful. But you can leave them whole if you want... I've done that as well.

My venison chili is really pretty basic. I adapted it from a recipe I got from a friend on the Gulf Coast a hundred years ago, and it's got some heat but not so much heat it's ridiculous. I'm a fan of flavour rather than burning my mouth, making my eyes water, breaking out in a sweat, and suffering greatly the next day.

So... venison, some vegetables, some tomato juice, and some seasonings. As with any good chili, this takes the better part of an afternoon to make, and it's worth it.

First, heat some oil in a Dutch oven and add the crumbled venison, onion, and garlic. Cook that until the venison gets browned and the onions are starting to soften. This takes something like 10 minutes, give or take. Don't drain it... venison renders almost no fat, and what little oil might be left is negligible and easily mixed into the chili.

Once the meat is browned, stir in the dry seasonings and cook for about 5 minutes to ensure the meat is infused with flavour.

Add the tomato juice and hot sauce, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. I usually just stir it whenever I happen to pass by the stove, as it doesn't really stick as long as you've got it over low heat. It will reduce down considerably in that time, getting thicker and richer.

Add the mushrooms and green pepper. And here's where the trick comes in... You can either just add the rinsed and drained beans whole or do what I did this time on advice from a friend. I pureed the beans with a little bit of water until they formed a smooth paste, a little thicker but the same texture as refried beans. Pureeing them added bulk to the chili without having more than a pound of meat, but also without offending those in the "no beans" camp.

At this point, you should cover the pan again and cook it for about another hour, stirring occasionally. You may find it's reducing too much, as I did this time around. So at this step I added another three cans of tomato juice, and also added equal amounts of chili powder, Cajun seasoning, basil, and oregano to what I did the first time. I still cooked it for another hour after that.

The next step seems odd, but it's necessary. Add some sugar, a teaspoon at a time, making sure to stir it in well. Let the chili cook for a few minutes and taste it. If it bites you back too hard, add another teaspoon and do it again. Depending on how hot you like your chili, you'll end up adding anywhere from no sugar to a tablespoon... but I recommend adding at least a teaspoon. It makes a difference.

This picture was taken with a different camera from an earlier batch, if you were wondering. For this batch, I used the beans whole and didn't double the tomato juice or seasonings.

I'm going to write the recipe here with my changes, but if you go to the original post on my Facebook page you'll see it as I originally adapted it (the nutrition information here is also with the changes I made this time). The thing with chili is you pretty much never make it the same way twice. I've used various different types of hot sauce, various different types of red pepper flakes, various different amounts of tomato juice, etc. and it's always come out wonderfully. You don't even have to take my word for it, because more than one person after having some has gone out of their way to get me venison so I can make more. My rule is "he who brings the meat gets the chili".

The reason I call this one the small batch chili is the original recipe served 18 and required three pounds of venison. I never get that much, so I had to adjust accordingly.

Small Batch Venison Chili

Serves 6

1 tablespoon oil (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 pound ground venison
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 package (1 ounce) chili seasoning mix
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I use Spice Merchant's VooDoo Bell Pepper Blend)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
36 ounces tomato juice
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
1 can (4 ounces) mushrooms (drained)
1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans (drained)
1 cup green pepper (1 whole, chopped)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (up to 1 tablespoon)

Step 1
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat; add venison, onion and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, 10 minutes (make sure venison breaks up into small pieces).

Step 2
Add chili seasoning through cocoa powder and cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes.

Step 3
Stir in tomato juice and garlic pepper sauce, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 4

Puree beans in a food processor with a small amount of water until the consistency of refried beans (smooth and almost like paste).

Step 5
Stir in mushrooms, beans and green pepper; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Step 6
Add sugar to taste, 1 teaspoon at a time; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

Serving Size: 418 g

Calories: 483

Calories from Fat: 98

Total Fat: 10.9 g

Saturated Fat: 3.7 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 74 mg

Sodium: 626 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 60.8 g

Dietary Fiber: 15.5 g

sugars: 10.3 g

Protein: 38.6 g

One thing I should mention is that this recipe does not adapt well to using any meat other than venison. I've been trying to adapt it to ground beef or turkey for years, and it just doesn't work right (although ground turkey is close). There's something about the ratio of spices and flavours to the leanness of the venison that just makes it perfect. Even if you're not normally a fan of venison, give it a try. You might surprise yourself!