No Frills Spicy Deer Chili

It’s been a long time since I’ve had deer.

I’m not a hunter and neither is my husband. Most hunters hoard (rightfully so) what meat they do end up harvesting throughout the year. It’s hard to get your hands around deer meat around here.

Luckily, one of my coworkers needed to make space for new deer meat in her fridge and she gave me two pounds. It had been years, YEARS, since I had tasted deer.

Most people use ground deer meat in chili, and that’s exactly what I did with it. My husband likes his chili with no frills–no onion or tomato chunks, no beans, and no fuss. I’m like that, too.

This is simply spices and deer meat with some tomato sauce and chicken broth to give it heft. I also diced up two over-ripe jalapenos to give it a kick. You can easily leave them out if you want.

Enjoy!

No Frills Spicy Deer Chili

Servings: 6-8
Time: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy
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Spicy deer chili with nothing else in it--just meat, spices and jalapeno for kick.

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground deer meat

1 TBS. oil

3 TBS. chili powder

2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 TBS. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 jalapenos, diced

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup chicken or beef broth

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions

In a large pot, heat oil (vegetable or olive oil, your choice) over medium high heat. Add the deer meat and cook until slightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.
Add diced jalapenos and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne, garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until spices are toasted with the meat.
Stir in tomato sauce and broth and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
Taste chili before serving and adjust seasonings if needed.

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