When trying to live closer to the land many families turn to hunting, fishing and home gardens. In our families case we do all three, letting nothing that comes our way go to wast. Canning venison chili Sauce is a great way to use up extra produce in the garden and take a little of last years deer burger and make it into an on the go meal for those cold winter months still to come. This Labor Day weekend my family made about 13 quarts of this chili starter in about 6 hours. Each quart of sauce when added to one large can of kidney beans will make 5 to 6 servings of home-made goodness.
We started with only one problem, my tomato plants blighted this year. I have only one remaining tomato plant and we had to buy the two quarts of juice this recipe calls for. In better years I have made tomato juice and added some Tabasco sauce for the bite we love in our chili. So instead this year we bought two bottles of V-8 ( one hot and one regular) to fill the needed juice in this recipe.
I used the current Ball “Blue Book, Guide to Preserving” as our guide for processing times and head space for making our meat sauce base. Any ground meat including venison should be processed for 1 hour and 15 minutes with chili needing a 1 inch head space. We then used grandpa’s recipe for the broth portion of the chili and added the recommended 5 pounds of ground venison. This resulted in 6 quarts of what my family knows as Grandpa’s venison chili and it is a family favorite.
My kitchen smelled soooo good for most of the day because of the fresh ingredients from my garden like hot peppers and garlic.
Cody,Jamie and I cooking and canning
So for Grandpa’s Venison Chili
1 large yellow onion
2 teaspoons chopped or pressed garlic
1 cup sweet pepper diced
1/2 cup hot peppers ( we used banana peppers).Up this amount to 1 cup if you use plain tomato juice
3 cups tomato paste or 4 small cans.
2 quarts of tomato juice, or in this case 2 quarts v-8 juice one hot and one plain
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
black pepper to taste
5 pounds ground venison
2 table spoons vegetable oil
this makes 6 to 6 1/2 quarts of canned chili.
Some of the many peppers I have growing in the garden
In a large 8 quart stock pot add oil, onions and garlic. Saute’ until onions are beginning to soften and add ground venison. Brown all 5 pounds over mid heat with onion and garlic. Once the meat is cook add juice and all remaining ingredients. Simmer for about ten minutes string often to prevent sticking and making sure all the ingredients mix thoroughly. Bring chili to a boil and ladle into clean, sterile, quart mason jars leaving 1 inch of head space. After cleaning any spills off top lip of jar, top with clean sterile lids and rings that are just tightened. Place in pressure canner with simmering water ( amounts vary) and add lid and begin to process after ten minutes of steam has escaped the canner. Process jars for 1 hour 15 minutes at ten pounds pressure. Remove hot jars from canner and set in a clean dry place to cool and you should hear the ping of the lids as they seal. Eat any chili in unsealed jars with in a few days and store inside the refrigerator. The remaining jars that have sealed should be used within a year of processing and stored in a place that stays above freezing.
Home Canned Venison Chili with Canner
Now all I need is a crisp cool day to enjoy this home-made chili. Happy Canning!
West Virginia Mountain Mama 