Learn how to make award-winning venison chili with ground deer or elk meat you have in the freezer. Simple to make, flavorful, and well-balanced.
Venison chili. I mean, man. The pressure is on. The stakes are high. Your expectations are up. And quite honestly, they should be.
One of the most common recipes people make with ground deer meat is chili. But if we’re being honest, the recipes I’ve found on Pinterest and the internet leave me a little underwhelmed. And subbing venison directly for beef is *fine* for chili. Sometimes. Alas, I venture to bet that if you’re cozying up to a big bowl of chili at the end of the day…fine isn’t what you’re going for.
So I give you…my award-winning venison chili.
What makes this chili award-winning, you ask?
The foundation of this chili is one I and my family have used in a church chili cookoff…and taken home the blue ribbon. If you’ve ever been to any sort of church potluck, cookoff, luncheon, or picnic, you know this isn’t something to be taken lightly.
But before we go any further I’m sure you’re wondering why you can’t just take your favorite beef chili recipe and use deer. So I’ll tell you…
Can you sub venison for beef in chili?
The reason you don’t want to directly sub venison for beef in a chili recipe is because of the difference in flavor profile and fat composition. If you eat a lot of beef, you’re likely used to a more mild, buttery flavor of red meat. Venison or deer meat is bold, earthy, and fresh. It also comes from a much leaner animal. That’s why venison-specific recipes, like this roast recipe, are so popular. because the specialized.
So, if you use your family’s favorite beef chili recipe you’ll likely be looking for that notorious beefy flavor you’re used to. Which is perfectly understandable. But, by using a recipe developed to work with, transform and enhance the flavor of wild game…you’re going to have a recipe that will knock your socks clean off. I’ll tell you right now, I prefer this to beef any day. And I didn’t grow up eating wild game.
How do you get the wild taste out of deer chili (the BEST secret ingredient for venison chili)?
Now I’ll tell you, the ultimate secret ingredient for making great deer chili is acid; fresh lime and orange juice to be exact. It’s such a small part of the dish but the addition of this fresh citrus will make a world of difference, waking the whole dish up and making your taste buds sing.
However, the use of Worchestershire sauce here shouldn’t be overlooked and the hefty amount of spices is 100% worth it in the end. As a result of these wonderful flavorful notes, you’re left with a perfectly balanced pot of chili.
What is in deer chili?
The rest of my venison or deer chili recipe is pretty traditonal. We’ve got:
- ground venison (yes you can use elk, antelope, moose – this would even be great for bear & bison)
- black beans
- kidney beans
- diced tomatoes
- tomato paste
- onions
- peppers
- garlic
- chili powder
- cumin
- paprika
- cinnamon
- Worchestershire sauce
- lime
- orange
- venison or beef stock (homemade is always best)
I like to make this on the stovetop, but of course, you can dump it all in your slow cooker and it will come out just fine. If I do this, I do like to saute my meat first, but that’s truly up to you.
Be sure to take a peek at the order I cook things in, however. There’s a method to my madness and I’ll help you get the most flavor out of your food possible. Oh, and try this egg roll and a bowl recipe, too.
I KNOW this recipe will be a staple in your household for years and years to come. Comment below and tell me how you’re serving it + check out this Chocolate Chipotle version from my cookbook!
Print
Award-Winning Venison Chili
Learn how to make award-winning venison chili with ground deer or elk meat you have in the freezer. Simple, flavorful, and well-balanced.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican American
Ingredients
-
1 Tbsp. olive oil
-
1 yellow onion, diced
-
2 green bell peppers, diced
-
1 lb. ground venison
-
4–5 garlic cloves, minced
-
2 Tbsp. chili powder
-
1 Tbsp. cumin
-
1 tsp. paprika
-
½ tsp. cinnamon (optional)
-
1 and ½ tsp. salt
-
½ tsp. pepper
-
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
-
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
-
1 orange, juiced
-
1 lime, juiced
-
1 and 1/2 cups venison or beef stock*
-
28 oz. diced tomatoes, drained
-
15 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed
-
15 oz. kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Begin by heating the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion and peppers and cook until the onions start to brown on the edges, about 5-7 minutes. Then, add the venison and brown.
