Instant Pot Venison Chili. Pressure cooking turns ground venison and soaked pinto beans into a fantastic chili in about an hour.
I was looking for a Super Bowl chili idea when a deer-hunting friend asked what to do with ground venison. Serendipity!
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I immediately thought of two things: chili and Hank Shaw's blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Hank specializes in wild game cooking, so I checked his Venison Chili Recipe. I liked the flavor profile of his blend of chilies and spices and adapted that profile to my standard chili technique.
I especially like how he uses smoky chiles to cover any gamy flavor in the venison. But the ground venison from Whole Foods tastes like mild, lean ground meat and doesn't taste gamy at all.
This recipe is similar to my other pressure cooker chili and dry bean recipes, like Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Bean Chili, Instant Pot Ground Pork and Bean Chili, or Instant Pot Turkey Chili with Small Red Beans. You can make this chili with canned beans like I do in my Pressure Cooker Quick Chili with Canned Beans (see the Substitutions section below for details). But it is worth the time it takes to sort, rinse, and soak dried beans. They are much better than canned and will take your chili to new heights.
Ingredients
- Dry pinto beans
- Fine sea salt
- Vegetable oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Ground coriander
- Ground chipotle
- Coffee (or beer or water)
- Ground Venison
- Fine sea salt
- Baking soda
- Crushed tomatoes
- Brown sugar
- Fresh ground black pepper
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make Instant Pot Venison Chili
Sort and rinse the pinto beans: Sort the pinto beans, discarding any stones, dirt, or broken beans. Rinse the beans, then do an overnight soak or a quick soak.
Overnight soak: Cover the pinto beans with 8 cups of water and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Leave the beans to soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.
OR: Pressure Quick Soak for 1 minute with a 30-minute rest: Put the pinto beans and 8 cups of water in an Instant Pot. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Pressure cook at high pressure for 1 minute, then quick release the pressure. Let the beans soak in the pot for 30 minutes. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.
Sautรฉ the aromatics and toast the spices: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sautรฉ mode - High. Stir in the onion and garlic, and sprinkle with ยฝ teaspoon salt. Sautรฉ until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Make a hole in the center of the onions and add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, and chipotle. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir the spices into the onions.
Cook the venison: Add the ground venison, sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of salt, then stir to coat the venison with the onions and spices. Pour in the coffee. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any stuck bits of onion or spices. Cook the venison, stirring, scraping, and breaking up any clumps until it loses its pink color, about 5 minutes.
Everything in the pot: Pour in the water, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to ensure nothing is sticking. Stir in the drained pinto beans, baking soda, crushed tomatoes, and brown sugar.
Pressure cook the chili for 15 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 30 minutes. (You can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes, especially if you are in a hurry). Remove the lid carefully, opening it away from you โ even when it's not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is scalding.
Simmer to thicken (optional): To thicken the chili, set the Instant Pot to Sautรฉ mode adjusted to low, and simmer, uncovered, until the chili thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Season and serve: Stir in the black pepper. Serve straight up or with your favorite chili toppings. (Mine are diced onions, shredded cheddar, and sour cream.) Enjoy!
Substitutions
What if I don't have venison? If you don't know someone who hunts, you can usually find ground venison at Whole Foods or your local health food store. Any lean meat will work in this chili if you can't find venison. My favorites are buffalo and elk, to follow the game meat idea at the heart of this recipe. But most regular grocery stores don't carry game meat, so substitute 93% lean ground beef or lean ground turkey if that's all you can find.
Heat Level: This is a hot chili, and the heat comes from the ground chipotle. I add a lot of it because I like the smoky heat. If you want to cut the heat, cut back on the chipotle, or skip it entirely. If you want to up the heat, add more, or maybe, which is usually available in the refrigerated case.
Ground chipotle: Ground chipotle is easy for me to find in my grocery store's spice aisle. If you can't find it, substitute a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika.
Why coffee? Because I like the idea of red-eye chili. You can replace the coffee with more beef broth, beer (for drunken chili instead of red-eye chili), or water.
Use broth for richer chili: If you want a more decadent chili, substitute broth for the water, preferably homemade beef broth or homemade chicken broth). If you use store-bought broth, try to get reduced-sodium broth and skip the teaspoon of fine sea salt added to the chili.
Canned beans: Don't want to use dried beans? Substitute 3 15-ounce cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed, and cut the cooking time under pressure to 10 minutes, so you don't turn the beans to mush. (For more details, see this recipe: Pressure Cooker Quick Chili with Canned Beans). Or, if you have leftover cooked beans (from my pinto bean, black beans , or kidney beans recipes), thaw out 4 to 6 cups of the beans (and again, cut the cooking time to 10 minutes).
Equipment
Scaling
To double this recipe, you need an 8-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half, and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change; it takes the same amount of time to cook the beans, no matter how many are in the pot.
