Reindeer Chili

With today being Christmas Eve, reindeer chili just seemed like the right kind of chili to make. OK, maybe not reindeer, but definitely made with deer meat. This chili is a great recipe for hunters looking for a way to use ground venison. As far as the rest of the ground venison goes, make summer sausage and send me some.

In order to cut the gaminess of the deer, I add a cup of red wine. I like to use a sweet red, but a dry red would work as well. As far as the rest of the ingredients are concerned, they are traditional chili ingredients. If venison is not your style, you could easily substitute ground sirloin for the venison and beef broth for the red wine.


Reindeer Chili

2 lbs ground venison
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp salt
1 can (29 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (14.5 oz) tomato puree
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cans (15 oz each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Heat one tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown venison, stirring often. Remove meat from pan and set aside.

Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same pan. Add onion, green peppers, and jalapeno peppers.  Saute over medium heat 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add chili powder, cumin, red pepper, and salt. Cook and stir one minute more.

Add tomato paste and cook another two minutes. Pour in red wine, stirring and scraping bottom of pan. Stir in tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Add venison back to pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in kidney beans. Simmer another 10 minutes. Serve with cheese and corn chips.