Venison and Brisket Chili - Music to my Texas heart

I grew up in a meat and potatoes family. The one where at each meal you had a meat, some potatoes in one form or another, and you had to have some kind of bread with it. This was before we knew what a Paleo diet was. Before we were told daily how important our food choices were. You cooked what you had, and at our table you ate it, no other option.

That led me to be the girl that has eaten all the meats you hear talk of. At some point in my life, it was a shock that people didn't eat deer meat regularly. I was bewildered that some kids in my middle school class had never had rabbit stew. And it was not a shock to me at all when my parents had to acquire another deep freezer to fit all the buffalo meat that my dad had brought home from the latest hunt.

My dad was a hunter and so our table was always an ever changing selection of meats; depending on what was in season at the time. We were not confined to the basic chicken, pork, beef diet that is so common to the rest of us. My mom knew how to make all the basic foods, with the not so basic meats. At the time I was unaware of it, but now I look back and see how blessed I was to be introduced to these foods so that they were not foreign to me as I got older. I see how it shaped me to be open to eat even the strangest of meals.

At this point in my life we have not been able to hunt for the meats that we want. Years of being shuffled around the world by Uncle Sam and now a period of time to settle back into a routine from some life changing events has pushed back the option of hunting. My father also no longer gets to go every year like he used to. Years of construction has made an impact on him physically and his calling in life to become a preacher has led him to be busy every weekend, but talk of getting back into some hunting is a regular conversation topic these days.

Until then, I want to make sure my daughter grows up with the same exposure to the different meats and foods available to us. So for now, my hunting is of a different kind. Now we hunt the small meat markets and grocery stores for the choices that would normally be found at the end of our scope.

This weeks journey took us to Lafayette, LA, to a store called "The Best Stop." Here we found a small selection of cajun favorites. A lot of the foods they offered were already prepared items such as stuffed chicken and pork. I refuse to pay the money for things of this sort because it is too easy to do the same thing at home. We did purchase some boudin and as I made one more sweep over the meats I saw one more thing we needed.

Venison and Brisket sausage...

Now as a Texas girl, brisket is a meat that is close to my heart! It is one of my favorite foods. If I close my eyes I can still smell the smoke from the briskets that my dad smoked every year for the volunteer FD to sell at the Cotton Festival. Finding a sausage with brisket and deer meat mixed together was like a reminder of home! I am sure that my wallet was happy that I did not grab every single package they had. Specialty meats tend to be a little tough on the grocery budget, so I grabbed my two pound package and left!

Now what to cook. Chili of course, was there really any other option? Actually, tacos were another option, but chili won by a landslide when I realized we were out of tortillas. The meat was delicious and the chili was scrumptious! It was good enough that it was served on our scrambled egg whites this morning for breakfast!

I did add beans to this chili, which I know goes against "Texas chili" but I like having beans to add to the heartiness of it.

Do not feel pressured to search the globe for this kind of ground meat. This recipe would taste great with your own choice of meats, whether it be turkey, beef, pork, chicken, or the latest road kill that you and your taxidermist friend have collected!

Ingredients:

2 lbs of brisket venison sausage (or ground meat of your choice)
2 tsp siracha
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp red pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1c onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 large can tomato sauce
2 c of kidney beans
Cheddar cheese for topping

In large skillet add meat, siracha, spices and onion. Cook until meat is browned. Add in the garlic, tomatoes, sauce, and beans. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Now it is ready to serve! Sprinkle with cheese while still hot.