Drunken Deer Chili

Makes about 6 or 7 pints or 3 quarts with a little left over.

• 5 lbs. deer meet (I like stew meat chunks instead of ground)

• 2 cups chopped onions

• 2 or 3 cloves garlic

• 6 cups canned tomatoes and juice (I used 2 gallon sized freezer bags of fresh tomatoes)

• ½ cup chili powder (I added some Emeril’s Rustic Rub mixed in with this)

• 1 ½ tbsp. salt

• 1 large roasted red pepper

• 1 tsp. cumin seed
• 2 shots tequila

I soak my deer meat in milk for a little bit (hour or more) before I use it to get the gamey taste milder. I drained off the milk and seasoned it with just some salt and pepper and meat tenderizer. Brown it in a big stock pot. You need to put a good bit of some oil so it doesn’t stick. I use olive oil.

After it has browned, the deer’s natural juices come out. I add a bit more water and put a lid on it cracked so it can cook that meat and tenderize it. The stew meat pieces aren’t as tender so they need some cooking.

I scoop out the deer meat and chop it on a cutting board so it resembles something closer to ground but more texture. I return it to the pan and add the chopped onions, chopped garlic, and chopped roasted red pepper. Let that cook down until the vegetables are starting to get done. I then added the tomatoes and seasoning along with tequila. 2 for the chili and 1 for you. :)

I made sure and kept adding a little bit more water because I wanted it to cook down thicker but didn’t want to lose my chili. Let all that simmer down until your meat is good and tender. If you want it to reduce a good bit just boil it with the lid off. If that isn’t working fast enough for you and you want it to thicken, you can add a little bit of cornstarch mixed with water. I used about a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. My total cook time on the chili was over an hour because my meat needed to get tender. In the end, the tomatoes cook down and everything thickens. The roasted red peppers still keep shape so there is some pretty color floating in there.

Canning Instructions:

If you want to can this, it will need to be pressure canned since it contains meat. Ladle into 6 or 7 pint jars or 3 quart jars. Leave 1 inch headroom. Bring pressure cooker up to pressure and cook pint jars for 75 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes. Pressure canning this chili will make it even tastier because it is being cooked with 10 pounds of boiling pressure. The meat will be like it set in a crock pot all day.

Will keep for 1 year.