Weston partner and MeatEater host Steve Rinella shares his tips for cooking chili using a Weston slow cooker. You can watch the video here.
Makes 8 servings
- Ingredients -
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or
canola oil, divided
2¼ lbs
ground venison
Kosher salt
and freshly ground black pepper
3 large
poblanos, stemmed and diced
1 large
onion, chopped
6 cloves
garlic, thinly sliced
2
tablespoons ancho chile powder, or to taste
1½
tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon
dried oregano
3
tablespoons minced chipotle peppers in adobo
3
(14.5-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, preferably in tomato puree
2
(15-ounce) cans small red beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans, rinsed and
drained
3 cups beef
stock
Serving
Ingredients:
corn chips
shredded
sharp cheddar or Pepper jack cheese
sour cream
diced red
onions or sliced scallions
sliced
jalapenos or serrano chiles
- Tools -
How To
Heat a large Dutch oven or other wide,
heavy saucepot over medium-high heat.
Add 2
tablespoons of the oil.
Sprinkle
the venison generously with salt and pepper.
Working in
batches, crumble the venison into large chunks into the pot and sear until
browned, transferring to a large bowl as done, 6 to 8 minutes per batch, adding
more oil as needed.
Reduce the
heat to medium. (If working on an electric range, you may need to remove the
pot from heat to let it cool down a bit.)
Add the
remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the poblanos, and onions, scraping up the browned
bits at the bottom of the pot to cool it down a little faster.
Return to
the heat and cook, stirring often, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the
garlic, chile powder, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, for 1
minute.
Add the
chipotles and tomatoes, crushing the tomatoes with your hands or mashing with a
potato masher, half of the beans, the stock, and the venison with any juices
that have accumulated in the bowl.
Stir to
combine, then bring to a simmer.
Transfer to a slow cooker for hands-off cooking.
Cook,
partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the venison is tender, about 2
hours.
Add the
remaining beans and warm through. Adjust seasonings.
Serving
Methods:
Serve the
chili with the corn chips, cheese, sour cream, onions or scallions, and chiles.
