5-Ingredient Chili

Hunting season. Deer opener in West Feliciana. Rémy came to the stand again — second year. This time he brought a book. A BOOK. To a deer stand. He read "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen (appropriate) while I scanned the tree line for deer, and the surreal image of my eight-year-old son reading a survival novel in a deer stand forty feet in the air is something I will carry with me forever.

I took an eight-point buck — clean shot, same as always, same moment of silence afterward. Rémy watched the deer fall and said, "He was beautiful, Papa." I said, "Oui." He said, "We'll use everything?" I said, "Everything." He nodded. Eight years old and already understands the contract: you take, you use, you waste nothing. The contract is Cajun. The contract is human. The contract is older than the bayou.

Processed the deer at home. Rémy helped for the first time — not butchering, but packaging. He labeled the bags with Danielle's label maker: "VENISON GROUND - 1 LB - NOV 2019." He labeled twenty-seven bags with the precision of an accountant. The chest freezer is full. The winter is coming. The family is fed. The contract is honored.

Made venison chili that night — from the trimmings, the pieces too small for steaks, too odd for roasts. Ground with pork fat and turned into chili with kidney beans and cayenne and the satisfaction of a meal that started in the woods at dawn and ended on the table at sunset. Field to table. The oldest story. The best story.

That night, with Rémy already asleep and the label maker put away, I stood at the stove and made the simplest chili I know — because some days don’t need anything elaborate, they just need to be honored with a warm bowl and a quiet kitchen. This 5-Ingredient Chili is what I reach for when the freezer is full and the heart is fuller; it’s built for ground meat, built for the end of a long day, and it carries exactly the weight a meal like this should carry.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 lbs ground venison (or beef, or a mix of venison and ground pork)
2 cans (15 oz each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili seasoning blend (store-bought or homemade)

Instructions

Brown the meat. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the ground venison until no pink remains, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed.
Add the tomatoes and paste. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices and the tomato paste. Mix well to combine and coat the meat evenly.
Season. Add the chili seasoning blend and stir to distribute throughout the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning — add cayenne if you want more heat.
Add the beans. Stir in the drained kidney beans. Bring the chili to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low.
Simmer. Cover partially and let simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld and the chili thickens to your liking. Add a splash of water or broth if it gets too thick.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top as you like — shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced green onions, or just as it is. It needs nothing extra.

Nutrition (per serving)

5-Ingredient Chili — The Oldest Story, The Best Story