Elk Chili Recipe

A deliciously hearty elk chili recipe made with ground elk meat, fresh vegetables, and spices. This is an easy elk recipe, using ground elk meat which is the most versatile and popular way to store your harvest.

This elk chili recipe is one of our comfort food favorites to use with ground elk meat. Whether you’re using this year’s elk harvest, or would like to purchase ground elk meat at your local grocer, this hearty elk chili recipe is an easy elk meat recipe. If we don’t have our own harvested wild game meat to use, we purchase online from Honest Bison or Durham Ranch wild game meat at our local natural grocer.

Instead of using beans, we’ve swapped in fresh vegetables. It really takes the flavor of chili up a notch from just traditional bean-based chili. Using ground elk meat gives you a very similar flavor to ground beef because elk meat tends to be the mildest of wild game meat. That’s why we used ground elk in our elk bolognese sauce recipe. However, you could easily swap in ground venison as well.

Ingredients needed

• 2 pounds ground elk meat
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 large zucchini
• 2 – 14.5 oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 – 15 oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

How to make elk chili

1. In a large dutch oven, add the olive oil and minced garlic and warm over medium heat. Cook until the minced garlic is softened and fragrant. Add the ground elk meat to the pot and cook until about medium-rare.
2. While the elk meat is cooking, cut the sweet potato and zucchini into large chunks, leaving the skin intact.
3. Once the elk meat is at about medium-rare (some pink still visible), add in the sweet potato and zucchini, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.
4. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and then reduce down to low and let cook for about 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
5. Serve with your favorite chili toppings.

Recipe FAQs

What does elk taste like?

Elk is a very mild wild game meat, very similar to ground beef. Depending on whether it’s farm-raised or killed in the wild would determine the amount of ‘gamey’ flavor. Farm-raised elk will taste more mild than wild elk.

What temperature do you cook ground elk?

Elk meat typically contains very little fat, so it can dry out quickly if overcooked. That’s why you’ll want to cook the ground elk in this recipe to medium-rare, and then let is slowly finish off while simmering. If you were cooking something like an elk burger or elk steak, you’d want to cook it to around 130-140 degrees F.

Can I swap in ground venison in this recipe?

Yes, you can easily swap in ground venison, or any other ground wild game meat. Venison does tend to carry a stronger ‘gamey’ flavor, if your pallet is sensitive to that flavor. In this case, I would suggest using 1.5 pounds of ground venison and adding in 1/2 pound of ground sausage to balance out the venison flavor.

Additional elk chili add-ins!

Add even more flavor to your elk chili recipe by adding in extra ingredients like:

• sliced mushrooms
• sweet onion
• red, yellow, or green peppers
• carrots

Helpful kitchen items for this recipe

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Elk Chili Recipe