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Everyone says they have the best venison chili, but this really might be it. This recipe is the One Ring of chili, no matter what meat you use. It has won more awards than I ever imagined it would, and if you scroll through the comments you will see reader after reader who has won contests and awards with this recipe.
So yeah, I am pretty proud of my venison chili. It’s been on this site since about 2008, and while I’ve tinkered with it over the past decade-plus, it’s heart has remained the same.
And after all, who doesn’t love chili? And what hunter doesn’t love venison chili? Chili has endless variations: Beans or no beans? Ground meat or chunks? Or no meat at all? Tomato products or no tomato product? Add coffee? Chocolate? Cinnamon?
In fact, so far as I can tell, the only things that really must be in a venison chili recipe to make it a proper chili are chiles 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.
The Chiles in Venison Chili
What makes my venison 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 to use mild ones, at least mostly.
My preference is to use lots of anchos, which are very dark, mild and raisiny, with some guajillos, which are bright red, fruity, and 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 if you can. Other options besides ancho and guajillo would be a mix of chipotle, puya, chile negro, chile mulato, cascabel, New Mexican, red Anaheims 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.
On Beans
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.
What beans? Ideally pinto beans or something like it. Some sort of brown bean fits well with venison chili. I do have a black bean turkey chili recipe, where the black beans are a star of that show, so feel free to use black beans here.
White beans would seem weird, though, at least to me.
Slow Cooker or Instant Pot?
Yep, this will work with either, although in both cases you would want to sauté everything first normally and then set it in the pressure cooker or slow cooker.
Slow cooker venison chili should take about 4 to 5 hours on “high,” and 8 hours or more on “low.” I’ve found that sautéing everything the night before, popping it in the fridge overnight, then putting it all into the slow cooker in the morning before work is the best and easiest course of action.
For the Instant Pot, you’ll want to put everything in after sautéing and set it on High Pressure for 10 minutes, then doing the natural release.
Topping Choices
I am partial to Mexican toppings like radishes and cotija cheese, which is a lot like feta, as well as cilantro and green onions.
But hey, venison chili is an American thing, and so I have to give a nod to shredded cheddar or jack cheese, plus yes, Fritos. I know, I know, but they are every bit as good in chili as tortilla chips.
Jalapenos, pickled or fresh, are a great option, as is minced onion soaked in lime juice. Diced avocado is a nice touch, too.
Sour cream is a natural, especially if you let your venison chili get too picante — and if you didn’t, your favorite hot sauce will then come in handy.
Bottom line: Put whatever makes you happy on top of your venison chili. You do you.
Storing and Preserving Venison Chili
Once made, it will keep for a week in the fridge, and, if you skip the beans, it freezes well. You can still freeze venison chili with beans in it, but the texture suffers a little.
You can also 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.
This venison chili is super Tex-Mex. If you want something a little more Southwest, go for my chile colorado recipe.
Venison Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound pinto or black beans (optional)
- 12 to 16 combined total of dried ancho, guajillo, pasilla, or mulato chiles
- 1/2 pound Mexican chorizo or chopped bacon
- 2 to 3 pounds venison, ground or diced
- 1 large yellow or white onion, diced
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons sweet or smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon chipotle powder (optional)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup black coffee
- 3 tablespoons molasses (optional)
- 1 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.
- Remove the stems and seeds of chiles and tear into pieces. Cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes. Grind to a puree with the consistency of gravy, adding about 1 cup of the soaking water and the coffee to do so.
- Meanwhile, 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.
Video
Notes
Keys to Success
- If you have all day, use dried beans. They're better.
- If you need to leave the house, put the chili in a 325°F oven, covered, instead.
- Literally any meat works here, and if you want to go vegetarian, use chopped mushrooms. I've done it and it's amazing.
- I strongly advise you to stick to the types of chiles I list: anchos, guajillos, pasilla, New Mexican, etc. This prevents you from blowing everyone's heads off with heat. You can always make it hotter later.
- If you make this a lot, try the diced meat option sometimes. It is a very Texas thing and it's really quite good.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tasty and suits me
I made this off the cuff but following the ingredients loosely.
I used 1.8# elk shank, 1.25# of elk grind, 1/2 # of bacon and mixed pintos and black beans.