- Once the venison is browned add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Saute for 1-2 minutes and then add the tomato paste. Cook for an additional minute, incorporating the tomato paste.
- Then, deglaze the pot with Worchestershire sauce, orange juice, and lime juice. Scrape the bottom of the pot and add the stock, tomatoes, and beans.
- Stir well and bring the chili to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover partially with a lid and let the pot simmer for at least 30 minutes but up to all day. If you’re cooking longer than an hour, be sure to cover the chili fully with a lid so all of the liquid doesn’t evaporate.
- Ladle up generous portions, top with your favorite chili toppings, and serve.
Notes
- For flavor interest, try swapping out the venison/beef stock with 12oz of your favorite beer. A larger or stout work best but a pumpkin ale is always fun in the fall.
Keywords: chili, venison, deer, deer meat, beans, chili beans
Food photography by Amber Rice | Instagram
I do not think the video matches the recipe. Maybe wrong link. But planning to use the recipe itself this weekend!
The video is a chili variation from my cookbook. It’s a very similar process so we linked it here to help those who like to see the process. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the recipe!
My husband does not like cinnamon can you taste it in the chili?
You can leave it out but you really can’t. It’s just a subtle hint
I loved it and so did the family!!
★★★★★
Can you substitute the venison for chop venison instead of ground
This is delicious! I must say… I’d never heard of adding things like juice from an orange or cinnamon to chili but this is so good. Everything came together perfectly and there is ZREO game taste left in the meat! Definitely saving this for my new go to deer chili recipe! Thanks from Arkansas!
★★★★★
Hey Jill! I’m SO glad you enjoyed the recipe. It means so much that you took the time to rate and review, thank you!!
Stakes get high. Not steaks.
Great recipe though 🙂
I used this recipe last night , oh my goodness it was wonderful!!
I’m SO glad! We love it, too! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
AMAZING!
I added chicken garlic sausage links ( sliced up) at the end to give it more meat besides deer. Kids didn’t even notice that it’s deer meat. I forgot to use worshterzizer sauce, but it’s still really good. Thank you for sharing!
Oh, that’s a really neat add. Fantastic!
This recipe is fantastic!! My son preferred this to the traditional ground beef
recipe I made last time. I didn’t drain the tomatoes and used a Stag beer instead
of broth. I added extra cinnamon. The game taste was completely gone!
Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
I love that you used beer – next level stuff!!
I made this last night, it turned out fantastic!! (I accidentally put more cinnamon in, i was worried i had ruined it, but it ended up just fine, you couldn’t even tell)
SO GOOD. I know how intense church chilli cook offs can be so when I saw that I knew it was worth a shot. It did not disappoint!! My husband called his mom and said “this is the best deer chilli I’ve ever had.” Enough said.
★★★★★
Rachel. You have MADE my day! I’m so glad y’all enjoyed!
Our 16 Year Old Grandson shot his first Deer in Texas Hill Country this year, we had the Meat processes and shipped (close to 50 lb most of it in ground Meat) my German Recipes had nothing for ground Venison to take the Gamey taste out so I needed to due something else with it. Your Recipe sounded good because of the Juice added to it WOW my Husband and Grandsons could not believe it was Venison 5 Stars for us
★★★★★
This was delicious. I didn’t have green peppers or lime so I used yellow and red sweet peppers instead. I also added 2 jalapenos to the recipe and used orange juice instead of w whole orange and a dash of turmeric. I will definitely be making this again! Good recipe to add to the books
Oh I love your flair on it, especially the jalapenos! We use any bell peppers we need to use up all of the time, too!
Incredible!! This is like no other chili I’ve ever had.. the citrus and cinnamon really come through in a nice way. I can see why this chili wins contests … great job!! Thank you for this
This chili absolutelyyyyy deserves an award. Such amazing flavor and I love that it really highlights the venison. The fresh squeezed Orange is an amazing addition and game changer! Recipe will be in our regular rotation from now on!
