This is the time of year for gathering with friends and family and enjoying the bounty of our harvests. Its’ a time to make room in our freezers, celebrate and share our success in the field, and enjoy some warm comfort food with loved ones as the temperatures drop and fires start to warm the hearth.
Nothing makes me more nostalgic for late-fall in the kitchen than the smell of roasted green chile. When combined with cheese, spices, and your favorite ground wild game, it makes for a simple venison queso that’s a crowd-pleasing appetizer for Sunday football get-togethers or a level-up for taco night or in breakfast burritos. Total prep and cook time is under 40 minutes, which means you can get the pat on the back for making something from scratch and still spend the majority of your day in the field.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground venison
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1⁄3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1⁄2 cup Roma tomato, finely chopped
- 1 cup of roasted Hatch green chile (fresh or canned)
- 3⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
- 3⁄4 tsp. cumin
- 3⁄4 tsp. chili powder
- 1⁄2 tsp. onion powder
- Red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves chopped fresh garlic
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 lb. American cheese shredded or cubed (white, yellow or a combo of both)
- Chopped cilantro
- Tortilla chips
Directions
- Brown your meat, season with salt, set aside.
- In a medium size pot, heat the butter and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Turn heat to low.
- Add tomatoes, chiles, salt, cumin, chili powder, and onion powder. Cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add milk and turn the heat back up to medium. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cheese and cook, stirring until completely melted. Stir constantly to keep cheese from burning on the bottom.
- Add the ground meat.
- Serve topped with chopped raw onion, cilantro and red pepper flakes (serve hot - queso will thicken as it cools). Note: to thicken your dip, add corn starch. To thin, stir in additional milk.
