Venison Smoked Chili

Fire up the smoker for this delicious venison smoked chili. This easy venison chili recipe features traditional ingredients but with a rich, smoky flavor. Another easy ground venison recipe!

We love our Traeger smoker because it’s so easy to cook just about anything, and you can also control the level of smoke for the smoky flavoring. All of our Traeger recipes are full of that rich, smoky flavor.

This venison smoked chili is the perfect example of taking a traditional recipe and cooking it on a smoker to capture that smoked flavoring.

Ingredients needed

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 lbs. ground venison
• 1 cup white onion – diced
• 16 oz. tomato sauce
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 15.5 oz. can Northern beans – drained
• 15.5 oz. can red kidney beans
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 cup beef broth

How to make venison smoked chili

1. Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees F. 
2. Heat the oil over medium heat on the stovetop in a large dutch oven. Add the ground venison and cook through. Add the remaining ingredients to the dutch oven and stir to combine.
3. Place the dutch oven, uncovered, onto the smoker. You’ll want to have your smoker set to a high smoke setting. Cook for about 1 hour uncovered, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the smoker and serve with your favorite toppings.

Recipe FAQs and Notes

Are Traeger grills actually good?

We love our Traeger compared to other smokers we have used in the past. They’re known for their leading-edge technology, which is what drew us to switch to our Traeger pellet grill.

How do I get a rich smoky flavor?

Most smoker grills will have a way to control the amount of smoke that is produced. For this recipe, to get a rich smoky flavor you’ll want to set your smoker to a higher smoke setting, so it gets plenty of smoke.

Can I substitute ground elk meat?

Yes, you can easily substitute ground elk meat or other ground red wild game meat.

Shop my favorite smoker grills and accessories!

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Check out these additional smoker grill recipes!

• Smoked Ground Venison
• Traeger Baked Potato
• Traeger Beef Tacos
• Traeger Mac & Cheese
• Traeger Smoked Meatballs

Venison Smoked Chili Recipe

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Venison Smoked Chili

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Fire up the smoker for this delicious venison smoked chili. This easy venison chili recipe features traditional ingredients but with a rich, smoky flavor.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 lbs. ground venison
• 1 cup white onion - diced
• 16 oz. tomato sauce
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 15.5 oz. can Northern beans - drained
• 15.5 oz. can red kidney beans
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 cup beef broth

Instructions

1. Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees F.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat on the stovetop in a large dutch oven. Add the ground venison and cook through. Add the remaining ingredients to the dutch oven and stir to combine.
3. Place the dutch oven, uncovered, onto the smoker. Cook for about 1 hour uncovered, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the smoker and serve with your favorite toppings.

Notes

• Any smoker will work
• Substitute ground elk meat, if preferred

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 584Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 178mgSodium: 1599mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 13gSugar: 8gProtein: 58g

The recipes included on this website are written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist or medical professional, and the nutritional data on this site have​ not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist, registered dietician, or other medical professionals​.

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Mike Shreckengost

Primal Pioneer is a food blog and public land hunting resource by Mike and Jennifer Shreckengost. We’re a husband and wife team who combined their two passions – a love of the outdoors and food – into a joint effort with Primal Pioneer! You’ll find resources on planning and executing your own DIY over-the-counter public land big game hunt, along with wild game recipes featuring mostly venison and elk.