★★★★★
You’re the best, Charlotte!
I had ground venison in freezer and my kept asking me if he could have it- so- I just made it in crock pot and going to bag and freeze it and give as one of his Christmas presents. I doubled the recipe so I could have some as well. Will let you know what we think when we serve it.
Awesome, Stacey! Did you try yet?
This was delicious! I did a cup of beef broth and 1/4 cup water because I didn’t want to open a new broth container. Turned out awesome! If I were to take a star away it would be for the annoying number of ads on this page 🙈. Otherwise, I have loved all of the venison recipes I’ve tried of yours so far. Thank you!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it! Where specifically were you annoyed by ads? This is actually how Miss Allie’s Kitchen is able to pay our employees and keep food on our table as a means of income. So ads are something we will keep on our site for the foreseeable future, but we’re always working to improve reader experience!
Oh I totally understand that! It won’t keep me from your page 🙂 I just usually try to bypass the ads by going to “print” mode, but even there it out an ad between each and every ingredient. No worries!
Yum; we made this for our New Year’s Eve dinner and followed the recipe exactly. Lovely flavors with the citrus and cinnamon. Happy 2022!
★★★★★
Happy 2022, Ashley! Thank you for the comment 🙂 So glad you enjoyed!
Rachel on dec 10 made a comment that caught my attention as I felt the same way regarding the take not lightly the church cook offs therefore I am trying this recipe and second I have a partner which also I would very much adore having him call his mother and rate my cooking as the best!
Haha I am glad I found this site and I also like how I feel closer to everyone because the comments are so recent literally just last night on New Year’s Eve you had a comment! We were at the Dave Chappell show in Seattle and I was upset I figured to take my 5lb elk roast out so I started googling and saw this site for venison which I also adore.
Aw, thanks for your comment and trying the recipes, Quinn! Hope you like the chili!
I have 1 lb leftover venison taco meet from your recipe (I doubled that recipe and only used half for tacos). How can I use that leftover taco meat in this Chili recipe? Would I pick up where I add tomato since spices were in the taco meat?
★★★★★
Oh what a great idea, Leigh-Ann. What I would do is add the meat as the directions say, after the onions and peppers are cooked for about 6-8 minutes. Just don’t cook it as long before adding the spices and liquid ingredients because the meat is cooked. Maybe decrease the number of spices by about half, give it a taste, and see if you want to add more. Let me know how this goes, I should have done this last night!
Turned out delicious!!
★★★★★
Just made this tonight, it was soooo good! We got the venison from a family friend. My son was skeptical but he loves it. Made it exactly according to the recipe except I puréed the onions/peppers (used poblanos because I prefer the flavor) after sautéing and also puréed the tomatoes because my kid is picky about texture. I don’t think it changed the flavor though it probably wasn’t as photogenic as yours! Thanks for a delicious dinner!
★★★★★
Great chili. I mean great! I made no changes, because it’s perfect.
★★★★★
Hey, Allie!
My all time favorite dish is Chili and it seems like this is the new recipe I’ll use in the future.(when I’ve got venison meat)
Made this for my honey last night and she and I loved it. I was very pleasantly surprised by the taste added by the citrus, it really did help neutralize the game taste. Thinking of making this recipe for my girl’s parents, as her father is the hunter that got the venison, I think they’ll enjoy it just as much we did.
I did add one whole red cayenne pepper though for some extra spiciness, because we like a bit more spice.
Big thanks to you for this recipe all the way from Latvia! Really can’t thank enough!
This is a great recipe and I followed it closely with one little tweak: I added a small can of (mild) fire-roasted chipotle peppers, These added just a touch of smoke and zing without being too spicy.
