This classic thick and hearty Venison Chili recipe will warm you to your soul. As an equally passionate hunter and cook, I hope you find this recipe worthy of the effort required to secure the meat.
I have to confess, I went shopping for venison this year. Yes, I spent hours looking in the woods first, but apparently, they were all out of deer. Admittedly, I am a public land hunter, which is awesome because you get all of the excitement of sitting in one spot staring at trees for hours on end without any of the added work of actually harvesting, dressing, and dragging out a deer.
Thankfully, one of my friends came to the rescue traded me some venison for my Oreo Dip so I could make a batch of my wild game chili. I’ve been excited to share this recipe with you guys for a while now. So let’s dive in and discuss how to make the best venison chili!
How to Grind Chili Meat
It is no secret, the thing that makes venison chili special is the ground venison. For venison, like beef, the ideal chili grind is coarse because it lends a better texture to the final chili. This differs from the grind used for venison burgers, for example, which is typically double ground using a finer plate. Simply ask your deer processor to run a few pounds of your venison for chili and he will know what to do.
Otherwise, if you grind your own meat, run some venison and pork fat through your coarsest grinding plate (8mm plate is great) in one pass then gently mix together. This will make phenomenal venison chili. I like an 80/20 blend of meat and fat because the fat will really carry a lot of the flavor of the seasonings.
However, I suspect most of you reading this already have your venison ground and packaged. Chances are the butcher ran it through the grinder twice on a medium grinding plate and blended it with a varying percentage of beef or pork fat. Don’t fret, I use this meat all of the time, it will still make fantastic venison chili!
How to Make Venison Chili
I recommend using a Dutch Oven when making chili because it will help you build layers of flavor. The wide base makes it ideal for browning your meat and vegetables, while its thick sides retain heat exceptionally well for long, even, simmers. I use a Dutch Oven for anything that will simmer for an hour or longer. However, a traditional soup pot will still work well for chili.
When browning meat for chili, you actually want a brown crust to form on the meat, or at least on the bottom of your pan. This will melt into the chili during the simmer, adding exceptional flavor. For this reason, I also add the garlic, tomato paste, and chili seasonings to the saute before the liquid is added. It helps the flavors bloom before swimming in broth and sauce.
Like any chili, you will find the flavors meld together beautifully when left in the refrigerator overnight, making the leftovers even better than the original serving. It does have a tendency to thicken while sitting in the fridge, so thin it out with a few splashes of water if needed.
You can adjust the spiciness of your chili most easily with your chili beans. They are typically sold in mild, medium, and hot spice levels. Simply purchase the heat level that fits your family’s preferences.
Slow Cooker Venison Chili
Any chili recipe will taste best if cooked in a Dutch Oven, layering flavors as described above. However, you can make venison chili in a slow cooker by simply adding all of the ingredients together and letting it simmer away. It is an easy way to make chili, and it still tastes great. Though, if you are willing to take the extra effort to complete steps 1 & 2 of my recipe prior to adding everything to a slow cooker, you will be rewarded with a much richer flavor. Once all of the ingredients are added to your crock pot, cook it on high for 4 hours or longer.
Venison Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground venison
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 28 oz. canned Diced Tomatoes
- 2, 15 oz cans Chili beans
- 15 oz. can Tomato Sauce
- 6 oz. can Tomato Paste
- 2 Medium Red Onions (chopped)
- 2 Poblano Peppers (chopped)
- 4 Garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 3 cups Beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Flour
Chili Seasoning
- 1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Cumin
- 2 teaspoons Oregano
- 2 teaspoons Chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Optional Garnishes for Serving
- Chopped onion
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil in a Dutch Oven or large pot and add venison, onions, and peppers. Cook on medium-high heat until meat has browned and onions and peppers are tender.
- Add garlic, tomato paste, and chili seasonings. Cook for two minutes longer, or until fragrant.
- Add remaining ingredients, stir together, and simmer for 3 hours, or until thickened to your liking.
- Ladle chili into bowls, top with desired garnishes and serve.
Notes
Thanks to my friend Kim for the venison for the recipe! May your saltines always be bursting with flavor. 😉
Don’t forget to check out the rest of my mouthwatering venison recipes too!
If you enjoyed reading about my Venison Chili recipe then you should probably like me on Facebook and follow me on Pinterest too. That’s what I would do at least, because if you don’t get to know me but you still use my recipe it is kind of like taking candy from a stranger, and your mom taught you not to do that. Don’t disobey your mom, subscribe to Fox Valley Foodie today.
Jeff says
This is the best venison chili recipe I’ve tried!
Carol says
Made this chili recipe with venison….turned out awesome !! Best chili I have ever made.
Lou says
Would smoked paprika instead of regular paprika be ok in this recipe?
