Chislic Recipe - How to Make South Dakota Chislic | Hank Shaw (2024)

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5 from 8 votes

By Hank Shaw

August 10, 2020 | Updated May 28, 2021

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Chislic Recipe - How to Make South Dakota Chislic | Hank Shaw (2)

Chislic is one of those semi-secret regional foods that if you know, you know, and if not, well, you probably are having a hard time even forming the sound of this dish’s name in your head.

Pronounced “chiz-lick,” or in some places more like “chis-lick,” chislic is, simply, chunks of red meat grilled or fried, either on a skewer or served with toothpicks. It’s what you eat at a South Dakota bar after limiting out on pheasants, or while watching the Vikings.

Chislic is deeply South Dakotan, and in its purest form is fried mutton with garlic salt, served with Saltines on the side. But there are variations, and beef and venison chislic are common.

I’ve eaten it in various divey bars while pheasant hunting, or just passing through SoDak. I happen to like the “Buffalo wings” presentation, with hot sauce and blue cheese sauce on the side. And fries are more substantial than the Saltines, but both are good.

If you’ve heard Chef David Chang use the term “ugly delicious,” this is that and then some. Chislic is probably more “dirty delicious,” because it makes you feel that way after eating a half pound of deep-fried venison chunks with a plate of fries and, ahem, several beers.

Chislic Recipe - How to Make South Dakota Chislic | Hank Shaw (3)

Chislic is unusual in that it is fried directly — no coating. This darkens your oil in a hurry, and my advice is to reuse it only for future batches of chislic. Your oil needs to be hot, and you don’t want to fry the venison very long or it will be gray at the center.

So far as seasoning, keep it simple: Garlic salt is all I use. Whatever you use, avoid paprika or other chile peppers, because they will burn in the oil and turn bitter. If you need a pepper fix, get it with hot sauce.

Saltines, as I’ve mentioned, are traditional, but if you want to make your own fries, here is a good recipe for homemade French fries.

While you can eat chislic as a main meal, it’s normally a bar snack or appetizer. If you want to continue the theme, try making this with my Buffalo meatballs. (Yep, meatballs served exactly like Buffalo wings), or honey mustard wings from either pheasants or ducks.

If you’re interested in a south-of-the-border take on this, it turns out there’s a kind of taco you can find in Hermosillo, Sonora, that bears a strong resemblance to chislic: chicharron de ribeye.

5 from 8 votes

South Dakota Chislic

I prefer my chislic fried, and with a combination of hot sauce and blue cheese sauce, but you can vary this as you like. Saltines are the normal accompaniment, but I like homemade fries better.

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Course: Appetizer, lunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds venison loin, cubed
  • 1 tablespoon garlic salt
  • Oil for frying
  • Hot sauce to taste
  • Blue cheese sauce to taste (optional)

Instructions

  • Be sure to remove any silverskin from the venison, and make the cubes about an inch across. Dust with the garlic salt.

  • Fill enough oil in a heavy pot or a deep fryer to be able to submerge the venison -- you'll be cooking it in batches, so it doesn't need to be huge. Bring it to 350°F. Set out some paper towels to let the finished chislic drain.

  • Pat the meat dry with paper towels and carefully drop about 1/2 pound into the fryer. It will roil violently. Let the venison fry for about 2 minutes, then move it to the paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining venison, a 1/2 pound at a time.

  • Serve with toothpicks, hot sauce, blue cheese sauce, beer, and fries or Saltines.

Notes

NOTES: If you are making fries, my advice is to make them first and keep them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet in a warm oven. If you are looking for a good blue cheese sauce, try this recipe from Simply Recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 227kcal | Protein: 46g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 1249mg | Potassium: 602mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Categorized as:
American Recipes, Appetizers and Snacks, Featured, Recipe, Venison, Wild Game

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Read More About Me

Chislic Recipe - How to Make South Dakota Chislic | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

What cut of meat is chislic in South Dakota? ›

Chislic (or sometimes chislick) is a dish consisting of skewered cubes of red meat, usually mutton or lamb, although game meats such as venison and even beef steak can be used.

Why is chislic famous in South Dakota? ›

You haven't truly experienced South Dakota until you've had a proper plate of chislic. German/Russian immigrants are credited with bringing the dish to South Dakota in the 1870s, and the popularity of chislic has spread across the state ever since.

What is South Dakota signature dish? ›

One of the most iconic and probably the highest recommended food in South Dakota is Chislic. This cubed red meat, typically beef or lamb, is deep fried or grilled and served with a tasty dipping sauce.

What nationality is chislic? ›

It is unclear why Hoellwarth and not the hundreds of other German Russian immigrants is credited with bringing chislic to South Dakota. The term chislic most likely derives from the Turkic word shashlyk or shashlik. The Russian dish features cubes of skewered meat grilled over an open fire.

Who invented chislic? ›

Oral history often gives Johann Hoellwarth (1849-1919) credit for introducing “chislic” to the area. Hoellwarth was part of the Lutheran Heilbronn congregation southwest of Freeman when he came to Dakota Territory from the Crimea in the 1870s.

What food is South Dakota famous for? ›

Dining, South Dakota-Style

Communities have their own food stories, but in a state where traditions and recipes vary, dishes like Indian fry bread, chislic, tiger meat, walleye, buffalo burgers, lefse and mocha cakes gather people around the table to eat and drink as neighbors.

How did South Dakota get its nickname? ›

State Nickname: The Mount Rushmore State

The state nickname became official in 1992. The Mount Rushmore State refers to the mountain sculpture created by Gutzon Borglum over a period of 14 years.

What is the state snack of South Dakota? ›

Many South Dakota foods reflect the heritage of its people like its state dessert, Kuchen, and salted half-inch cubes of lamb or beef that are fried or grilled known as Chislic, both of which were brought to the Dakotas by Germans-from-Russia.

What is the difference between lamb and mutton? ›

Lamb meat is simply meat from young sheep under one year of age. Mutton is the meat of mature sheep, harvested between 2 to 3 years of age to produce mutton cuts. To go a bit deeper, there are two Lamb sub-categories based on the specific age of lamb at harvest: Baby Lamb – Refers to lamb meat aged 6 to 10 weeks old.

What state is known for chislic? ›

South Dakota stands at the epicenter of the chislic revolution. Freeman, a town with just over 1,200 people, is credited as the chislic capital of America after German-Russian immigrants settled in the southeastern part of South Dakota and brought the food with them.

Is tomahawk beef or lamb? ›

A tomahawk steak is basically a ribeye beef steak, but different, because at least five inches of rib bone is left intact. The extra-long bone is French trimmed, a culinary technique also used to give a rack of lamb its unique shape.

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