Best Venison Breakfast Sausage Recipe

This Venison Breakfast Sausage recipe is easy and delicious! Make your own. Here is a step-by-step tutorial that will make you a pro.

Pin

It has less fat and calories than pork, so you can eat it guilt free. It’s great in casseroles, stuffing or dressing mixes, breakfast sandwiches, any place you would use pork sausage.

Not only can making your own sausage save you lots of money in game processing, it is fun and easy.

It seems many us forget when we go to the grocers and buy meat that we are buying an animal that someone else has harvested and processed. This ends up costing us so much more than when we do it ourselves.

Pin

Making sausage with venison is a great way to stretch a buck (pun intended 🙂 ).

Pin

The original recipe concept came from Great Sausage and Meat Curing, by Rytek Kutas. As you can see on the cover, Chef Craig Claiborne calls it the “most definitive manual on sausage making in the English language.

That is pretty high praise. This recipe is an authentic, traditional sausage recipe that lends itself beautifully to venison.

Do I have to add fat?

The simple answer is yes. Venison fat is not really suited for cooking. It also is not very flavorful. Because venison is so low in fat, it needs the extra fat to add flavor and to ensure the meat doesn’t become dry and fall apart.

For our venison burgers, we like to use beef steak trimmings. They give the burgers the best flavor and texture. For the sausage, however, we like to use ground pork. It has a more mild flavor, so the venison and spices are the stars.

Buy a pork shoulder or pork butt and grind your own. Use both the meat and fat, when you grind the pork. Look for a marbled cut, so that it has a greater fat content. Ask your favorite butcher. It will save you lots of money.

You want to use about 30% pork / 70% venison for the sausage. This will give you the best flavor and texture. You can go as low as 20% pork but may be disappointed with the outcome.

Pin

Do you Need to put the Sausage in Casings?

Sometimes you just want a nice cased sausage for breakfast with your pancakes and eggs. But other times, it doesn’t matter. Many times, we don’t even bother casing the sausage. It’s just an added step, and if we’re doing a recipe that calls for removing the meat from the casing, why bother? Whichever way you choose to go, the sausage will be delicious.

Pin

What Casings to Choose?

The casing you choose will depend on the size of the sausage you wish to case. Traditionally, breakfast sausages are small and are actually lamb casings. If you want larger breakfast sausage or you are making Italian, Polish, or chorizo, then use hog casings.

In the photograph above, we made them with hog casings because lamb casings were not available. Either way will work fine. Hog casings are much easier to work with and tend to tear less than lamb casings. Sausage in hog casings tends to freeze better for a longer period.

Where to Find Casings for Sausage

Most grocery butcher departments carry casings. All you have to do is ask. Lamb casings may or may not be available. Casings are also very inexpensive and can be obtained at most local butchers.

Pin

What you Need

• Ground Venison: Any wild game will work. Elk, antelope, deer
• Ground Pork: Buy a boneless pork shoulder or pork butt and grind it at the same time you grind the venison.
• Kosher Salt: Don’t use iodized salt. Sea salt or canning salt will work, too.
• White Pepper: White pepper doesn’t have the bite that black pepper has, but substituting black pepper is fine.
• Ground Sage: It’s important to use ground spices. The flavors penetrate the meat all over. You could also use fresh sage finely minced, but it doesn’t mix in as well.
• Ground Thyme: It’s important to use ground spices.
• Ice Water: Use ice water. The sausage must stay very cold when you are working with it.

Pin

Optional Ingredients

• Freshly Ground Nutmeg: freshly ground has a brighter, earthier flavor.
• Ground Ginger: Ginger has a sharp peppery bite but sweetens out when it’s cooked.
• Real Maple Syrup: Try adding pure maple syrup.
• Brown Sugar: Add some brown sugar if you like a sweeter sausage.
• Ground Hot Pepper: Add red pepper flakes or ground cayenne if you like a spicy sausage.

Seasoning for Deer Sausage

The seasoning for venison breakfast is a mild but flavorful blend of sage, thyme, and salt. That is it. There is no huge secret! There are no fillers, additives, preservatives or corn syrup—just meat and seasoning.