I also used frozen fire roasted green chilies instead of the Dried chilies.
The coffee base is fantastic, the cilantro garnish completes it.
The shank meat was added after slow cooking and cutting most of the tendons out. Finely cut it added to the texture of the chilly as a whole. I can see why chorizo is a recommendation.
Best venison chili recipe I’ve ever made
Thank you for sharing
Fantastic chili! Love the addition of coffee and molasses.
I love the addition of the Mexican chorizo. I used my Chile base sauce which contains a mix of three different Chile’s plus my ground ancho Chile powder. Great recipe!
This was my first attempt at a Chili recipe. I cannot express in words how AMAZING this is!! I followed your recipe exactly and will never try anything else as this is literally Perfect!!
I’m always looking for new ways to cook my wild game and after trying this one recipe I want your book!
Thank you so much for sharing such an incredible recipe!!!!
I cut my ground venison w/pork fatback before I package and freeze. About 85/15 %. Would you still add the chorizo if this is the venison you had?
Rick: Yes. I like chorizo.
This is by far the best chili recipe I have come across and my new go to for our Christmas Eve chili tradition!
Lovely recipe that I use all the time now. Genius adding coffee to the meat! Would recommend 🙂
Made this today for dinner tonight. This is good stuff. Line cook approved. ?????
Is it still good if you don’t serve it with rice or anything and just eat it like chilly
Soul: Of course.
I made this Saturday and kept to the recipe using venison and some chipotle bacon (Al’s grocery in the little town of Westby MT makes the BEST bacon!!). The recipe turned out very nice indeed! The family enjoyed it and that’s what counts. Perfect medicine for a typical cold/rainy/snowy/windy Montana ‘throw the kitchen sink at ya’ spring weekend. It will go in my repertoire of now 3 go to chili/chile recipes!
Hank, Wow! I took this to a potluck last night. It was a big hit and, even though I’m not a great chili lover, I am now a huge fan of THIS chili. I didn’t have the chiles so I did have to substitute tomatoes w/green chiles. Everything else was the same, and next time, I’m going for the dried chiles. Can’t wait for supper tonight to have leftovers!
Pure awesomeness; this recipe never disappoints. My wife & children love it too. Have shared with friends & they get the same results. Thanks!
Dude! This is my second time making this chili and it is hands down some of the best chili I have had. No beans for this Texan ? From my family to yours, thank you!
This is hands down the best chili recipe I’ve ever made. My husband and I have tried dozens of recipes for venison chili and now I feel I don’t have to search any more. I can’t recommend this enough, and the sheer volume, diversity and preparation methods for the chilis make the dish. Thank you for sharing what will certainly be an heirloom recipe in our house. Forgot to rate it the first time, so wanted to post this to be sure it gets credit.
Just tried this for the first time, wow! Used two pounds of ground venison and a pound of venison stew chunks cut into smaller bite-sized pieces along with Mexican chorizo and black beans. For the sauce, combined three each of guajillo, poblano, pasillo, mulato and chipotle peppers with the coffee; just enough kick to keep chile heads interested without injuring others with a tender palate like my wife. I have used a chipotle, black bean recipe for venison over the years but it is a distant third to your recipe. This is the solution for anyone with mounds of frozen ground venison. Thank you for another magical game recipe.
I won a chili cook off with this recipe!
A friend has an annual blind-tasting chili cook off at his house, and there were about 15 entries, and this recipe won me way more votes than the next runner-up. I think the blend of coffee and rehydrated chilis gives this chili a very unique and good flavor. People loved it! I highly recommend this recipe, I have used it a couple of times, and tried a few different black bean/kidney bean combos.
If you happen to be in St. Paul, Minnesota, go buy your chiles at El Burrito Mercado at 175 Cesar Chavez St. They have the best selection and incredibly low prices, compared to what other grocery stores charge for them. And get some tamales for lunch, of course.
Jason: Ha! That’s exactly where I bought my chiles when I lived in St. Paul!
“Best damn chili I have ever eaten” per my husband.
I can see why the recipe wins awards. The whole family LOVED it.
I won an office chili cookoff with this recipe – thank you for sharing!!