Blueberry Moose and Sweet Potato Chili
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I have been just a wee-bit obsessed with blueberries lately. It started as a sweet thing, the typical blueberry treats of pie, smoothies, and syrup on ice cream. But then it started to creep into my mind as more of a savory thing. One of my absolute favorite steak toppings is a reduced blueberry and balsamic sauce dressed in a variety of fresh herbs, but I started wondering what other adventures I could take with blueberries. I landed on this fall-themed moose chili.
For this recipe, the blueberry juice should be pure blueberry, no sweeteners or other juices like cranberry or pomegranate added. Pure blueberry juice is mildly sweet, but it is much more tangy, almost to the point of being sour. Starting with the sour taste is a great foundation for building a savory flavor profile into a dish using a typically thought of as dessert-only fruit.
For this chili, I added the liquids to the dutch oven, after lightly sauteing the shallot and peppers, and then added the seasonings one at a time, adjusting the amount of each as I went to get the liquid base for the chili exactly where I wanted it. The addition of the balsamic and honey at the end rounded out the flavor, creating a very rich and complex flavor experience, and one that perfectly pairs with moose meat, spicy poblano peppers, and sweet potatoes. Enjoy!
Cook Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Servings: 4 – 6 servings
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Blueberry Moose and Sweet Potato Chili
4-6
servings30
minutes1
hour30
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 pounds moose steak or stew meat
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large shallot
3 large poblano peppers
2 cups pure blueberry juice
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
4 cups diced sweet potatoes
Preparation
- Preheat a large dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the tablespoon of oil and heat to just before it starts smoking.
- Cut the moose steak into bite size chunks, about a square inch in size, and brown in batches in the preheated oil. Don’t over crowd the pan so the temperature remains hot enough to sear the outside of the meat bites. Cook about a minute for each batch. Remove and set aside.
- If necessary, add a bit more oil to the pan to cook the shallot and peppers. Mince the shallot and sauté for two minutes. Add the poblano peppers, diced into bite size pieces, and cook additional two minutes.
- Increase the heat slightly to medium high and pour in the two cups of blueberry juice. Use the bubbling liquid to scrape the bottom of the pan and release all the browned pieces attached to the pan. Add the vegetable stock.
- Season the liquid to your personal preference using the chili powder, salt, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, balsamic vinegar, and honey. Check the salt, honey and balsamic levels to make sure they meet the chef’s liking.
- Add the browned moose meat and diced sweet potatoes to the pot. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for one hour.
- Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, sharp white cheddar cheese, diced purple onions, sour cream. Enjoy!
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