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Deer Sausage Recipe

This deer sausage recipe transforms lean wild game into a flavorful, shelf-stable staple that hunters and meat lovers crave. Balancing venison with pork fat and classic spices, it creates sausage perfect for breakfast skillets, sandwiches, or grilling alongside vegetables. Making homemade sausage requires minimal equipment and yields restaurant-quality results that freeze beautifully.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 20 links
Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American, Game Cookery
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main
  • 4 pounds venison shoulder or front quarter meat trimmed of sinew and silver skin, cut into 1-inch cubes, kept very cold
  • 1 pound pork shoulder or pork belly, cut into 1-inch cubes, kept very cold
  • 1 teaspoon pink curing salt sodium nitrite
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon sage dried and crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional, for heat
  • 1/2 cup ice water kept cold
  • 1 package hog casings soaked in warm water for 30 minutes before stuffing

Equipment

  • Meat grinder with grinding plate and blade
  • Sausage stuffer with casing tube attachment
  • Large stainless steel mixing bowl
  • Meat thermometer
  • Large cutting board
  • Sharp butcher's knife
  • Hog casings (natural or collagen)
  • Paper towels
  • Kitchen scale (optional but recommended)
  • Large skillet or grill for testing

Method
 

  1. Chill your grinder parts, mixing bowl, and the meat cubes in the freezer for at least 1 hour before beginning.
  2. Remove chilled grinder from freezer and assemble with fine grinding plate attached. Working in batches, feed cold venison and pork cubes through grinder into chilled bowl, alternating between venison and pork every few cubes.
  3. Add pink curing salt, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sage, thyme, and red pepper flakes to the ground meat. Fold and mix spices throughout with cold hands or wooden spoon for 3 to 5 minutes, until meat turns slightly tacky and holds together.
  4. Pour half the cold ice water into the meat mixture and continue folding and squeezing for 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining water slowly while mixing until mixture becomes sticky and cohesive.
  5. Pinch off a small amount of mixture and form into a 1-inch thick patty. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and cook patty until internal temperature reaches 160°F (about 5 to 7 minutes). Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.
  6. Remove hog casings from salt packaging and soak in warm water for 30 minutes. Rinse each casing under cold running water to remove excess salt and check for holes.
  7. Attach casing tube to sausage stuffer and thread casing onto it, leaving about 2 inches hanging off the end. Feed cold meat mixture into hopper, gently guiding casing to fill evenly without air pockets.
  8. Stop before filling last 2 inches of casing, slide casing off tube, and tie end with butcher's twine.
  9. Using a clean, thin needle or sausage pricker, poke 4 to 5 small holes in each sausage link to release trapped air.
  10. Place finished sausage links on parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before cooking or freezing.

Notes

Keep all equipment and meat as cold as possible throughout the process to prevent mushy texture and ensure proper casing hold. Test seasoning on a single cooked patty before stuffing entire batch. Freeze links on baking sheet before transferring to freezer bags to prevent sticking. Cook frozen sausage directly without thawing, adding 5 to 7 minutes to cooking time.