Venison Sloppy Joes (Slow Cooker)

Main Dish, Sandwich

Much better than standard Sloppy Joes because venison tends to be less greasy and because this combination of spices makes it unusually savory. Preparation is usually only 5 minutes. Cook time is 8 hours. You get 4 generous servings.

Ingredients/Shopping List
• ¼ pound bacon
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 pounds venison stew meat
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

N.B. I have used both stew meat and ground venison for this recipe. I prefer ground venison in many respects, but it will make the cooking time different depending on how finely the venison is ground. Venison sometimes has a "gamy" taste. To alleviate this (some like it) you can soak your venison overnight in just enough milk to cover it.

Fry bacon in a deep skillet until evenly brown. Remove from skillet, crumble; reserve.

Brown venison in bacon grease.

Put chili powder, cumin, garlic, ketchup, mustard, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper in slow cooker, mixing thoroughly. Add bacon and venison, stir together.

N.B. You can use red wine vinegar or white vinegar for this recipe. The taste changes substantially.

Cook for 8 hours on low. If using ground venison, you may be able to cook for as little as 4 hours - slow cookers vary a lot.

If using stew meat, you may choose to shred the chunks before serving.

Serve atop a toasted bun.