Venison Chili Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make venison chili less gamey? ›

Add a little beef broth, tomato paste, and our Chili Seasoning to the stock pot with the strained veggies. Another way to reduce the gaminess out of the venison is to add a can of beer. You can use dark ale or light ale – whatever you prefer. The alcohol will cook off and make the flavor even richer.

Beef fat works well with ground venison, and makes the flavor closer to ground beef. Pork fat is lower in saturated fat, has less flavor and will allow the venison flavor to shine.

Given that deer are leaner than cows, venison is generally healthier to eat than beef. An average cut of venison, in fact, has around half the calories and a sixth the saturated fats of a similarly sized cut of beef. It also has more proteins, vitamins and minerals than beef.

You will want to use the fine die when making sausages. The medium or large plates are perfect if you want coarse ground meat for recipes like chili. If you cut your meat into huge chunks you may need to do a double grind starting with the large or medium plate and finish with the small.

The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution.

Venison silver skin, fat, ligaments, and other undesirable parts of a deer that aren't muscle don't taste very good. Deer fat is generally bitter, unlike beef fat. This is probably the number one reason why folks think venison, particularly ground venison, tastes gamey.

Sometimes I combine ground venison and ground beef 50-50 to make a better mix for any recipe that calls for ground meat. If you do this, you can buy the cheaper ground beef that is a 75-25 mix of lean to fat, and when you add the leaner ground venison, you still get a pretty lean mix.

Soaking: The most common soaking liquids are buttermilk, saltwater, white milk, vinegar, lemon juice and lime juice. While some hunters swear by certain soaking methods to take the “gamey” flavor away or bleed the meat after processing, others don't find it all that helpful.

While deer meat can be pretty nutritious, you should be aware of the risks of consuming venison. Certain wild animals can carry infectious diseases like: Brucellosis. As a hunter, you increase the risk of this disease when you come in contact with the deer's blood and organs.

Can you eat venison every day? ›

While lean cuts of venison can be enjoyed in moderation as part of a low cholesterol, heart-healthy diet, it's best to limit your overall intake of red meat.

Cholesterol in red meat — like venison — is generally high and should be consumed in moderation. Swapping out venison in favor of other meats may be a beneficial health choice if you have high levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

I soak the parts n pieces in whole milk. Removes the gamey flavor and adds a bit of fat to the meat, which causes it to become more tender. From there whatever recipe one prefers to cook it. The steaks cut up into small cubes and put in chilli is pretty good... and your guests never realize they're eating Bambi.

Cook venison, beef, and pork in melted butter until completely browned. Add onion and jalapeño; cook until tender. Stir in chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin. Stir in the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, and beef bouillon.

I firmly believe the best type of fat to use is pork fatback (pure white fat from the back of a pig). Its flavor doesn't overpower wild game and it has a soft texture. The downside is that it's typically only sold in butcher shops, so you might have to call around and hunt it down.

Acidic foods, like citrus juice & vinegars, brighten up the heavy flavor of venison, bring out the best tasting notes, and cut through a bit of that “gamey” flavor. I make sure to use acid in all of my marinades (it also helps to tenderize the meat), and in almost every single dish I make with deer meat.

Adding pork fat or just regular hamburger in with the game meat will cut down on the venison taste. If you are working with fowl, cutting in chicken or turkey burger will help mellow that flavor.

Recipe FAQs

To reduce the gamey taste of venison, soak it in milk in your refrigerator for about 2 days. This tenderizes the meat, too.

Soaking: The most common soaking liquids are buttermilk, saltwater, white milk, vinegar, lemon juice and lime juice. While some hunters swear by certain soaking methods to take the “gamey” flavor away or bleed the meat after processing, others don't find it all that helpful.