Chili just might be the perfect cold-weather dish. Hearty, warming, chock-full of texture and flavor. Plus, it’s suitable for nearly every level of cook and eater. Use chunks of meat, such as beef short rib and lamb, for a gourmet version. Use ground meats for speed and ease. Omit the meat for a vegetarian bowl.

For the big football game this year, lean venison will form the base of a flavorful chili. This game meat tastes a bit like beef but is much less rich. Occasionally, friends and cousins deliver gifts of venison stew meat from their recent adventures. More readily available is farm-raised venison, imported from New Zealand, found at the local supermarket. Farm-raised venison tends to be more tender, milder tasting, and less gamey than wild venison.

Chili may present as a meat-lover’s dish, but it easily accommodates a big bunch of vegetables and lean protein sources such as beans. Pale, creamy butter beans make a dramatic statement in a dark bowl of chili, and large white beans can stand in for them.

Cooking beans from scratch takes time, but yields a better texture than canned beans. Although soaking beans shortens cooking time, it is not a prerequisite to delicious beans — unsoaked beans just need a little more cooking. For this chili, Rancho Gordo’s large lima beans or their Royal Corona beans are stunning additions, and you can order them online from www.ranchogordo.com.

To prepare ahead, cook dried beans three or four days before making the chili. Alternatively, swap in canned butter beans or large white beans when time is tight. For a dark bean chili, use huge scarlet runner beans or canned dark red kidney beans for another variation.

For the vegetables, carrots offer a sweetness to counter red chile powder. Fresh poblano chile peppers add texture and color; they can be quite spicy so taste them before adding to the pot. Use red bell peppers to keep things on the mild side. Roast a pepper or two to peel and cut into strips for a great garnish.

Garnishes take a bowl of chili into party fare. Make guests feel creative by setting out a tray full of various sizes of bowls of toppings — large bowls of corn chips and crackers, medium-sized bowls of shredded cheese and lettuce, and small bowls of chopped fresh cilantro, roasted and pickled chiles, sliced green onions, sour cream, and hot chili flakes. Everyone can add these items as they wish.

To round out your spread, serve chunks of warm cornbread as a winning accompaniment. Purchase baked cornbread from the bakery aisle or zhuzh up a boxed mix by adding shreds of sharp Cheddar and sliced chives.

Put out a tray of beer garnishes, too, such as bottles of hot sauces and wedges of lemon and lime. For extra flair, a chili powder and salt-rimmed beer mug always scores points.

Venison Chili with Butter Beans

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 large poblano chile peppers or red bell peppers or a combination, 8 ounces total

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, avocado oil or canola oil

1 medium (6 ounces) onion, diced

2 pounds ground venison or beef or turkey or a combination

2 medium-large carrots, 6 ounces total, peeled, diced

1 rib celery, diced

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed

1/4 cup mild chili powder

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

2 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, salt

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes with their juice

3 cups cooked large white lima beans or Royal Corona beans (Or, two cans (15 ounces each) butter beans

1 tablespoon honey

Garnishes:

Tortilla chips and/or oyster crackers

Chopped cilantro, green onions

Shredded cheese, such as sharp Cheddar or Gouda

Sour cream

1. Set one of the poblanos or red bell peppers directly over the flame of a gas burner. Or, set on a baking sheet under a preheated broiler. Roast, turning often, until skin is blistered and charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove to a cutting board until cool enough to handle. Rub off the charred skin, open the pepper and scrape out the seeds and core. Rinse the pepper. Cut into 1/2-inch wide strips about 1 ½ inches long. Set aside for garnish.

2. Heat oil in a large (4- to 5-quart) heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in venison and cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. As it cooks, use a wooden spoon to crumble meat into small bits.

3. Dice remaining poblano or red bell pepper. Stir into pot along with carrots, celery and garlic. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

4. Stir in chili powder and tomato paste until well mixed. Stir in broth, cumin and salt; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes; simmer, partly covered, stirring often, for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

5. Stir in cooked beans and honey. Serve garnished with poblano strips, and other garnishes as desired.

Recipe notes on beans

(JeanMarie Brownson is a James Beard Award-winning author and the recipient of the IACP Cookbook Award for her latest cookbook, “Dinner at Home.” JeanMarie, a chef and authority on home cooking, Mexican cooking and specialty food, is one of the founding partners of Frontera Foods. She co-authored three cookbooks with chef Rick Bayless, including “Mexico: One Plate at a Time.” JeanMarie has enjoyed developing recipes and writing about food, travel and dining for more than four decades.)

©2026 JeanMarie Brownson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.