This Chunky Venison Chili is so very tender and it was made with the toughest cut of the deer, the front leg! The trick is to brown the venison chunks over very high heat, quickly. The slow cooker makes this cut, normally just discarded, into a chili that you would never realize is even venison. Eric has tricked friends and told them it was filet of beef! 🙂 (and they believed him!)
I know you probably won’t believe me, but if you try this chili, you will not believe it is not filet! Between Eric and both boys we usually end up with over 300 pounds of meat! It really helps with the grocery bills. The only drawback is I have to get creative with my recipes, or we would get very sick of eating venison. Here are some of the great recipes I have come up with for making different venison recipes!
Toward the end of the winter, I usually try to clean out the tougher cuts of venison from the freezer. Those cuts that really benefit from cooking in the slow cooker, or slow braising. Slow Cooker Venison Carnitas is a perfect example. In the summer we usually cook on the grill and these cuts don’t lend themselves well to quick cooking.
Another key to cooking these tougher cuts is to make sure that you remove all of the tendon that has multiple layers between the good meat. The tendon is hard to chew and your chili will not be as tender.
Venison Chili is a great place to hide extra veges
I always add lots of veges and beans to my chili. This batch I cleaned out the freezer of all the small bags of roasted sweet and hot peppers and garlic from my garden last summer. When I have a plethora of peppers in the garden, I can some, like these pickled peppers, make relishes, and candy some. I always roast a big batch and freeze them, too. They are great in soups and stews!! I also load it up with onions, celery and chipotle peppers! This chili is not lacking of flavor.
Let your chili cook for a couple days. I usually start the slow cooker on high, until it boils, then turn it down to low and cook for about 5 hours. Refrigerate it over night. Then the next day, scrape off any fat that accumulated on the top. Turn the slow cooker on high again, until it boils. Then reduce heat to low. Cook it again for about 5 hours. The cooling off and reheating, not only improves the texture, it lets the flavors all mingle together. Who hasn’t said that the soup or stew tasted better the second day? The same goes for chili! I never skip this step! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the recipe today for Chunky Venison Chili!
Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
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Chunky venison chili only takes a few minutes to put together but it slow cooks for 2 days! So tender, you won't believe it's venison!
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb cheap beef cut, cut into bite sized pieces we used sirloin steak
- 3 lb venison leg meat, cut into bite sized chunks remove all tendons and silver skin
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 pepper, diced roasted or fresh
- 2 adobo peppers in adobo and tablespoons of juice, minced
- 3 28 oz diced tomatoes I used frozen
- 1 head roasted garlic, or mince 3 large cloves fresh
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp chili powder
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Add olive oil to cast pan, if you have one, over high heat. Brown beef first. (The reason I use a little beef is because it adds a bit of much need fat to the chili)
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Once beef is browned remove it to slow cooker with slotted spoon. Add a bit more oil, if you need to between batches. Then brown venison, in batches. Add it to the slow cooker when browned.
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Add a bit more oil and reduce heat on pan. Sauté onion, celery and peppers (if using fresh).
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When they are soft, add garlic and soften that until it is fragrant.
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Add some of the tomatoes to the same pan and scrape the fond (browned bits).
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Add all of the rest ingredients to the slow cooker. Turn heat to high until it boils. Turn down and cook on low for about 5 hours.
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Refrigerate overnight. The next day, scrape the accumulated fat off the top of the chili. Again, turn slow cooker to high until chili boils. Then reduce heat and cook for another 4 hours or so. Then add corn meal and stir in. Cook for another 30 minutes- 1 hour. Serve with cheese, green onions, jalapeño slices, sour cream or whatever other toppings you like.
Laura
This venison looks delicious, I cannot believe you cooked it for days. A great technique to cook it on and off. My sister gets wild boar and I wonder if I can use this recipe with wild boar
Binky
I don’t see why not. I make it with pork and beef, as well! It’s always delicious! I never skip the cooling off step. It makes a huge difference. Thank you Laura!
Catherine Brown
Wow, this looks so flavorful! I love a good chunky chili, those dried chilies look fantastic too!
Binky
I love dried chilies in just about anything!! Thank you Catherine!
Hayley
Slow cookers are magic at making tough cuts of meat delicious. This chili sounds wonderful!
Binky
I agree! They really are the best! Thank you Hayley!
Colleen
so curious to try this! I had a venison burger a few years ago and it was seriously incredible! It was at my parents best friends house in CT…He’s hunted deer his whole life, I was always afraid to try (Philly girl, lol) it and then I did and it was one of the best burgers of my life.
Binky
That’s funny. I get the same reaction from many of the people I talk into trying it! When it is cooked properly, it is seriously delicious! Thank you Colleen!
Emily
Venison chili sounds amazing and looks delicious!
Binky
Thanks so much Emily! Have a wonderful weekend!
Dawn | Mama Harris' Kitchen
Ooh, I love a good slow cooker chili, will have to try this one!
Binky
Me too! Thanks for your comment, Dawn!
Kiki Johnson
I love that you used a mix of beef and venison for your stew to get a mild gamey flavour! I love hearty stews like this!
Binky
I use very little beef and only because the venison is so lean, it benefits from the fat in the beef. It has none of that gamey taste, if cooked properly! Thanks, Kik!
Michelle
What a great method of cooking venison. Thanks for the tips. This chili sounds soooooooo good! I love all those veggies in the chili too.
Binky
Thanks so much, Michelle! We love it, as well!