Storage
Store the chili in 2-cup containers. They can refrigerate for a few days, or freeze for up to 6 months. 2-cup containers of frozen chili are my favorite leftover; I love having extra lunches later in the week.
๐กTips and Tricks
- Why baking soda? It helps keep the beans tender even though we're cooking with acidic ingredients like chili powder and tomatoes.
- Tough beans: If your beans are still tough when the cooking time is over, especially any "floaters" at the top of the pot, stir the beans, lock the lid, and pressure cook for another five minutes. Older beans take longer to cook, and if the beans have been sitting on the shelf at your store for a while, they may need extra time. The overnight soak, salt, and baking soda will help, but sometimes old beans are too dried out.
- Simmer to thicken: Pressure cookers are sealed, so there is no evaporation. If you have the time and want a thicker chili, simmer the chili for 10 to 20 minutes after pressure cooking. I set my Instant Pot to Sautรฉ mode, adjust it to low heat, set the timer to 10 minutes, and simmer with the lid off until the chili thickens to my liking.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Venison Chili
I love all sorts of chili toppings. My favorites are minced green onions or diced onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips. Or Fritos - yes, it's a little trashy, but they go great with chili. I also put bottles of hot sauce on the table because my family has a wide range of heat preferences.
PrintInstant Pot Venison Chili
- Total Time: 9 hours
- Yield: 16 cups of chili 1x
Description
Instant Pot Venison Chili. Pressure cooking turns ground venison and dry pinto beans into chili in about an hour.
Ingredients
Soaking Beans
- 1 pound dry pinto beans, sorted and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 cups water
Venison Chili
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic
- ยฝ teaspoon of fine sea salt
- ยฝ cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground chipotle
- 1 cup coffee (or beer or water)
- 2 pounds ground Venison
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 cups water (or beef broth or chicken broth, preferably homemade)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- 14.5-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sort and rinse the pinto beans: Sort the pinto beans, discarding any stones, dirt, or broken beans. Rinse the beans, then do an overnight soak or a quick soak.
- Overnight soak: Cover the pinto beans with 8 cups water and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Leave the beans to soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.
- OR: Pressure Quick Soak for 1 minute with a 30-minute rest: Put the pinto beans and 8 cups of water in an Instant Pot or another pressure cooker. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Pressure cook at high pressure for 1 minute (use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode), then quick release the pressure. Let the beans soak in the pot for 30 minutes. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid. (Wipe out the pot if you use it in the next step.)
- Sautรฉ the aromatics and toast the spices: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sautรฉ mode - high until the oil starts to shimmer. (Use medium-high heat in a stovetop PC). Stir in the onion and garlic, and sprinkle with ยฝ teaspoon salt. Sautรฉ until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Make a hole in the center of the onions and add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, and chipotle. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir the spices into the onions.
- Toast the spices and cook the venison: Add the ground venison, sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of salt, then stir to coat the venison with the onions and spices. Pour in the coffee. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any stuck bits of onion or spices. Cook the venison, stirring, scraping, and breaking up any clumps until it loses its pink color, about 5 minutes.
- Everything in the pot: Pour in the water, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to ensure nothing is sticking. Stir in the drained pinto beans, baking soda, crushed tomatoes, and brown sugar.
- Pressure cook the chili for 15 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an Instant Pot or another electric pressure cooker (use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode), or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 30 minutes. (You can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes, especially if you are in a hurry). Remove the lid carefully, opening it away from you โ even when it's not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is scalding.
- Simmer to thicken (optional): To thicken the chili, set the Instant Pot to Sautรฉ mode adjusted to low (low heat in a stovetop cooker), bring the pot to a simmer, and simmer, uncovered until the chili thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Season and serve: Stir in the black pepper. Serve straight up or with your favorite chili toppings. (Mine are diced onions, shredded cheddar, and sour cream.) Enjoy!
Notes
Canned beans: If you want to substitute canned beans, skip the sorting, rinsing, and soaking step, drain and rinse 3 15-ounce cans of pinto beans, and cut the chili cooking time back to 10 minutes at high pressure.
Make ahead beans: Or substitute 3 cups of cooked beans if you have make-ahead beans from your pressure cooker. Again, cut the cooking time back to 10 minutes at high pressure.
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Sunday dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Related Posts
Instant Pot Ground Buffalo Chili
Instant Pot Chili Mac
Instant Pot 8-Quart Pot of Ground Beef and Bean Chili
Instant Pot Chorizo Chili (with Pinto Beans)
Pressure Cooker Texas Red Chili
My index of Instant Pot Chili Recipes
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Rachel Palombo
Do I follow all these exact measurements if only using 1 pound of venison?
Mike Vrobel
You can use these amounts (if you want a less meaty chili), or cut them in half.
Dan
Going to try this. Thanks for sharing.
Mike Vrobel
Thanks, enjoy it!
Robert Talkington
Amazing recipe. It was amazing. I was worried about making a venison recipe, but it was very good.
Mike Vrobel
Thank you! Iโm glad you enjoyed it.