Monday's meal: Venison Black Bean Chili

Ross Burtwell, Executive Chef at Cabernet Grill, joined us in the Good Day kitchen to show us how to prepare a tasty chili dish.

Recipe: Venison Black Bean Chili

Ingredients

• 3 Tbls salad oil        
• 5 pounds ground venison (chili grind)
• 1/3 cup salad oil
• 5 strip bacon, ¼ inch diced
• 2 cup yellow onion, ¼ inch diced
• 2 cup poblano, ¼ inch diced
• ¼ cup fresh jalapenos, minced
• 2 Tbls fresh garlic, minced
• ¼ cup dark chili powder
• 2 Tbls ground cumino
• 1 Tbls freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tomatoes
• 3 pasilla chiles
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ cup masa harina
• 10 cups venison, chicken or beef stock
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• Kosher salt
• Toasted pepitas
• Grated pepper jack cheese

Directions

1. Place the salad oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat and add the venison in two batches, if needed so as not to overcrowd the pan.  Brown the meat fully and remove from the pan to a colander to drain off any excess fat.
2. Bring the saucepan back up to medium heat and add the remaining salad oil and bacon.
3. Cook the bacon stirring frequently until it begins to brown slightly on its edges.
4. Add the onions, poblanos, jalapenos and garlic to the bacon and cook until the vegetables begin to turn translucent. Do not allow the vegetables to brown.
5. Meanwhile, remove the cores from the tomatoes and place on a grill or under a broiler. Cook the tomatoes until the skin begins to blacken and crack. Place the pasilla chiles with the tomatoes on the grill and toast lightly until they become fragrant.
6. Remove the tomatoes and pasilla chiles from the grill and discard the stems and seeds from the chiles.
7. Place tomatoes and chiles in a food processor while they are still hot and pulse until well pulverized. Reserve this mixture.
8. In the sauce pan and the chili powder, cumino, black pepper, flour and masa harina and saute with the vegetables briefly until the mixture becomes fragrant.
9. Stir in the stock a little at a time using a whisk to avoid making lumps. Add tomato and chile mixture.
10. After all the stock has been added to the saucepan, place the cooked venison in the pot as well and bring to a to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
11. Add black beans to the pot and adjust seasoning accordingly with kosher salt.
12. Garnish with toasted pepitas and pepper jack.