Spicy Elk Chili Recipe by Stephen Bly

Elk Chili

WESTERN AUTHOR STEPHEN BLY’S
SPICY ELK CHILI RECIPE

 Spicy Elk Chili Ingredients:

• 2 – 4 pounds of elk meat (for my pals in Quebec, that’s Wapiti meat).
• 1 16 ounce jar of  Pace® salsa (medium for most gringos, although I like hot)
• 2 cans of  Hormel® Chili with beans (life is too short to wait for beans to soak)
• 1 bell pepper (make sure it’s crisp…. the red or yellow bells will work good too.)
• several fresh jalapeno peppers (don’t wimp out, leave the seeds)
• an unending supply of Montreal Steak Seasoning®
• ever present red Tabasco® sauce

Spicy Elk Chili Directions:

Apply for an out-of-state elk tag from the Idaho Fish & Game Department.

— clean your Winchester 1895, 405 caliber rifle

— fly to Idaho and camp deep in the forest along the upper stretches of the north fork of the Clearwater River

— shoot your elk (whether you taxidermy the head or not is your decision).

— pack meat in dry-ice and take it home with you on the plane

OR . . . accept that package of wild game meat your brother-in-law keeps trying to give you every Christmas.

*** Put one cup of water, 2 – 4 pounds of elk (steak or roast) in the crock pot.

Season with Montreal Steak Seasoning (one can never over-season anything).

Turn that sucker on low . . . then go to bed (it’s cold, it’s winter and it’s dark .  . you need the rest.)

*** Sometime the next day . . .

Drain most of the juices off the meat (yes, you CAN make elk gravy for

breakfast the following morning, provided you don’t put it on biscuits that come out of a tube.)

Find A Large Pan

Place in very large pan (you know the one on the bottom shelf at the back that takes forever to yank out of there, the special elk chili pan.)

Dump in your two cans of Hormel® Chili Beans, (or more if you are feeding the starting offensive line of the Green Bay Packers).  Never use cheap canned beans that taste like they were soaked in fast food restaurant catsup.

Gut out your bell pepper and carve it into ½ inch squares (approximately), then sauté them in the frying. (Sauté means fry ‘em in a skillet, but don’t burn ‘em black or let ‘em get mushy).

Toss them in the big elk chili pan.

Cut the stems off the jalapenos, quarter, them and toss them in.  If your fingers blister while cutting the peppers, you have to promise to invite me over for supper.

Add a bunch more Montreal Steak Seasoning  (bunch = 6 tads) and red Tabasco.

Stir It All Up

Stir them up together and let the entire delightful elk chili simmer for an hour or so. (Simmer is what happens when you ought to throw another log in the stove, but you want to wait until half-time of the football game and the fire almost goes out.)

It is time for the taste test . . . after stirring the elk chili (wooden spoons seem to be less susceptible to corrosion), take a small taste.  You will probably want to add more Tabasco.  (Note: if you have an obnoxious nephew among the guests, let him test the elk chili.  It’s about right if he spends the  rest of the day out in the yard with his head buried in the snow.)

Spicy Elk Chili serving size: now this varies.  Most times, the bowl is scraped clean with only 10 to 12 people.  But, with luck, there will be some left over and you’ll have it for breakfast for several days to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s another elk chili recipe at Man Tested Recipes: http://mantestedrecipes.com/recipe/6143/elk-chili.aspx

And here’s two more sites …

Eating Elk website: http://www.eatingelk.com/elkchili.html

At Elk Hunting Tips website, Montana Elk Chili: http://www.elk-hunting-tips.net/elk-chili.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Bit Of Preachin’

I reckon very few folks who read the above recipe immediately think of John 10:10 where Jesus says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly,” KJV.  But that’s the verse I think of.

When I first believed in Jesus as my Lord and Savior at age 23, I knew my place in heaven was secure, purchased by His work on the cross.  I knew that my eternity would be in His home, and it would make all of my life here on earth worth the trials and hassles I face daily.

What I didn’t understand was that Jesus had in store for me a life of purpose, meaning, and abundance right now.  We often think of the spiritual benefits of this present life, and we should . . . but I also am grateful for the beautiful sunsets, the peaceful friendships . . . and yes, the spicy elk chili . . .  that make the present life so enjoyable.

God blesses us now . . . and in eternity.  I intend to enjoy every moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Author Stephen Bly

A third generation westerner, Stephen Bly (1944-2011) authored over 105 books and hundreds of articles and lots of cowboy poetry.  His book, THE LONG TRAIL HOME  won the 2002 Christy Award for excellence in Christian fiction. He spoke across the U.S. and Canada, pastored the Winchester Community Church, and served as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (Pop. 340). 

He and his wife, Janet (also a writer), lived in the mountains of north-central Idaho in the pine trees, next to a lake on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. You can check out all his available titles at the Bly Books bookstore www.blybooks.com.