Venison Sausage

If you’ve got venison in the freezer and a smoker in the yard, this is the recipe to put them both to work. Five pounds of cubed deer meat gets ground with a pound of suet, seasoned with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, sage, and garlic powder, then stuffed into casings and cold-smoked for over a day.

Suet is the key fat source here. Venison is extremely lean and would make dry, crumbly sausage without added fat. The suet melts during smoking and bastes the meat from the inside, keeping every link juicy and rich.

The smart move is to fry a small test patty after mixing the meat and seasonings. Taste it and adjust. Too mild? Add more red pepper. Too hot? Grind in more venison to dilute the heat. Getting the seasoning right before stuffing saves you from 30 hours of smoking sausage you won’t enjoy.

Pro Tips

• Keep the meat and suet very cold while grinding. Warm fat smears instead of cutting cleanly, which affects the texture of the finished sausage.
• Soak natural casings in warm water for at least 30 minutes before stuffing to make them pliable.
• Maintain a consistent low temperature in the smoker throughout the 28 to 30 hour smoke. Temperature swings can lead to uneven cooking and fat rendering out.
• Hang the stuffed sausages so they don’t touch each other in the smoker. Air circulation around each link ensures even smoke exposure.

Variations

• Add a cup of shredded cheddar to the meat mixture for a cheese-stuffed venison sausage.
• Mix in a tablespoon of fennel seed for an Italian-style venison sausage.
• Use pork back fat instead of suet for a slightly milder fat flavor.