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Don't cut it in half! Leftovers! Plus.. It freezes pretty good.
Cumin has an earthy, smoky taste and in my opinion a little goes a long way. I guess you either love it or hate it but to me chili has to have some cumin in it to get that taste right. Personally I use about half or 2/3 of what a recipe calls for, you can put more in but you can't take it out.Question- I'm about to make chili in a few minutes, cumin is in the recipe and I've got it- but what is it's effect?
I have eaten chili that was made with deer meat. I didn't know it beforehand or I probably wouldn't have eaten it, but it turned out good. I had pulled deer meat instead of pork meat once, and that was pretty nasty. It had a very strong taste to it, and I would never eat it again made like that.I use ground deer meat. I process my own and do not add any fat (like most processors do). I don't like deer burgers, so all I use it for is soups and casseroles, so i don't need the fat to hold the meat together. Venison is so lean there is NO grease in the pan. I have to spray pan with Pam before or it will stick.
Before anyone complains about the "gamey" taste of deer meat... This taste is (IMO) from the meat not being properly cared for. The most important thing about deer meat is to blood the meat before cutting it up. I use a 120qt cooler and will quarter deer up and put 20 pounds of ice and a whole can of salt in cooler and fill up with water. Keep in a cool place and replace ice if necessary to keep meat cold for 24 hours. Drain off water and cutup meat into whatever you want. Another important thing is to remove the white stringy membrane between the layers of muscle. I then use a vaccum sealer to keep meat fresh.
You would be amazed how much meat can be taken from an average sized deer.
I like thicker chili also, as well as soups and stews, so I keep a couple of packages of cut okra (not breaded, although I've never tried that) in the freezer...the okra goes in when the liquids are added in the beginning, and will eventually disintegrate and look like peppers...creamed corn works well for thickening, too...I'll try masa next time.I always add masa flour at the end. Thickens the chili up and gives it some extra flavor.