Easy Antelope Chili (or venison)

[Leo]

You can use venison as a substitution. IMHO, Antelope makes THE BEST wild game chili.

1. In a large saucepan add 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil.
   
2. Heat to medium heat.
   
3. Finely dice one Vidalia onion.
   
4. Add onion to saucepan with one heaping tablespoon of minced garlic.
   
5. Stir to thoroughly coat onions and garlic with oil.
   
6. Add 1 lb ground antelope or venison, stir to coat and add 1/4 cup of Cooking Sherry.
   
7. Stir and brown meat thoroughly. It will break up in small pieces and not clump if you do it right.
   
8. DO NOT DRAIN. Antelope and Venison is very low fat unless it was added by the butcher. (if you have ground with beef fat added, don't use it for this recipe) Almost all the juice you see is from the onions, garlic, oil and sherry. This juice is important for the taste of the chili.
   
9. Add two regular size cans of Rotell Green Chilies and Tomatoes CHILI FIXINS. (You don't need to add any spices or salt if you use the CHILI FIXINS. The Chili fixins should be right next to the regular Rotell at the grocery store)
   
10. Add one can of Black Beans.
    
11. Cut between 30 and 40 pepperoni slices into 1/4" wide strips. (You can use a knife but I usually use cooking scissors and cut the pieces off directly into the chili while it's cooking)
    
12. You can add a half can of beer at this point if you want or leave it out. It will be good either way.
    
13. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) about 20 minutes.
    
14. Top a bowl of this chili with shredded cheddar cheese.
    

This stuff keeps well refrigerated for about a week. Add a little water if it starts to get too thick from reheating and refrigerating.

Here's the grocery list assuming you already have the ground antelope or venison (I'll stress again the importance of it being the no fat added variety.)

1. 1 Vidalia Onion
   
2. 2 cans Rotell Green Chilis and Tomatoes CHILI FIXINS
   
3. 1 can of black beans
   
4. 1 Small bottle of Cooking Sherry
   
5. 1 Small Jar of minced Garlic
   
6. 1 Pack of Sliced Pepperoni (the kind for pizzas)
   
7. 1 bag of Shredded Cheddar Cheese (for garnish)
   

Hope someone here actually tries this recipe.

Edited November 13, 2008 by Leo

[WHISKEYSWAMP]

I have 2 lbs of ground antelope thawed out to make chili... might just have to give this recipe a try, sounds good.

[Leo]

Hope you do. Let me know if you like it.

[wtnhunt]

We were just talking about making some chili here the other day. Might have to try that one Leo, thanks.

[Guest Brutal]

When I throw veni in my chili I just throw in like stew meat. best soups/chilis/spaghetti sauce/etc is when you let the stuff cook awhile. I usually make like a triple batch and freeze leftovers in sizes that equal 1 good dinner for us all. Anyways back to where I was going with this. Only problem with using chunks of meat vs burger is you have to let it cook longer. My triples I usually babysit on low heat for 3-4 hours until the meat is so tender it melts in your mouth. It's another option

[aksheephuntress]

...Sounds AEWSOME, Leo!

...Up here....we just would also add a stick of real butter, a handful of Paprika, and a handful of Chipolte peppers to that....

sounds scrumptious!

[joelpietersen]

Wow, this looks nice. I'm gonna try to do it with my sister.

[Dakota]

Thanks, Leo! I've got a few packages of elk I can use.

Dakota

[Leo]

...Sounds AEWSOME, Leo!

...Up here....we just would also add a stick of real butter, a handful of Paprika, and a handful of Chipolte peppers to that....

sounds scrumptious!

I didn't have any pepperoni while Mary and I were visiting. But this tastes very close to the moose chili I helped you make when Mary and I were visiting. We also didn't have the rotell chili fixings but that's easy to replicate as long as you have green chilies (which we did). We using wine to tenderize the moose during the browning process. It wasn't too hot for the kids either. I remember all 6 qts of it disappearing rather quickly.