Fox Valley Foodie says
Absolutely! I love smoked paprika but sometimes I don’t include it as an ingredient because not everyone keeps it on hand. But yes, it would be a phenomenal substitution!
debra dawson says
ready to try it!
Tootsie says
I made this tonight, and once again another recipe that was the BOMB, and my chili was a great success. This venison chili recipe was far better from my other chili recipe. I will continue and follow you and your recipes, you make me look like a pro in the kitchen.
Fox Valley Foodie says
Haha I am happy to be your culinary wingman!
Aaron Slattery says
Thought I made good venison chili until I tried this. Made it this eve for our family Christmas dinner and it was AMAZING! My wife wont touch anything venison and she said it was the best chili she’s ever had …period! Best chili I’ve ever had! Thanks for sharing, only chili recipi for me from now on!
Brandon M says
Best Chili I have made. Full of flavor with the Poblanos peppers adding lots of depth. This will be a staple in my recipe book moving forward! Love that it is used with venison. Thanks FVF!
Amber says
Even my husband loved this. He is the pickiest eater in the world! I promise. Lol.
Very very delicious!!!
Ashley says
Best venison chili recipe – for real!!! I used smoke paprika in place of regular added extra beans and a couple of beef boullian cubes – omitted the flour because I forgot and no cayanne pepper bc I was afraid it would be too spicy for my toddler. Seriously awesome…so glad I found this recipe! Thank you!!
Vince says
Perfect! I butcher and my ground is once through coarse plate once through fine. No additives. I also got nervous and used a half teaspoon ground cayenne pepper. We loved it. Very nice complex blend of spices and seasonings. Thank you for this recipe.
Toccara says
10/10 best venison recipe ever.
Truthfully I ended up straying away from the recipe a bit and added bacon, hot sauce, lemon and more garlic as well as using slices of venison rather than ground because that’s what I had lol
Will be making again! ❤️
Grace says
Family loved it!! Didn’t have poblano peppers, so I used 3 10 oz cans of rotel with chili instead of the diced tomatoes… it’s what I had in hand. I also ended up making this in my instant pot… high pressure- 40 minutes with natural release. It was a little on the soupy side, which my husband really enjoyed! This will definitely be added to my list of “must have” recipes. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Fox Valley Foodie says
I am glad you guys enjoyed it. Using the Instant Pot will yield a soupier chili since it does not allow for the same evaporation that simmering on the stovetop does, but if that is the style your husband enjoys, then that may be the best way to make it for him!
Nancy Higgins says
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Do you drain your canned chili beans? Thanks
Fox Valley Foodie says
Nope! The liquid is a phenomenal secret weapon for getting a thick and silky chili sauce.
DSWalker says
Best chili I have ever made! Definitely making a pot of this chili for hunting camp as I think the guys will love it, as well. I couldn’t locate Poblano peppers at my local grocery store, so I substituted a can of diced green chiles and it seemed to turn out just fine. My daughter tried it and loved it the other evening.
Colin says
We had two deer in the freezer and I was told just get rid of it by my dad, so what better way then chili. Followed this recipe pretty much exactly, so well see how well it is. He walked in the door and said it smelled amazing and I can’t disagree, so let’s see how it turns out.
Lynn says
Oh my goodness! I didn’t change much in your recipe and the taste and depth is phenomenal. I used burger and hand chopped venison round steak, 1lb each. This is definitely my go to for all my future venison chili. I couldn’t even wait the 3 hours for a bowl. Thank you!
Machella says
Oooo weee! Cajun cook here and used your recipe. Absolutely fabulous! Hubs said it was the best chili I ever made!
Michelle says
This was amazing! I guess I got distracted because I realized after I never added beef broth or flour ha. So it was nice and thick but I enjoyed it just fine that way. It can be hard to find stellar venison recipes so I appreciate you- made your venison meatloaf too and it was delicious too.
Fox Valley Foodie says
Thanks so much, I am glad to hear that.
Wade utter says
Very good recipe! I did use smoked paprika and also added some white pepper and went with fire roasted tomatoes. Other than that I took some venison sirloin (about 1 lb.) cut into steaks and tenderized, I cubed and seared and added to the ground meat.
Turned out phenomenal!!!!
Marianne Delia says
I’d love to use my slow cooker for use on a workday
How many hours on low would you suggest p,ease?
Fox Valley Foodie says
Set it on low in the morning before you leave, it will be perfect when you get home. Simmer on low for at least six hours, but more is fine. Slow cooker chili doesn’t evaporate as well as chili on the stovetop (because the slow cooker lid traps moisture), so expect the chili to be a bit runnier. You can add less liquid to counteract this, but you will have to experiment to figure out exactly how much less.