Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Recipe: Deer John's Christmas Chili


For Christmas the past few years, the guys in our family have each gotten two containers of chili from me.  I use the RubberMaid TakeALong 2-cup Twist and Seal containers.  It's just the right amount for a hearty lunch portion.  They freeze well and are microwaveable.  Enough of that - here's the recipe:

1-2 pounds deer meat cut into 1/2" cubes
   (a 10-12" section of backstrap or one of the bigger hind quarter roasts will do the trick)
Marinade (I use Allegro Hickory Smoke marinade)

3 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes
  (OR 2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes, 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles)
3 cans dark red kidney beans
  (OR 2 cans kidney beans and 1 can black beans)

2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 yellow or purple onion, diced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cans beef broth
1 package chili seasoning (regular McCormick, or whatever)
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

Prepare the meat.  Cube meat and cover with marinade.  Allow 2-6 hours to marinade.

Combine tomatoes, beef broth, beans, chili seasoning pack, chili powder, and cumin in a large pot and begin to simmer.

Saute the bell pepper, onion, celery, and garlic in a pan until the onions are translucent.  Add to large pot.

Cook the meat in a hot skillet (cast iron works great for this) until about medium rare (it will finish cooking later).  Immediately drain excess juices.  If you have a lot of meat and a small pan, you may have to do this part in batches.

Add the meat to the large pot.  Cover, leave on low heat for several hours.  Be careful that the flame is low enough that you don't scorch the chili on the bottom of the pan!  Nothing tastes worse than burnt chili.

Serve with a cold beer and corn bread.  Watch people laugh, cry, and slap their mamas.


NOTES:
1.  The reason I don't just use two packages of chili seasoning instead of 1 package + the extra chili powder & cumin, is that the packages of chili seasoning tend to be a bit salty.
2.  You can also add a can of sweet corn in with it.  Adds a nice flavor.
3.  A touch of liquid smoke also adds a nice flavor.
4.  Be careful not to overcook the deer meat.  It will taste like liver! 
5.  I tend to use closer to 2 lbs of meat.  That means you should probably have a little too much, so you can sample it often while cooking.  :)