Deer Chili

I got my deer back from the meat shop Saturday and while LeeAnn is typically the chef in the family, I do make a pretty good deer chili so I thought I would share the recipe. You will need:

2 LBS Ground Venison
1 Onion Diced
2 jalapeño peppers split in two with seeds removed
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 cans of kidney beans (I like to do one light and one dark for looks)
2 cans of Rotel Tomatoes or 2 cans of diced tomatoes depending on how spicy you like things (not everyone is from TX)
2 packages of McCormick chili seasoning (I use the stuff with 30% less sodium)

The most important step is to smoke the frozen deer burger and the jalapeños in your BBQ over Mesquite chips. I usually do this by putting a bunch of soaked mesquite chips over the flame guard and turning the heat to low. Smoke the meat and peppers for about 20 minutes, this will mostly thaw the burger and it helps get rid of the any gamy flavor.

Once the meat and peppers have been smoked, dice the peppers and place the meat, onions, and peppers into a stock pot and brown the meat over medium heat. Once the meat is browned, add the remaining ingredients (drain and rinse the beans first) Let the concotion simmer for 20 minutes or more and serve with cheese and sour cream. It should feed four or five adults no problem devide the recipe in half for two people. Happy hunting.

Jeff