Venison Chili Recipe

We used ground venison for this recipe and it was perfect. It was a great tasting chili. It would be wonderful served over rice. Also, be sure to cut up the cooked bacon. Its a hearty, manly chili, but don't be afraid.

Every time I make this recipe I get fantastic reviews. Of course when you kill a deer you have plenty of meat to go around, and this chili is a great way use up all that meat. In addition, chili recipes are always so dynamic...you can add ingredients at any point to alter the taste if needed. I usually add 2 cans of seasoned black beans with jalapenos because we like more spice, instead of the regular 2 cups of black beans. I also substitute the cayenne and chili powder with a cajun seasoning for ease. Instead of cooking everything in a big pot, I saute the onion and garlic as specified, then add that plus the vinegar, tomato paste, chicken stock, etc. in a crock pot on high. Then add the cut-up cooked bacon, cooked venison, and beans in the crock pot. Give it a good stir and let the ingredients mix on high temp until the chili reaches the desired consistency and flavor. For me that's about 12 hours. But the nice thing about this method is you can mix everything the night before, put the crock pot on whatever temperature you desire, and have dinner ready when you get back from work the next day!

A Very Hearty Chili! Different from any I have ever had before. The flavor is quite good. I used ground venison also, whole can of tomato paste, used southwestern blended chipotle chili powder and doubled it. I cooked it on high in the crock pot for 1.5 hours and served it with Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread. Thought we had died and we went to heaven stomach first!

This is a wonderful recipe. I made it with venison hamburger instead of stew meat and used about half the amount of wine. I also used a variety of dry beans, soaked overnight and then put it all in a crockpot for the day. When I came home from work I had dinner ready for an extended family dinner - and no complaints, not even from my picky little sister!

Excellent!!!! A show stopper!! I made a few changes at the suggestion of some of the reviews: used 1 lb ground venison and 2 cans black beans, drained; did not add the salt; did not add oil (bacon has enough fat to cook the venison); cut wine back to 1 cup + used about 1/4 cup to deglaze pan after cooking bacon and venison; used entire small can of tomato paste (6 oz/5 tbsp); doubled the chili powder and cayenne pepper; left out cilantro (allergy); did not have red wine vinegar so used 2 tbsp of GOOD balsamic vinegar. Turned out a little sweet, but I used a Spanish fortified wine that already is sweet, so with the dark brown sugar a little too sweet. I will use same wine and cut back on the dark brown sugar next time. I also will add some chipolte peppers for some smoky heat. Can't wait to make it again!!

Loved this recipe with a few alterations. I followed other reviewer's advice and cut the wine to 1.5 cups plus some for deglazing, doubled chili powder, but instead of doubling cayenne, I added 1/2 tsp black pepper. I did not add cilantro. I didn't have black beans so I used 16 Oz dried red kidney beans. I soaked them and cooked them separately with a little bit of salt and a bay leaf. I did not drain it before adding it to the pot. I also just used the bacon fat instead of using canola oil to cook the venison. I am not sure how much venison I had. It maybe somewhere between 1 and 2lbs. I think next time we might add a little bit of chopped tomatoes. Oh, I also just used the whole 6oz can of tomato paste.

My husband's eyes were rolling back in his head after I made this, and I didn't even had the chance to let it 'brew' yet - always better the next day! I followed the recommendations of a number of reviewers. For this recipe, I doubled the amount of beans, using one can of black beans and one can of red kidney beans. I halved the amount of wine (3 cups, really??). I used a regular cooking onion instead of red, doubled the amount of cumin and cayenne, and omitted both the oil for the bacon and the salt for the venison. Finally, instead of the chilli powder, I added one chipotle pepper for smokiness, and half a jalapeno (this was playing it safe - I think I might do a whole jalapeno next time). Be prepared to let the liquids reduce a bit longer than 30 minutes as it can be a bit soupy (adding flour helped). Next time, I will try this with ground venison, although hubby insists it was absolutely perfect the first time.

