Venison summer sausage is a delicious and savory treat that is perfect for any occasion. Whether you're looking for a healthy snack or a flavorful appetizer, this sausage is sure to satisfy your cravings.
When my husband got a deer a few weeks ago I knew that I wanted to make some venison summer sausage with some of the meat.
Summer sausage is one of my favorite treats and sausage making is a skill I've been wanting to work on. It just isn't near as prevalent as it once was and I like to learn some of the old skills our ancestors used to preserve their meat.
Supplies Needed to Make Your Summer Sausage
You don't need a ton to make this sausage recipe, but you do need a few things to make life easier.
- Large Bowl
- Meat Grinder with Sausage Attachment (or a separate sausage stuffer)
- Mixer (optional, but makes it easier)
- Smoker or Smoke House
- Hickory Chips
Venison Summer Sausage Ingredients
Surprisingly easy to make, venison summer sausage just requires a few simple ingredients and a smoker. I don't personally recommend making summer sausage in an oven as it will not have the same flavor or consistency, even if you add liquid smoke.
Ground Venison - the main ingredient in this delicious sausage.
Ground Pork Trimmings - because venison is so lean, it is essential you add some fattier meat/trimmings to the grind in order for it to not wind up turning into an inedible log of meat.
Morton Tender Quick - This allows you to cure meat right at home, give it flavor as well as give it that distinctive pink flavor we familiarize ourselves with when it comes to summer sausage.
Seasonings - sea salt, black pepper, mustard seed, garlic powder, thyme, basil, and sugar.
Casings - Use fibrous casing with a diameter of 2 ½" to 3".
Feel free to add some high-temp cheddar cheese and jalapeño peppers to the mix if you're feeling brave!
How to Make Venison Summer Sausage
The complete venison summer sausage recipe can be found in the recipe card below with ingredient measurements and complete instructions!
Soak casings. This recipe will make approximately 3 sausages, so soak 4 casings just in case. Simply place them in water for 30 minutes while you prep the rest of the recipe.
Grind meat mixture. If the venison or pork aren't already ground, grind them separately. Then, place them together and grind them again using the coarse plate.
Combine seasonings. In a large bowl combine cold water, seasonings and cure in a bowl. Then, using a stand mixer or a spoon, mix the ground meat into the seasoning mixture.
Stuff. Using a grinder with a sausage stuffing attachment or a sausage maker, stuff 3" diameter casings with seasoned meat mixture.
Rest. Place stuffed casings, undisturbed in a refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 48.
Smoke. Once the sausages have rested in the fridge for a couple days, preheat your smoker or pellet grill to 175°F. Hang the sausages and smoke for around 4 hours or until the sausages reach an internal temperature of 160°F.
Cool and enjoy. Allow the sausages to cool naturally to room temperature before storing in a refrigerator or freezer.
Do I need to add pork fat to venison to make summer sausage?
Do you have to? No. However, since venison is so lean, it will typically make for very dry sausage that is not bound together very well.
The jury is still out on how much pork you should add to your venison when making sausage. Some people believe you should keep a 50/50 ratio. However, this will give it quite a bit of pork flavor. I didn't find this necessary.
I found a ratio of about 75/25 game to pork works pretty well. Did I use an exact science? No. But, using pork trimmings, butt, or shoulder provides a good amount of fat to bind the sausage together while still maintaining the venison flavor I was after.
How to Safely Make Summer Sausage from Venison
- Keep your meat cold at all times. You can chill your ground venison while you grind up the pork trimmings. Put both in the fridge for a few minutes to keep them cold before grinding them together. Another option is to use partially frozen meat when grinding so it takes a while to warm up. Regardless, keep it cold.
- Make sure you mix all of the ingredients, including the cure, in water so that the cure can dissolve and everything is easier to evenly distribute throughout the sausage.
- Use the best, high-quality ingredients when making fresh sausage. I recommend pastured pork and organic spices and seasonings.
- Soak the casings in water for about 30 minutes before stuffing. You can simply add them to some water before you start grinding and mixing. Rinse them off after they've soaked to remove some of the excess salt.
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure the finished product has reached 160 degrees before removing it from the smoker.
How to Store Summer Sausage
First and foremost, this recipe must be left in the refrigerator or freezer once it is cooked and cooled.
Summer sausage is best stored in vacuum-sealed packages or another airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer until it is ready to consume.
Once you open the package, store it in a tightly sealed reusable bag or tightly cover the end with foil or some other sort of wrap.
How long is venison summer sausage good for?
Frozen summer sausage will keep indefinitely, but its palatability begins to wane after about a year. Once opened, it will keep in the refrigerator for roughly a month.
Of course, if you see mold, it smells off, is making science experiments on your fridge shelf or something else... throw it out. But typically speaking it will keep for a pretty long time as long as it is properly handled and stored.
Other Venison Recipes To Try:
If you try this amazing venison summer sausage, share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below! I’d love if you would give me a five star review on the card below! Also, feel free to tag me with your own perfectly juicy venison steaks on Instagram @therusticelk.
📖 Recipe
Venison Summer Sausage
Traditional, smoked venison summer sausage blended with pork for the best moisture content and flavor.
Ingredients
- 7 Pounds Venison (ground)
- 5 Pounds Pork Trimmings (ground)
- 1 Cup Water
- 5 Tablespoons Morton Tender Quick
- ⅓ Cup Sea Salt
- ⅛ Cup Whole Mustard Seed
- ⅛ Cup Ground Black Pepper
- ⅛ Cup Sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons Thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons Basil
Instructions
- Place 3-4 fibrous casings in water and allow them to soak for about 30 minutes while you prepare the sausage.