★★★★★
Looks very delicious & full of flavour. Love this homemade venison chilli recipe. Thanks for sharing;)
This chili is UNREAL. Also used Miss Allie’s marinade for venison stew chunks. I subtracted the kidney beans and jalepenos doubled the chipotles, and added some umami paste and palm sugar and a pound of ground sirloin to give it depth. Served over smashed baked potato, topped the bowls with sour cream, scallions, smoked cheddar and peppered bacon. Clean bowls all around!!!
★★★★★
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
What would I change if I wanted to use the instant pot?
Entering this into my first church chili cook off. We’re making it today and letting it cook all day! We did a tester recipe last weekend and it was delicious, the whole family loved it. Hoping this brings home the 1st place ribbon! I’ll keep you updated!
AHHH how did it go?!
It turned out so delicious, I didn’t have anything left by the time the event was over. I added sides of Campfire Bacon, Shredded Cheddar and Fritos, the bacon was a huge hit with the chili!
I didn’t win – turns out most people here don’t like beans in their chili! LOL! I’ll try this again next year without the beans – I love them by the way! Thanks so much for your recipe!
I made this last night and it is absolutely incredible. My boyfriend and I agreed that it is the best chili we have ever had. I added extra paprika because we really like paprika, but didn’t change anything else. We didn’t have any stout beer on hand, so I just used stock, but I am planning to try the beer next time because it sounds delicious. This recipe is absolutely incredible! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for sharing! I am so happy you enjoyed the chili 🙂
Impossible to even read or print the recipe due to the 300 pop up ads between every single line of the text.
So no, can’t comment on the actual dish, sorry. Just that the amount of ads is ridiculous and ruins the readability. Never seen anything like this before, but would recommend to fix your page BC it looks nice otherwise
★★★
Do you think this could translate over to a shepherd’s pie recipe? With less liquid, of course? I think I may try it. My neighbor just gave me a pound of ground venison and this combination of flavors looks delicious!
I made this recipe yesterday for my sister and we loved it. I left out the green peppers they’re not something I care for and I used stew meat instead of ground. We loved it!
★★★★★
YUM! I am so glad you are both loving this recipe and it turned out great for you. Thank you so much for your review, I appreciate it!
I have been asked to prepare a dish with Deer Meat. I’m going to try this Chilli. Thank You for sharing.
I hope it is a hit and everyone enjoys it!
This has been a life saver! I have had some tribals making venison taste good (I never cooked or ate it until I got married to my avid hunter husband) and this recipe totally eliminates the gamey flavor. It is east and really yummy, easy to reheat leftovers.
★★★★★
Ah yay! I am so glad you are loving this recipe. I totally understand, learning how to cook wild game can be challenging, glad you found this recipe and it turned out great 😊
I have made this Recipe following it exactly. This recipe is bursting with flavor. I lost your web site and finally found it again. My critics rave about this venison chili, I’m making it again today.
★★★★★
Aw this means so much to me, Bill. I am so glad you found my website and everyone is loving my chili. Thanks so much for your review, I appreciate it! ❤️
So for a slow cooker, does one just saute the same and toss it all in?
★★★★★
This is the second time I made your chili. My wife and I just love it, I used Guinness beer the second time and we both liked it. Going to give some to my hunting buddies and see if they have the same feelings on this recipe. Will follow up with a report. Keep up with the great Recipes.PS. I omitted the cinnamon.
★★★★★
This was a fabulous recipe! I feed the homeless 4 to 5 times a week. A friend went hunting last year and hadn’t eaten all of the meat and was preparing to go up north soon to hunt for more. He donated 55 to 75 lbs of deer meat to me. I made your recipe!
The only thing for me that I will change is adding only half the amount of cinnamon. I liked it but it seemed to be a bit much for my taste. The homeless loved it! Many had never had venison before so this was quite a treat. Thx so much…oh…I forgot. I didn’t have an orange but I used lemon and I was just as good.
Yummy!!
★★★★★
I made this last fall and it was a hit. I recently had to go very low carb. I was wondering what changes I could make to qualify for my diet without really changing the flavor profile.
★★★★★