Ground Venison and Bean Chili
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Towles Family Venison Chili
When I was a young child, my family took a trip to Alaska. Unfortunately at the time, I was too young to fully enjoy and appreciate Alaska and all it had to offer. My grandfather had just been diagnosed with cancer and he immediately knew he needed to go and see the beautiful landscape of Alaska before he passed, so that’s how I found myself there. Although I was young, I made some memories on that trip that I will never forget, such as freezing as we rafted to the Mendenhall Glacier, nearly getting run over by a moose, and also, enjoying a dish that my whole family enjoyed, reindeer chili.
This dish was served to us on a train ride into Denali National Park and we knew that when we returned home, we would have to recreate it using the closest thing we had to reindeer or caribou – whitetail deer. Somehow my mother was able to obtain the recipe and once home, we adjusted it until we made what simply became known as our family chili recipe. One day, I hope to return to Alaska on a caribou hunt and then prepare this chili once more, but with caribou meat, like the original recipe called for.
I love chili as much as the next person, but I will also admit that a lot of chili recipes are boring. That’s not the case with this recipe; it has a few simple and subtle things that make it truly unique. A mixture of Alaskan, Mediterranean, and Greek influences give this chili a one of a kind flavor. When you couple that with a staple of Cincinnati Chili, noodles, (sorry, where I’m from, is close enough to Cincinnati that we often put noodles in our chili) this truly becomes a different take on the classic cold weather dish. Don’t worry, if you don’t like or agree with noodles in chili, you don’t have to do it.
Serving Size: 8 Servings
Time to Make: 1 hour
Also Works With: Any ground game meat
Looking for more chili recipes? Try out Lindsey Bartosh’s Pronghorn Pumpkin Ale Chili!
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Ground Venison and Bean Chili
8
servings30
minutes1
hourKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter (or any fat)
2 small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground venison
1 cup red wine
2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz cans)
1 can chopped green chiles (4 oz)
2 cans dark kidney beans
2 cans black beans
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground clove
2 tablespoons chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
Elbow Macaroni
Preparation
- Fill a large pot with water and cook elbow macaroni according to directions on the box.
- In a cast iron pan, melt butter or whatever fat you desire. Once butter or fat is melted, saute onions, then add garlic after the onions are translucent so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add ground venison and brown the meat.
- Add red wine and reduce. Let this cook for about 5 to 10 minutes on a lower heat.
- Add diced tomatoes and green chiles and stew for 10 minutes.
- Drain and rinse kidney beans and black beans, then add them to the chili. If you prefer a wetter chili, you can just add beans directly from the can with their juices.
- Add seasonings and let everything cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Drain elbow macaroni from water and rinse with hot water.
- Serve by first placing the elbow macaroni in a bowl, then layer chili on top, then sprinkle with shredded cheddar and then add a spoonful of sour cream on top.
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