Making chili is something that takes time to perfect. I am still working on it. My chili is different every time I make it. The proportions of every single ingredient varies continuously in my search for the perfect chili. When I do make a chili that I consider better than usual, I realize that I didn't record the proportions.

So, I decided to make a basic chili and measure the ingredients. I find that there is no use making a small amount of chili. Every time I make chili, intending to have some leftover to take to work for lunch, every bit of it is gone. This recipe I cooked for my wife and myself and two thirteen year old boys. Of course you would have to know how much a thirteen year old eats to judge the amount. You can scale the ingredients to your desired proportions.

[Webmaster - Here is the complete recipe]

Now, how hot of a chili do you want. In this recipe I used one cup of freshly chopped peppers --- cayanne, habanero and longhorn peppers as well as a cup of chopped onion and a couple tablespoons of minced garlic. This was a little spicy but not too hot. I saute'd the vetables in butter until the onions became transparent. I used about two sticks of butter. This seems like alot, but we are cooking deer meat which has almost no fat.

Once the onions and peppers were transparent I added three pounds deer meat and one pound of chopped deer sausage. I then cooked the meat and peppers on low heat until the meat is completely cooked. I then added one twelve ounce can of beer. Cover and simmer on low heat until all liquid is gone, stiring occasionally. When all of the beer has cooked down, add two eight ounce cans of tomato sauce and three cans of water. Add half a cup of chili powder, a tablespoon of paprika, a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of oregano. Mix well and cover and simmer for two hours, or until chili reaches desired consistency.

[Webmaster - This chili is awesome. You may want to decrease the amount of peppers, as is it's pretty hot. It brought a bead of sweat to my forehead. Thanks Scott for the wonderful recipe and pictures]