Elk and Sausage Mountain Chili
Ask anyone who's cooked at a Montana hunting camp and they'll tell you lean game meat needs a fat partner — which is exactly why this chili blends ground elk with smoked pork sausage. The elk brings a clean, rich, faintly sweet flavor that beef can't match; the sausage brings the fat and smoke the elk lacks, keeping the whole pot moist and deep instead of dry and tight. Simmered long and slow with a generous hit of chili powder, it's the kind of stick-to-your-ribs bowl that's meant to be eaten after a cold day outside, ideally with a biscuit to sop the bottom of the bowl.
per serving
Biscuits or cornbread to sop are traditional; shredded cheese and raw onion suit it.
No elk? Venison, bison, or a lean beef all work — keep the sausage for fat. Adjust cayenne up or down to taste.