We love this different version of chili. I did not give it 5 stars due to a few adjustments I felt it needed for us. I wanted a thicker stew-like chili so I reduced the chicken broth by 1/2 and used only 1 cup of red wine. For ease, I used about 1/2 to 1 cup of real bacon bits to cook the venison. I also omitted the cilantro. Instead of tomato paste, I drained a can of chopped tomatoes and added this. I think this would be good with beef as well. It was so delicious, I am preparing it for my supper club.

I make this every year, and save some for the freezer! I use ground venison instead of stew meat, and I highly recommend using Fetzer's Merlot as the wine (it will be the whole bottle, just dump). Make sure that you simmer it and allow it to reduce! It will thicken some, but it gets a much richer flavor than if you tried eating it with more of a soupy, watery consistancy (we've tried both). No other changes needed.

I too used ground venison for my version and it was excellent! Earlier reviews had intimated that the dish was not quite as fiery as one would expect chili to be, so I doubled the cayenne. I would still rate the end product to be a mild to medium chili, but the extra cayenne was a big help and added a bit of "after-glow". As far a cooking the meat, I omitted the canola oil and just used most of the bacon grease for the cooking fat for the venison. (After frying the bacon I poured out the grease and deglazed the pan with red wine. I added the resulting liquor and bits to the stock, and then returned most of the bacon grease to the pan to fry the venison) I took another shortcut by using two cans of black beans, drained but not rinsed instead of cooking 2 cups of dry beans. Also, make sure your reduction ends up on the high side of half or you won't have quite enough liquid.

Man it up! A thicker and more savory twist. Like so many of you, I read numerous reviews before cooking and made some modifications to the recipe. Several women commented on how they loved the chili but it was too sweet for their husbands. I don't like sweet chili, so I cut the brown sugar in half (2 tablespoons). That was just right for me. Similarly, the soupy / watery texture was a common theme, so I cut most of the liquids in half (except I used about 3 quarters of the broth called for and a whole small can of tomato paste). If I do it again, I'll use more wine (than the half I used), the full amount of broth, and closer to the full amount of vinegar (to cut through all that fat). And speaking of fat, I only used 5 strips of bacon and no oil. Next time, I would reduce the butter by a tablespoon (and probably cut back on the bacon) - it was still quite rich! Also, like another commenter mentioned, cut up that bacon pretty well - before cooking it. That will get it crisper and help it to blend in better with the deer. Ultimately, I want to tell you that by reducing the sugar and liquids, this turned out to be an incredibly thick and meaty chili. And while it certainly is a different chili recipe, it clearly was chili - and a manly one at that, given the earthly flavors and thickness. The whole family loved it. It was probably the best chili I have made.

I’m officially obsessed with this recipe.

Delicious 🤤 and a new favorite ❤️

This was an excellent recipe. It is definitely not your "traditional" chili, but it was very tasty. The only modification I made was using tomota sauce (5 tbsp) instead of tomato paste because I left my tomato paste at the self-checkout at the grocery store! :) :) :) My husband did use the word "sweet," which I know others have disagreed with, but I would say that in the world of "regular" chili, sweet is a good adjective to describe this chili. I did let the red wine mixture simmer quite a while, which I think is an essential step.

My family and I loved this recipe! Very flavorful and won our Christmas dinner chili cook off! :) Highly recommend to give it a try. Due to dietary restrictions, I used fresh chives instead of onions and no garlic or beans.

I adjusted the recipe a bit by adding 1 can of red beans and 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes. I think I should have only done one can of tomatoes, or I put too much tomato paste in it, because it came out a bit tomatoey. But actually still very good.

Added a whole jalapeño, not for the faint of heart, but very delicious! Probably the best chili I've ever made

Only change to the recipe was the addition of chopped de Arbol peppers. Chili ain’t chili without some natural heat. Bring it!

The best chili recipe we have found, and now house favorite!

I was surprised to find this recipe here, it’s been in my binder for quite some time. Because it comes out with no gamey taste and has the most wonderful, deep flavors, this is the only way I make it. The note I have on my recipe states that it comes from “Chef David Burke of the Park Avenue Cafe”.