Are you looking for the perfect homemade Christmas gift for a man? Skip the generic gift basket filled with summer sausage and cheese and make this recipe for wild game sausage instead. This tutorial walks you through the whole process step-by-step, making the best wild game sausages you’ve ever had.
Why You’ll Love This Wild Game Sausage
Here on Riverbend, we are fortunate to raise a year’s worth of meat, but we also enjoy supplementing that by hunting. If you are a hunter, too, you will need a tried and true recipe to process your harvest.
This wild game sausage works great for a variety of game meat. In fact, we have even used it when we butchered our domesticated Kune Kune pigs. We love Kune Kunes because they provide a lot of amazing fat, which we render into homemade lard.
If you’re interested in more sausage recipes using pork, our favorites are breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, German bratwurst and Chinese dumpling sausage. You can find all of these recipes together in this downloadable PDF.
What Is Wild Game Sausage
Wild game sausage is traditionally made from game animals such as wild boar, deer, elk, moose or bear. The key to making great sausage is to get the right lean-to-fat ratio. This ratio varies widely for game animals. Venison tends to be fairly lean, while bears will have a higher fat ratio.
The fat ratio can also vary depending on when the animal was harvested. For instance, a spring bear coming out of hibernation will be leaner than a fall bear getting ready for hibernation.
Seasoning Wild Game Sausage
Because the lean-to-fat ratio for wild game varies, you will likely need to add additional fat to make sausage.
While we prefer 75% lean meat with 25% pork fat for our breakfast and Italian sausage, we prefer 85% lean to 15% fat for our wild game sausage. We recommend that you start there and adjust the fat percentage according to your tastes and desires.
We also found that measuring in grams yielded the best results. Using a simple food scale makes measuring your lean-to-fat ratio and spice blends a snap.
| Ingredient | 1 kg. Pork (2.2 pounds) | 10 kg.Pork (22 pounds) |
| Salt | 18 grams | 180 grams |
| Bay Leaves | 4 grams | 40 grams |
| Ground Black Pepper | 4 grams | 40 grams |
| Celery Seed | 1.5 grams | 15 grams |
| Fresh Garlic | .5 grams | 5 grams |
| Red Pepper Flakes (Optional) | 1 gram | 10 grams |
How to Make Wild Game Sausage
Supplies Needed
- Meat Grinder – The most affordable option is a food processor or a KitchenAid meat grinder attachment. However, if you are making sausage on a large scale, we recommend an industrial meat grinder.
- Food Scale – This recipe is measured in grams. Using a food scale is also helpful in achieving the right lean-to-fat ratio.
- Sausage Casings – These sausage casings are what we use. Make sure the sausage casing size matches the size links you want to make. Watch the video for the most straightforward example of how to prepare your sausage casings.
- Sausage Stuffer – You can go with an electric sausage stuffer, but we’ve found that a hand-crank sausage stuffer is the easiest to control and have fewer parts that can break.
- Wrapping Materials – If you want to freeze your sausage links, you will need plastic wrap, freezer paper, and tape.
Ingredients Needed
You’ll want the following ingredients and the seasonings listed above measured and ready to go. The amounts will vary depending on how large your batch is, so refer to the chart above for exact amounts.
- Wild Game – Use whatever game meat (or domestic pork) you have on hand. Whatever you choose, just make sure you have an 85% meat to 15% fat ratio.
- Pork Fat – If you’re not butchering your own pigs, pork fat can usually be obtained by asking a butcher.
- Seasonings – Refer to the chart above for our favorite combination of herbs and spices.
- Red Wine Vinegar – Certain wild game has a strong “gamey” flavor. The acid in red wine vinegar will help to neutralize that. Use 30 ml for a 1kg batch or 300 ml for a 10kg batch.
- Ice Water – Use 30 ml for a 1kg batch or 300 ml for a 10kg batch.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Grind meat and desired fat using the large grinder plate on your meat grinder. Repeat using the small grinder plate. Remember, the ideal ratio of meat to fat is about 15%.
- Mix all the spices with the vinegar and water. Combine mixture into the ground meat until evenly distributed throughout.
- Take the ground meat mixture and, using a hand-crank sausage stuffer and sausage casings, thread the casing onto the stuffer hose.
- Tie a knot at the end of the casing and begin filling the casings with the ground meat.
- To keep the sausage from getting piled up in a heap, arrange it on the counter in a large spiral (as shown in the video).
- Once the entire casing is filled, tie off the other end and begin twisting into desired-sized links.
- Package sausage into serving sizes. Wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then again in freezer paper.
- Freeze for up to one year.
- Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.
Did you make this recipe? If so, please leave a star⭐rating and your comments in the recipe card below. This really helps us out, and we love to get feedback. Also, snap a photo of your sausage and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily so we can see!
FAQ’s
Wild game sausage is made from meats like venison, wild boar, or elk. It’s a tasty twist on regular sausage.
Wild game sausage comes in many flavors. Wild boar sausage is rich and savory. Venison sausage is leaner and more delicate.
You’ll need a meat grinder, sausage stuffer, and casings. The capacity of equipment depends on how big your operation is.
Wild game sausage tastes unique compared to domestic meats. The flavor changes based on the game meat and added spices.
It’s important to store wild game sausage right. Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer. Cook it to at least 165°F for safety.
Wild game sausage can be grilled, pan-fried, or smoked. It is served with peppers, onions, and potatoes as a side dish.
Other Posts You May Enjoy
- Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe
- Italian Sausage
- German Bratwurst
- Chinese Dumpling Sausage
- Rendering Lard (or Tallow) for Homestead Cooking
- How to Cure Bacon
Wild Game Sausage
Equipment
- Meat Grinder
- Food Scale
- Sausage Casings
- Sausage Stuffer
- Plastic Wrap optional
- Freezer Paper optional
- Tape optional
Ingredients
- 850 grams venison or other wild game meat, cubed
- 150 grams pork sausage cubed
- 30 ml red wine vinegar
- 30 ml ice water
- 18 grams salt
- 4 grams bay leaves ground
- 4 grams black pepper ground
- 1.5 grams celery seed
- .5 grams fresh garlic minced
- 1 gram red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Grind meat and desired fat using the large grider plate on your meat grinder. Repeat using the small grinder plate. Remember, the ideal ratio of meat to fat is about 15%.
- Mix all the spices with the vinegar and water. Combine mixture into the ground meat until evenly distributed throughout.
- Take the ground meat mixture and, using a hand-crank sausage stuffer and sausage casings, thread the casing onto the stuffer hose.
- Tie a knot at the end of the casing and begin filling the casings with the ground meat.
- To keep the sausage from getting piled up in a heap, arrange it on the counter in a large spiral (as shown in the video).
- Once the entire casing is filled, tie off the other end and begin twisting into desired-sized links.
- Package sausage into serving sizes. Wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then again in freezer paper.
- Freeze for up to one year.
- Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.
Notes
| Ingredient | 1 kg. Pork (2.2 pounds) | 10 kg.Pork (22 pounds) |
| Salt | 18 grams | 180 grams |
| Bay Leaves | 4 grams | 40 grams |
| Ground Black Pepper | 4 grams | 40 grams |
| Celery Seed | 1.5 grams | 15 grams |
| Fresh Garlic | .5 grams | 5 grams |
| Red Pepper Flakes (Optional) | 1 gram | 10 grams |
