Who doesn’t love chili? And what hunter doesn’t love venison chili? This is my version of this classic dish. Chili has endless variations: Beans or no beans? Ground meat or chunks? Or no meat at all? Tomato products or no tomato products? Add coffee? Chocolate? Cinnamon?
In fact, so far as I can tell, the only things that really must be in chili to make it chili are red peppers of some sort, cumin, and onions. (Yes, there are vegetarian chiles out there.)
My version of venison chili hinges on ground deer meat, but I’ve made it with all kinds of meats, even ground turkey and goose. You can use any meat here. I’ve done it with diced venison or other meat and it’s good, too. Just don’t do large chunks; the texture of the chili will be off.
I find that the chorizo, which is kinda runny, is a perfect start to the chili, as it’s often very fatty. Bacon works great, too.
What makes my chili unique is the amount of dried chiles I use. I will typically use 12 to 16 dried chiles of all sorts, reconstituted and then pureed with a cup of weak coffee to make the backbone of the dish. Any variety of these chiles works, but remember that anchos are mild and guajillos are a bit hotter. None are really hot.
Don’t get all hung up on an exact combination of dried Mexican chiles. My advice is to use at least 3 or 4 kinds of chiles, and most of them should be mild. I like a mix of ancho, chipotle, guajillo, chile negro, chile mulato, cascabel, New Mexican and pasilla chiles. As you get to know these chiles — some are smoky, some hot, some sweet — you can adjust the mix to your taste.
This recipe has been a backbone of my game cooking for many years, and I’ve tinkered with it all this time. It has won numerous chili cookoffs and, may well be the best chili you’ve ever eaten.
I like beans in my chili, but you can skip if you feel strongly about it — talkin’ to you, Texans! You can also use canned beans, and if you are, add them towards the end of cooking. Be sure to rinse the canned beans before adding to remove some of the starchy liquid they’re canned in.
Once made, it will keep for a week in the fridge, and, if you skip the beans, it freezes well. Or, you can pressure can it in pints for 75 minutes at 10 psi (higher if you live at altitude). Check here for the food safety rules for pressure canned chili.
Doubt me? Make it. You’ll see.
Venison Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound pinto or black beans (optional)
- 12-16 dried ancho, guajillo, pasilla, or mulato chiles (use a mix of varieties)
- 1/2 pound Mexican chorizo or bacon
- 2-3 pounds venison, ground or diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 cloves to 8 garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons sweet or smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon chipotle powder (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup of black coffee
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- quart Beef or venison broth
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro and shredded cheese to garnish
Instructions
- Soak beans in water overnight. If you have forgotten this, pour boiling water over them and soak for 4 hours, changing the water after 2 hours.
- Break up and seed the chiles and cover with boiling water. Let stand for an hour or so. Grind to a puree with the consistency of gravy, adding about 1 cup of the soaking water and the coffee to do so.
- Break up the chorizo or chop bacon and fry over medium heat in a Dutch oven or other large, lidded, oven-proof pot. Once the chorizo has browned or the bacon is crispy, remove it and set aside. Add the venison and brown over high heat. You want the highest heat on your most powerful burner here, because the meat will want to steam and stew and not brown. If you are doing a big pot of chili, brown the meat in batches. Stir occasionally as it browns. Salt it as it cooks.
- Once all the meat is ready, add the onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. If you are using chorizo, return it to the pot; if you are using bacon, leave it out for now. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans, paprika, cumin, coriander, chipotle powder and salt one at a time, stirring to combine each time.
- Add chile puree and tomato paste and stir to combine well. Add the molasses and enough beef broth to cover everything – you want it to be thin like a soup. I typically need at least a pint of broth, sometimes a quart. Stir to combine all this well, bring to a bare simmer and cook gently for 3 hours or so, stirring occasionally. Put the lid halfway over the pot as it cooks. You want it to eventually cook down and be thick.
- Once the beans are tender, you're good to go. If you are using canned beans, now's the time to add them. Return the bacon to the chili if you're using it. Serve the chili with rice or cornbread, and top with cilantro, cheese and maybe some pickled onions.
A fantastic recipe that i regularly use. I’ve used this recipe for years to convert friends and family to venison.
One of my favorite comfort food meals. Also like to dehydrate the leftovers for backpack hunting!
Hi Hank, Love this chili recipe and so many others of yours. Planning a backcountry hunt and want to take some of this chili pressure canned. Do I cook it as per the instructions above, and pressure can the cooked chili? Or do I not simmer it for as long? Keep the great game meat recipes coming!
Bryn: I would cook it for maybe an hour, then pressure can it. Make sure in this case you have soaked any beans you are using overnight before cooking them. Bean sucking up too much liquid is an issue in pressure canning.
I’ve never liked chili. Everyone I know makes it with a a bunch of tomato juice so it’s more like vegetable soup than chili. I cannot wait to make this recipe again. I just wish I had easier access to all the different peppers.
I found a pretty good replacement mix at of places, believe or not, Walmart. Up here in Maine Chili’s of various assortments are hard to find. It’s called Mexican Chili Powder and has most of the mild chili’s in Hank’s recommended for this recipe. No weird stuff like msg or ‘ natural flavors’ added.
Corrected- ‘Andrew Zimmerman ‘Mexican Fiesta’ (powder)
This was incredibly delicious.
My husband says that this chili is the best he has ever eaten, and I concur.
Mr Shaw,
I have been influenced by your treatment of game for many years now, but this is the first time I’ve made your chili. It did not disappoint! I used a light roast Ethiopian guji as the coffee to purée the chilis and I was delighted by the result. The molasses adds just the perfect subtle sweetness. And I used only venison, as I was making it for people who don’t eat any pork. First I used your chorizo recipe and made venison chorizo (used beef tallow for the fat) then used another pound ground venison, and a venison roast diced into chunks. Will definitely make this with pork chorizo or bacon next time, but it was excellent this way too. I thank you!!