Slow Cooker Venison Chili

A classic chili recipe with a little twist. This Slow Cooker Venison Chili is just what the hunter in your family would want on a cold, snowy day. Serve this up with a grilled cheese or quesadilla and you have a meal ready on the table. Delicious!

Our hunter loves it when I make a meal with the deer he got. He says he feels like he contributed to the family.

Got to love that!

Also got to love this slow cooker venison chili. It cooks all day in the crock pot while you are busy doing other things. The flavors blend together to make such a warm and delicious meal.

Ingredients

• ground venison
• tomato juice
• chili beans
• kidney beans
• onions
• salt/pepper
• tomato sauce
• diced tomatoes with chili's
• chili powder

Now I know everyone has their own chili recipe. Chili recipes can be as hot or as mild as the family enjoys.

To be completely honest, my recipe has a little kick. It is great for families, but would not win a hottest chili competition.

My husband adds hot sauce to his own bowl for that.

Ground Venison

Venison does have an unique taste to it, especially if you are used to cow meat. The venison has that "game" taste. After all, it has been living in the wild its whole life.

Venison is has fifty percent less fat than beef and it is higher in protein. When I cook venison, I need to watch it more carefully because the fat content is much lower, therefore the meat dries out quicker.

Part of the draw for chili is that extra fat in the meat to add to the flavor of chili. So, if you want to have a venison chili, but still want a little "fat", you can to a 50/50 ratio of ground venison/ground pork. Or you can have a ground venison/ground beef combination.

Instructions

The nicest part about recipes like chili, besides cooking the venison (or ground beef) it is a put everything in a crock pot and walk away kind of meal.

You will need to cook the meat first, in a frying pan, but all the other ingredients can be added straight to the slow cooker. I also like to add the chopped onion to the meat while it is cooking.

Cooking the onion with the meat, helps add flavor to the meat but also helps the onion start to break down.

The rest is easy. Let the chili cook in the crock pot for 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 on high. I prefer the low setting as it lets the ingredients simmer together longer.

Storage

To store the chili, place the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Do you like venison recipes? Try: Crock Pot Venison Roast

Need something to serve with this chili? Try this Easy Homemade Cornbread.

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📖 Recipe