- If you haven't already, grind your venison and pork, separately with a course plate. Then, grind them together to mix them.
- Combine seasonings, cure and water in a bowl. Then, mix them together with the meat. You can do this by hand, use a stand mixer, or mix and grind them all together.
- Stuff the sausage into fibrous or natural casings that are 2 ½ to 3 inches in diameter using a grinder with stuffing attachment or a sausage stuffer.
- Place stuffed casings into refrigerator and allow them to sit, undisturbed for 24 to 48 hours. The longer they sit, the more flavorful they will become.
- Pre-heat smoker to 175°F and hang sausages to smoke for about 4 hours or until internal temperature reaches 155°F.
- Cool the sausages off naturally then store in refrigerator or freezer. They are now ready to eat. Storing them in a vacuum sealed bag is best, but not necessary.
Notes
We enjoy smoking our sausages over hickory wood for the best flavor.
Ashley says
This looks delicious! I am working on a list of projects to keep my hubby busy this winter with his smoker. Thank you for sharing this.
Erin says
Your recipe sounds great but is there a substitute for the quick tender? We are trying to avoid nitrates as much as possible.
Danielle McCoy says
Absolutely, you can use non-iodized sea salt, kosher salt, or pink Himalayan salt in place of the tender quick.
Larry says
Might want to consider less pork fat, my personal recipe has 12 pound venison to 3 pounds fat. The color and texture is personal preference. I add liquid or powder smoke as well as cooking in the smoker.
Danielle McCoy says
Thanks for the tips, we like it the way it is, though :).
Jeremy says
@Danielle McCoy, how much cheese would you add to a recipe this size?
Danielle McCoy says
I'd add about a pound of high temp cheese to this.
Chad says
What level or course of grind do you use for this recipe?
Danielle McCoy says
1/4" plate
Julie Maidens says
The last time we tried to made summer sausage we hung it in our smoker and the pork fat grease melted and congrated in the bottom of the casing leaving the top dry. Any suggestions?
Danielle McCoy says
You can try adding a little gelatin powder to the mixture, this will hold on to that liquid and keep it evenly dispersed in the sausage not allowing it to melt and drip down.
Matt says
@Julie Maidens, that means you got it too hot. It's called fatting out.
Kami says
I have been using your recipe 3 years running now, and I get so many compliments! (I make sure to give you the credit, lol). So many people have said this is the best venison sausage they've ever had, and they always ask me when I'm making more! The only thing I do differently is I use the smaller casings (1 lb per casing).
Danielle McCoy says
I'm so glad you, and everyone else, enjoys this! Thank you so much for letting me know, you made my day. I'll have to try the smaller casings, we sometimes have trouble stuffing the larger ones.
Kurt says
I got my deer back and have several packs of ground venison that already include pork fat in them. I'm not 100% on the ratio, but I believe it's 10-15% fat. Should I add more before trying to make sausage (I know you said 75/25)? Or could it be ok as it is?
Danielle McCoy says
I would add a little more or it will probably turn out too dry
Ben says
Would this recipe still work well with brat casings?
Danielle McCoy says
Absolutely.
Alex says
What quality venison do you recommend? Do trimmings from neck/front shoulder work, or does it need to be roast/steak quality cuts?
Danielle McCoy says
It doesn't need to be steak quality... anything from the grind pile works fine.
Stephanie says
Are you using ground thyme or thyme leaves?
Danielle McCoy says
Dried thyme leaves.
Dennis Krenning says
I made this following your recipe exactly and wouldn't change a thing. We love it!
Danielle McCoy says
Thank you for your kind words! So glad you enjoyed it!
Andrea says
The mustard seed…. Not ground?
Danielle McCoy says
Yes, whole seed... this provides texture and a little "bite" when you bite into it. The smoking process does cook it down so it's not quite so hard. If you prefer to use ground, start with whole seeds and measure them, then grind them. However, the flavor and texture of the sausage will not be the same.
Tony says
Can you use just pork fat?
Danielle McCoy says
Yes, you can use just pork fat.
Tanya says
I do not have a smoker. Can I stuff the casings and hang them in my oven to cook at 175* instead?
Danielle McCoy says
You can, if your oven goes that low. Make sure you put something to catch all the drippings or it will make a mess of your oven. Also, you can simply set them on a rack or even a cookie sheet.
Anthony says
Should I use fine or coarse sea salt? I'm also trying to get clarification on the pork. My butcher said pork trimmings are 90% fat/10% meat whereas pork shoulder is 20% fat/80% meat. What ratio pork fat to meat are you recommending?
Danielle McCoy says
I use coarse sea salt exclusively. I recommend 90%fat/10% meat pork trimmings, you're adding fat to a very lean meat, you don't need more meat, you simply need fat. Hope this helps.
Brian says
I'm really interested in this recipe. I've made summer with my father many many years ago and I can't get the recipe from my brother. I'm almost positive my father's had powder milk.
Danielle McCoy says
Thank you for sharing that memory—it’s so special to be able to carry on traditions like making summer sausage! While this recipe doesn’t use powdered milk, some traditional recipes do include it as a binder or to retain moisture. You could certainly try incorporating a small amount if you’d like to replicate your father’s version. Let me know how it turns out—I’d love to hear if it brings back those familiar flavors!
Steven says
I made this in 2 1/8" x 10" casings. 8lbs venison , 2.25lbs beef fat. Adjusted seasoning accordingly and smoked over cherry wood. Everyone agrees that it's the best summer sausage they've ever tasted !!
Danielle McCoy says
Awesome! So glad you like it!