One thing my sister and I were greeted with when visiting family in Buffalo, NY this year was a giant freezer full of venison. Our dad is a big hunter, and he managed to “get” two deer this fall, which is more than his usual zero (… shh, don’t tell him I said that). To my dad, there is nothing more masculine than cooking the meat you killed with your own two hands (-ish), unless you’re also doing it while watching hockey or football and drinking a beer…
So we did a lot of cooking in Buffalo (and some beer-drinking), and made some delicious and easy dishes using venison pepperoni, ground venison and tenderloins.
venison “sloppy joes”
This venison was great because not only was it “organic” in theory – that is, the deer was wild animal and free of antibiotics, other drugs and manufactured feed before it was killed – but because it had a great nutritional profile that I was able to geek out about.
Venison, ground
One serving – 3 ounces
- 160 calories
- 7 grams of fat (3 grams saturated)
- 2.8 milligrams of iron
- 7.9 milligrams of niacin
- 23 grams protein
Beef, ground (85% lean)
One serving – 3 ounces
- 200 calories
- 12 grams of fat (5 grams saturated)
- 2.3 milligrams iron
- 4.9 milligrams niacin
- 21 grams protein
Venison is a very lean meat and is significantly lower in fat as compared to beef, but actually packs more iron and almost 75% more niacin per serving. For reference, women ages 19-50 need 18mg of iron daily and men need 8mg, but a lot of us don’t get the recommended amounts every day. I’m always looking for iron-rich foods that aren’t beef, and this is a great option if you have access to it.
Women and men ages 14 and older need 14 and 16mg of niacin (vitamin B3) respectively each day, which is important for its role in converting food to energy and other essential body processes like nerve and digestive function. Most people don’t have a problem getting enough niacin in their diets daily – it can also be found in dairy, eggs, meats, legumes and nuts – but I’m pointing it out here because venison is such a great source!
I was able to take a few frozen pounds of ground venison home to NYC with me, and decided to make a chili with it since that’s one of my favorite cold-weather comfort foods. Here’s the recipe I came up with:
Venison Chili
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 tbsp olive or canola oil
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion
- 3/4 cup chopped green and red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
- 1/2 cup diced zucchini
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 chopped jalapeño pepper
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 (15 oz.) canned diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (14 oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Instructions
Heat oil and cooking spray in large soup pot or Dutch oven and add venison, cook until browned (3-5 minutes). Remove from pan and pour into bowl (with juices) and cover. Then add additional cooking spray to the pot and cook onions, carrots and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, jalapeño and continue to cook until tender. Add 1 tbsp chili powder, pepper and cumin and mix well. Then add venison back in and combine, adding the other tbsp of chili powder. Combine well, and then pour in tomatoes, tomato paste and kidney beans and combine thoroughly. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for ~30 minutes. Top with your favorite cheese (and some spinach for extra veggies) and enjoy!
Since the venison is so lean, I didn’t want it to dry out and overcook, so I think removing it from the pot while the veggies cooked was key. If you don’t have access to venison, lean ground bison or turkey could be substituted. This dish was flavorful, hearty and full good protein, vitamins and minerals. Can’t get much better than that!
Running – was totally neglected in this post (whaaaat?), but it’s going well. I ran about 55 miles last week with another rest day and am feeling pretty good. Trying to solidify spring racing plans, but more on that later!
Now tell me: have you ever eaten venison? Favorite game meat or recipe?