RECIPE: Meat Church Texas Chili
A note from our buddy Matt Pittman over at Meat Church (https://www.meatchurch.com/): This recipe makes a big ol' batch. We are going with 4 lbs of meat! 3 lbs of ground venison and 1 lb of roast, leg quarts or medallions. I recommend 2 lbs of ground vension meat, 1 lb of of Hot breakfast sausage. HEARTY!
Beans or No Beans? You won't find beans in Meat Church's chili recipe, because traditional Texas Red Chili doesn't contain beans. However, we are all for equal opportunity and can promise you that this seasoning will enhance the flavor of whatever beans you want to add. Just back off 1 lb of the ground meat if you plan to include some beans of your choice.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Venison
- 1 lb HOT breakfast sausage (you could eliminate this for the Maui Nui version if needed)
- 1 lb venison medallions, quarters or roast. This ingredient is key to making it hearty.
- 3 medium red onions, chopped
- 1 head of garlic, minced
- 2, 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes with juice
- 1, 28 oz Italian Style diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 7 oz can Chipotles in Adobo Sauce, chopped. Preserve the liquid.
- 2 Beers. 1 for the chili and 1 to drink while you're making it.
- 6 tbsp Meat Church Texas Chili Seasoning. This is a great heat level, but back it down to 4-5 Tbsp for Mild. For even more spice, add 2 Tbsp cayenne pepper.
- Garnish (Shredded Cheese, Fresh Jalapeños, Chopped White Onions)
DIRECTIONS
Add the olive oil to a very large skillet, preferably in cast iron. Sauté the onions, garlic and adobo peppers (including all the liquid from the can). This is a lot of onion, so you may have to cook in 2 batches if you don't have a really large skillet.
Cook for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Remove from skillet and place the mixture in your slow cooker or dutch oven.
Dice the venison medallions into small pieces. Brown the meat in the same skillet. We are going to simmer this chili all day so you just need to brown it and get some char on the outside. Remove from skillet and place the meat in your slow cooker or dutch oven.
Cook the ground meat and sausage completely in the same skillet. Drain the fat and place all of the meat in the slow cooker or dutch oven.
By this time you already have the meat, onions, garlic and adobo peppers in your slow cooker or dutch oven. Now add the 3 cans of tomatoes with the juice, 1 beer and 6 Tbsp of Meat Church Texas Chili Seasoning. Mix thoroughly.
he ingredients are already cooked at this point, but we will simmer this chili all day to break down the meat and meld the flavors together. If you are using a slow cooker you can run this 6 - 8 hours on low. Stir it periodically throughout the day if you can.
*If you want to smoke this chili you can run it at 250 degrees in a smoker or pellet grill for 6-8 hours. I leave the lid off for 4-5 hours stirring on the hour. I cover the last couple hours.
Remove from the heat. Allow it to cool. Garnish and enjoy with some cornbread!