Bison Chili

With the rush to clean the grocery shelves, many of us are left with no standard meat options, forced to choose between low-end and high-end options. When possible, I recommend the high end route. This week, all we could scrounge up at Sprouts was some high-end ground bison. Without much experience and with a deep love for slow cooking, I decided to try Bison Chili.

This is a very flexbile medium, so feel free to improvise at any stage. I’ll outline my general approach here.

Prepare the Meat

If I’ve learned anything while slow cooking, it’s that precooking the meat is crucial to lock in maximum flavor. For chili, adding some veggies helps as well.

Sauté the Good Stuff

• Finely chop a couple of garlic cloves
• Chop onions, bell peppers, and any other veggies
• Add some olive or avocado oil and heat the pan
• Add your ground bison. Break it up and cook until it’s getting brown
• Add the veggies and garlic and continue sautéing for a couple minutes

At this point, it’s a good time to be creative and take stock of what’s in the pantry. I want beans in my chili so I’m going to add them. You can add whatever you want.

Prepare the Slow Cooker

• Dump the pan into the slow cooker
• Add a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• Add a can or two of pinto beans, depending on how beany you like it
• Dump a lot of cumin and a little cayenne and chipotle powder
• Add 3-4 bay leaves

Slow Cook It

Now, cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. I like to stir every couple of hours. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese!