I used venison breakfast sausage instead of pork sausage and it was delightful!! No one could belive that it was venison!!

Great chili! Had about 2 lbs of venison, so I doubled the tomatoes, garlic, and onion. I added a chopped jalapeno to the onion garlic mix to give the chili some extra heat. I also added a can of kidney beans, and about a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon at the end, and ommitted the tomato paste, adding a few tablespoons of tomato sauce instead. I let it cook overnight (12+ hours) and it was the perfect consistency. I was SO tempted at the beginning to add some liquid to the pot, as it looked really thick. I'm glad I didn't because it made it's own "juice" during the cooking process. I love that it didn't need any salt added!

Gave it 4 stars as tomato paste made it too "tomatoey." Added another can of diced tomatos. 1 can with 2 pounds of meat definitely not enough. Will try again without the tomato paste. This should tone down the tomato taste and the thickness.

I made this to freeze and bring on tour with my orchestra, and everyone who tried it went crazy over it! I did a couple things wrong though: I had a solid 3 lb block of venison that had to be used all at once and used regular ground pork because I couldn't find any sausage! Since I had way too much meat, I added a big can of crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker and thankfully everything came out fine anyway. Thanks for a great recipe!