This is a rich, country-style venison sausage recipe where the dominant spices are ground bay leaves and garlic. They taste great when grilled because bay seems to go well with the flavors of cooking over an open fire.
I like this as a coarse sausage, but you can grind it finer if you’d like. I also like a mix of venison and pork. If possible, use pork that has never been frozen. This is important, because never-frozen meat, when ground, binds to itself better than pre-frozen meat.
And you will be judged on how nice your bind is with sausages. No one likes crumbly sausage. More on this in a bit.
You will want fatty pork shoulder or pork belly, or a mix of both. You can use beef fat, too, if you prefer; use fat trimmed from steaks and roasts.
As for the venison in this venison sausage, you’ll want to use trim, mostly. There’s no need to make a sausage out of backstrap, but I do sometimes add the “chain” off of a whole backstrap. Stew meat, stuff between the ribs, neck bits, the odd and ends from squaring off roasts and steaks.
If the butcher cut up your deer, I would use the roasts or stew meat to make venison sausage.
Deer sausage is a beloved staple for hunters looking to make the most of their harvest. But one question lingers in many minds – does that hearty, robust deer sausage contain pork? Let’s slice through the mysteries and uncover what types of meat typically go into this popular wild game fare.
An Overview of Deer Sausage
Fresh deer meat blended with spices and seasonings creates mouthwatering sausage. However, deer meat on its own can be quite lean. To achieve the right moisture level and texture, people who process meat often mix venison with other animal fats, most commonly pork.
Pork adds juiciness and helps bind the sausage mixture Its milder flavor also complements venison’s stronger profile But not all deer sausage contains pork – let’s explore the different types,
Sausage With Pork Products
The majority of commercial and homemade deer sausage incorporates some form of pork:
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Pork fat trimmings Finely minced fat from pork shoulder or belly contributes moistness
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Pork jowl or backfat: Provides flavorful fat.
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Cured pork Ingredients like salted pork or prosciutto enhance taste
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Ground pork: Lean pork meat combined with venison creates balanced texture.
So for deer sausage with that quintessential pork essence, these traditional versions deliver.
Pork-Free Deer Sausage
While less common, pork-free deer sausage is also produced:
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Beef additions: Fatty beef like suet or tallow provides richness.
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Alternative fats: Oils like olive or avocado oil can be used in emulsified sausages.
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All venison: Lean 100% venison sausage gives a pure deer taste.
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Poultry: Chicken or turkey fat offers milder flavor than pork.
Vegetarians can even craft meatless deer sausage using tempeh or seitan instead of venison.
Checking Ingredients is Key
When determining if a particular deer sausage contains pork, scrutinizing the ingredients label is crucial. Terms like “pork,” “pork fat,” “cured pork,” etc. confirm its presence.
If the only meat listed is venison or deer, you can safely deduce it’s all venison. Any other animal-derived fats will also be specifically named.
Impacts on Dietary Needs and Preferences
The potential addition of pork is important for deer sausage fans with special diets:
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Religious diets: Pork is prohibited in kosher and halal diets, so pork-free options are essential.
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Vegetarians/vegans: Any meat ingredients, including pork, are avoided. Only meatless varieties allowed.
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Food allergies: People with pork sensitivities must know if it’s an ingredient.
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Wild game purists: Hunters seeking an all-venison experience need no-pork sausage.
Carefully reading labels and grasping pork’s prevalent role enables informed choices.
Making Your Own Pork-Free Deer Sausage
For total control over ingredients, homemade deer sausage lets you omit pork completely. Here are some tips:
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Substitute beef fat, schmaltz, or poultry fat for the pork element.
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Use oils like avocado or olive oil instead of animal fats.
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Mix venison with ground lamb, bison, or elk for meaty flavor.
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Boost venison’s signature taste with more garlic, sage, and black pepper.
With creativity in finding alternative fats or incorporating extra flavor elements, you can craft delicious pork-free deer sausage.
The Takeaway on Pork in Deer Sausage
While pork fat or trimmings are common in most deer sausage, contributing juicy richness, not all types contain this traditional ingredient. Carefully reading labels or making your own pork-free sausage allows you to avoid this meat if desired.
But for hunters who relish pork’s succulence and mellow flavor paired with hearty venison, a quality deer sausage made the time-honored way is a mouthwatering treat indeed. With abundant options commercially or homemade, you can choose the ideal deer sausage for you.
So does your deer sausage have pork inside? It’s up to you to decide based on taste, diet, and ingredients. With an understanding of what creates that signature deer sausage flair, you can craft or select the perfect variety to enjoy.
Coarse or Fine Grind?
If you want your venison sausage to be coarse, use “cleaner” meat. If you do make it from tough meat, grind it finer. Regardless, I grind twice. This will give you a more tender sausage. I prefer to grind with a 8 or 10 mm die, then again with a 6. 5 mm die.
If you prefer a fine grind, take it down to the 4. 5 mm die on a second or third grind.
You’ll see dry milk powder in the ingredients. It’s totally optional, but dry milk powder is used to retain moisture in smoked sausages; you can also use products like carrot fiber, which work well to help sausages retain moisture.
Skip these if you don’t plan on smoking your venison sausages — likewise with the Instacure No. 1. This is a curing salt that protects the meat from bad bacteria while you’re smoking it. No need for curing salt if you are just making sausages for the grill.
I’ve also varied things by using narrow hog casings and making large coils of sausage, which you then stab a long wooden skewer through on each axis, making a cross that you can then use to flip the coil whole. Then you just slice off as much venison sausage as your guests want.
Of course, even though this recipe calls for deer sausage, you can make it with pork or any other mix of meats.
Consider this venison sausage recipe as a master, a model to play with. You can make it bigger or smaller, and you can change everything in it except the salt level. The 34 grams in this recipe will give you a sausage with 1. It has about 5% salt by weight, which most people like. Keep in mind that salami and other dry-cured meats need to have a higher salt content.
If you need to watch how much salt you eat, you can cut the amount down to 23 grams, which is close to 1%. Low for most people, but not awful.
New to making sausage? You can find my detailed tutorial on how to make sausages at home here.
Here are some other venison sausage recipes you can play with, once you get the basic technique down:
- Wild boar bratwurst made the way Wisconsinites make “red brats”
- British bangers are a dense sausage that is filled with a small amount of ground grain.
- This venison sausage with sage is like this one, but it has winter spices in it.
- Garlic sausage with basil, a summertime venison sausage.
You’ll find close to 40 other sausage recipes here.
Storing and Preserving Venison Sausage
Once made, the links will stay fresh in the fridge for a week. If you smoke them, they’ll last over 10 days. Venison sausage also freezes well.
We’re Making our Own Sausage! How to Make Venison and Pork Sausage
FAQ
Does deer sausage have pork?
Do all sausages contain pork?
Is there any sausage without pork?
Does reindeer sausage have pork in it?