To sum up ...
The company that resides on the top floor of my office building has challenged us to a chili cook-off this Friday. Bitter Young Guy said "Too bad I won't be here on Friday. I've got some venison in the freezer that has been infused with some sort of uber-hot spicy stuff. It's so hot, the resident 'I'll eat anything spicy' guys won't go near it."
I said "Too bad! You could call it 'Bambi's Revenge!"
Yeah. BYG is donating the venison to the Cause, and I think I've been volunteered to come up with said entry. The thing is, I've never cooked with venison, and, more importantly, I don't do spicy. Seriously. the Carroll Shelby chili mix without the cayenne pepper is at the very limit of what I can tolerate, and that's only with lots of dairy to go with it. Shorter Half has volunteered to taste test, but I need a starting point. Can anyone get me started? I think I've got about a pound and a half of radioactive venison to work with.
Thanks ...
I have to ask--is this "Texas Chili" or "Everyone Else Chili"?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that my chili cooking skillz consist mostly of THROW A BUNCH OF STUFF IN THE CROCKPOT!!!! COOK IT ALL DAY!!!! so I don't know of a real recipe.
And, I may have asked this before, but do you happen to have any Scandinavian genes? Those people don't do spicy. And the only color they do it "white." And the only flavor they do is "bland." And because of all of this I get to make fun of my roommate on a daily basis.
bluesun: It's "Everyone Else Chili". And, ja. I'm 1/32 Norwegian. My mother was raised in the mid-west - the home of blonde and bland cooking. You need to find yourself a copy of "Scandinavian Humor and other Myths" and read it. I was forced to live in MN for 13 years and 2 weeks, and it was better than a Frommer’s Travel Guide.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Scandinavian-Humor-Other-Myths-Anderson/dp/0961696702
Alton Brown for a starter.
ReplyDeleteThe crockpot is your friend! Put the venison in a crockpot with 1 large can of V-8 veggie juice, 1 cup chopped onions, and 1 pint of beef broth. Slow cook until the meat falls apart (4-6 hours); keep all the liquid, shred meat, return to crockpot, then add canned, drained beans and mild chili powder to taste; simmer for an hour or so, then serve. If it tends to be spicy, serve with shredded cheddar cheese to calm it down. Good stuff from the northwoods.
ReplyDelete+1 on Alton Brown. His quick-n-dirty version of '2Tbls Chili powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder' rather than the 'broil the chilis in the toaster oven...' version.
ReplyDeleteThe venison is already spiced, so add other beasts so the final product is juices, but not over hot. 1/3 venison 1/3 pork 1/3 coarse ground beef.
My secret: a good Tbls of Worchestshire, and chipotle chili powder.
Chili is really just a pound a browned meat, a heaping tsp of chili and cumin powder, a dash of garlic and onion powder, and some liquid. Adjust as required. All the beauty is in the 'adjust.'
I have some Habaneros you could throw into the pot...They are kind of like nuking a city from orbit, if you get my drift.
ReplyDelete