Once you have the basic recipe for sausage down, feel free to make other types, such as Italian, beer and cheese, chorizo, and Polish sausage. There are so many flavor combinations. We even made smoked Venison Summer Sausage.

We love asiago with roasted peppers and spinach. It’s fantastic. Red wine, parsley, and cheese is another keeper.

How to Make Deer Breakfast Sausage

How to Case Sausage

You can case sausage in lamb casings for small, breakfast sausage-style links or in hog casings for a more Canadian breakfast sausage vibe.

Pin

Twist the end of the casing. Load the ground meat into the hopper.

Turn on the grinder. Slowly push the sausage down with the pusher tool. Carefully guide the casing to fill the space inside.

Do not overfill because the casing may break. If it does, turn the grinder off. Pinch down and twist the end where the break is. Cut the casing with clean scissors.

Twist the other end and continue stuffing the casings. The goal is to get the meat to fill the casing evenly without leaving many large air holes.

It is much easier to have two people, especially when starting out with the process: one to load and feed the hopper and the other to guide the casing.

If you get many large air holes after the casing process, poke them with a sharp knife or sterile pin or needle. If you don’t, they may pop when cooking.

Pin

Use within two days or freeze for longer storage.

Can Deer Sausage be Frozen?

Yes, but the only caution I have is not to make too much! Sausage tends to get freezer-burned more quickly than other forms of meat.

Frozen breakfast sausage is best if used within 1 month, and Italian, Chorizo, and Polish sausages are best if used within 3-4 months. Vacuum packing will lengthen the freezer life slightly, but not indefinitely. Using a good vacuum sealer is the best way to store it, however.

If you don’t have a vacuum packer, wrap portions in plastic wrap or freezer paper and then place them inside a freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible. Double wrapping will help prevent freezer burn.

I make several small batches whenever I like during the year. When we process the deer, I label the freezer bag with “for ground.” Then, I take out a few pounds, grind it, and make it into sausage. However, I know others who make 25 pounds of sausage when processing their deer and eat it throughout the year. Maybe I’m just picky.

Pin

Pro Tips for Success

• Chill meat grinder attachments well before grinding meat.
• Partially frozen (or very cold, at the least) meat is best to grind.
• Always return meat to the refrigerator immediately, between steps.
• Always use very clean hands or food-grade gloves when working with the meat.
• If using utensils to mix, make sure they are extra clean.
• Freeze immediately after wrapping for storage.
• Keeping sausage cold is the key to food safety.
• When letting it rest overnight, place the container on the bottom shelf in the back, where the temperature is coldest.
• It’s best to use frozen sausage within one month for the best flavor.

How to Cook it

The key to many venison preparations is to not overcook the meat. Since you add pork fat, cook the sausage to at least 160°F.

Do not exceed that temperature. Depending on the fat content of your mixture, it may turn out dry.

How to Use it

Try this sausage with these fried potatoes and onions. It’s a great combination for a delicious breakfast, brunch or dinner.

• Serve with breakfast foods like pancakes, French toast, waffles, eggs, etc.
• Make sausage gravy and serve it with homemade biscuits for a delicious Southern-inspired breakfast.
• Use it for breakfast sandwiches or casseroles.
• It makes delicious stuffing or dressing for chicken or pork.

Some other popular Venison recipes

• Venison Chorizo
• Italian sausage
• Brisket
• Slow Cooker Venison Carnitas
• How to make Corned Venison
• Venison Stew
• Venison Burger

Want to learn more about How to Cook Venison? Don’t miss our awesome Ultimate Guide! Complete with 65 FREE Recipes from some of the top venison recipe developers in the world!

Pin

Tools I use

Contains affiliate links, for full disclosure, see FTC Disclosure, here.

• Rytek Kutas Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing: The Bible of Sausage Making
• Large metal bowl
• Food Grade Gloves
• Foodsaver, for longer storage
• Freezer Paper

The taste of this homemade venison sausage is so delicious. You may never buy store-bought again.

Connect with us through our social media pages! Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter.

Please ask any questions or share your comments in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.

I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

Pin

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something. See FTC Disclosure, here.

Originally Published 11/27/2015 Updated with new photos and content 4/18/2021