Second Bowl of Deer Chilli

Last October my husband took a "man" trip out to Cody Wyoming to get his first big buck.
Not too long after his return, UPS was dropping an extra large extremely heavy perishable box off at  with Wyoming Game stickers all over it at my front door.

Of course I knew what it was and after opening it and reading the oh so finely wrapped meat inside, I realized I had 115 pounds of it!
I knew I was getting some meat but not that much!! Regardless of what my emotions, I had to get to rearranging my freezer and strategically arranging it all so that it would fit! And it did.

I started asking myself, "do I even like venison?" "Am I even sure how to cook it?"  I even wrote Ina Garten (my idol in the kitchen) to ask her and she responded she is not familiar with venison.  Maybe she needs my inspiration on this one :)

Not so long after the meat arrived New Years was approaching. We packed up the big truck and headed to our home in West Virginia to celebrate New Years with my siblings and two of our close friends, let me not forget the and 5 hounds.

Keep in mind when I travel I end up taking my spices and knife.  I fear the next kitchen I am in will not have what I need.  But for this trip I also brought along some ground deer chuck.

The weather was below 0 and we were snowed in.  What do you do when this happens --- make chili.  Since my brother and I are both foodies we conjoined our creative juices and headed to the kitchen.

Here are the ingredients that we came up with

• TBLS Bacon fat
• Some O.O.
• Bay Leaf
• 2 LBS Deer meat
• 1 Onion
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• Green, Red, Orange, Yellow Pepper (which ever you like)
• Jalapeno Pepper
• 1-28oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1- larger can Cannellini beans
• 1- larger can Kidney Beans
• Fresh Corn organic
• Beef Broth
• Dark Beer
• Tomato Paste
• BellaVinto Espresso Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Green Onion
• Chili powder
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cumin
• Paprika even smoked is good
• White pepper
• Sea Salt
• Cajun Spice I bought somewhere
• Maggi (aka German soy sauce, always in my fridge, my dad bro and I are Maggi-fritzes)

Process

• Start by heating a large stock pot with O.O. and some bacon fat
• Add the meat to the pot after allowing it to get to room temperature (about 30-60 min always a must)
• Let the meat start to brown and season it well with S & P
• Once the meat is browning add your onion, garlic, and bay leaf - cook for a few minutes
• Then add in chopped peppers including the jalapeno
• Throw all you spices in white pepper, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, Cajun, and re-S & P
• Let it simmer for a few then add your tomato paste
• After a few more minutes add in your beer
• Let that reduce, then add the beef broth
• Wait a few more minutes then add the Fire Roasted Tomatoes (tip: I buy the whole tomato and hand crush them as I add them to the mix)
• At this point I re-season with all my spices
• Then comes the beans and corn

• Let that chili simmer for a while maybe 30-45 min on lower heat
• Serve and top with Espresso Cheese and Green Onion
• Dash some Maggi in it!

By the time I took the picture below it was bowl two for everyone!

Enjoy!!  Mahlzeit!