Recipe: Midnight Elk Chili

2 lbs Ground Elk Meat
1.5 cups dry Red Kidney Beans
1.5 cups dry Black Beans
1 29oz can Tomato Sauce
1 28oz can Crushed Tomatoes
1.5 cups chopped Vidalia Onion
3 tbsp white Distilled Vinegar
3 tbsp Chili Powder
2 tsp ground Sea Salt
2 tsp ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Dave’s Insanity Sauce

Soak beans overnight. Drain beans and add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, vinegar, 2 tbsps of the chili powder, half of the salt, and half of the pepper. Simmer covered on low for several hours, until beans are tender. A crockpot will make this easier.

Brown meat on medium with last tbsp of chili powder, remaining half of salt, remaining half of pepper, and garlic powder. Chop while cooking with a spatula for finer separation. DO NOT DRAIN! Elk meat does not require draining, and proper browning may actually require addition of a light oil. If this is necessary, add one tablespoon of olive oil.

Add meat to beans and simmer on low for another two to four hours. For better flavor, cook for several more hours, replacing liquid as necessary. This is a good time to add Dave’s Insanity Sauce to give the chili that final kick. Note that this recipe calls for half of what I would personally use. Play safely around concentrated chili extracts.

Amounts of chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and vinegar are estimated. I commonly “add and taste” while cooking to get a better balance of flavor. Use these values as starting points only, if you want to truly tweak the result.

Calories in the whole pot is roughly 3500. Divided into 16 cups, assuming one gallon of chili, gives about 220 calories per serving.