Venison Chili

I think I've mentioned this before on this blog, but I didn't really grow up eating beef. The main source of red meat in our house was venison, from my dad's frequent hunting trips with his best friend "Give me some nose" Greg. Every fall, shortly after the school year started, our front yard would suddenly sprout a foam target and evenings would often see my dad standing in the driveway target practicing with his bow and arrows. He's a pretty good shot. What this meant for our family, though, was that we rarely were without good, fresh hormone-free, free-range venison; the original organic red meat. Maybe this is partly why I connect so well with Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games trilogy?


Venison is a great replacement for beef in just about any recipe. I've had venison steaks, venison lasagna, venison bolognese, venison burgers (although venison is naturally very lean, so burgers tend to need some extra fat added in to keep them together; I've seen bacon as a recommended source of fat, although I believe my dad has used beef fat in the past). And the same holds true in reverse: any recipe that calls for venison (or other red game meat such as antelope or bison) can be substituted with ground beef or ground turkey if you don't have access to game meat or aren't comfortable eating "Bambi." I get it, I really do, but I hope that if you haven't ever tried venison and get the chance, that you will. It's fantastic meat. (And also, can I say how excited I was when I found venison on the menu at Vidalia restaurant in Washington, DC, last month? Cocoa-rubbed, no less.).

I've been eating a lot of soup for lunches lately, and have realized that A) the soup I buy at work is ridiculously salty and B) I'm sick of paying $6/day for soup and a muffin. So I took matters into my own hands and used a couple of the bags of ground venison I had left to make some tasty chili. This recipe was adapted by I'd Rather Be Deer Hunting's Venison Chili recipe. I felt it needed a bit more than what he had, though.

The Tart's Crockpot Venison Chili
2 lbs ground venison (or bison, beef, turkey)
1 cup dried black beans (or 2, 15-oz cans)

1 cup dried kidney beans (or 2, 15-oz  cans)
2, 15-oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt added, preferrably)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T cumin
3 T chili powder
2 T smoked paprika
1 T cinnamon
1 T hot sauce
1 t salt
1 oz semi-sweet baker's chocolate (1 square)

If using dried beans, soak in 3 volumes of water (6 cups of water for 2 cups of beans) in the refrigerator overnight (this step isn't necessary if using canned beans).

Saute onions and garlic in a large pan. Once the onions are translucent, add in the ground meat and cook until browned. Add the spices, then toss everything into your slow-cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Makes 12 servings.

You could make this recipe for a crowd, or I chose to freeze most of it into individual servings for easy lunches to take to work or quick, easy dinners on nights I just don't feel like cooking.