She likes it! She likes it!

Hunter’s Favorite Chili
Dressing and Cooking Wild Game Copyright 2000

3 pounds big-game burger I had more, probably over 4 pounds
3 medium onions, chopped
3 medium green peppers, chopped
½ cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons bacon fat or vegetable oil
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
2 tablespoons chili powder I added much more
1 teaspoon salt I added a little bit more
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cans (15 ½ ounces) kidney beans, undrained I omitted these
1 can (16 ounces) pinto beans, undrained I omitted these
I also added 2 Dove dark chocolate Promises, extra (petite diced) tomatoes and some beef broth

In Dutch over, brown meat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside. In large skillet, cook and stir onions, green peppers, and celery in bacon fat over medium heat until tender. Add vegetable mixture and all remaining ingredients except beans to meat in Dutch oven. Heat to boiling. There was nothing to boil so I added some leftover petite diced tomatoes from the freezer and some beef broth. Reduce heat; cover. Simmer 1 hour to blend flavors. Stir in beans. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes longer.

Well, my husband came home with the meat from his second buck today. After being up to my elbows in venison this afternoon, getting it all packed away for the freezer, I decided I needed to get rid of some of this meat right away. I decided to make this chili.

The amazing thing was, I LOVED this chili. I've never had much of taste for venison in the past. You really never know what a deer will taste like. It’s not like Frank Purdue is feeding them an electronically controlled diet and slaughtering them in a standard way. So I think it’s a crapshoot, whether a hunter gets a tasty deer or not. We won this crapshoot. The meat had no strong flavor and although it was lean, it wasn’t tough like lean ground beef can be. That’s just liquid from the broth and tomatoes in the photo, by the way. This wasn’t greasy at all. I had the beans but skipped them since I used more meat and frankly I didn’t need this pot of chili to be any bigger than it already was without the beans. There was plenty leftover as it was.

This cookbook is the only game cookbook I have and it covers a larger variety of game than my husband hunts (thank God). But that means there are only a few venison recipes. I’m going to need more. Many more. Many, many more.