Famous Jodeen Sausage (Wyoming Style)

This is homemade sausage with a serious personality, a bold, garlicky, smoke-kissed blend that hunters and home grinders in Wyoming swear by. The seasoning runs deep: paprika, cumin, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, jalapeno, and a whisper of cayenne, plus a few dashes of liquid smoke for that over-the-coals flavor with no smoker required.

The real secret is fat. Cutting your meat with 40 to 50 percent pork, or bacon end cuts, keeps the sausage juicy and tender, because lean meat alone, especially wild game, cooks up dry and crumbly.

There’s one step you shouldn’t skip: fry a small test patty before packaging the whole batch. Tasting it lets you dial the salt, heat, and herbs exactly where you want them, since you can’t re-season once it’s wrapped and frozen.

Mix everything thoroughly by hand so the garlic and spices distribute evenly through the meat.

Chef Tips

• Keep the meat and your hands cold while mixing so the fat stays firm and doesn’t smear, which makes for a better texture.
• Always cook and taste a test patty before committing the batch to packaging.
• Go easy on the cayenne and lemon pepper. Dust lightly and build up, since you can’t pull heat back out.
• Let the mixed sausage rest in the fridge a few hours, or overnight, so the flavors meld before cooking.

Variations

• Use venison, elk, or other wild game as the base, leaning on the pork for moisture.
• Stuff into casings for links, or leave it loose for patties and crumble.
• Adjust the jalapeno and cayenne up or down to set your own heat level.