DIY: Wild Game Charcuterie- How to Make Homemade Venison Wiejeska (Fresh Kielbasa with marjoram)

• Serving & Pairing Ideas
• Venison Wiejeska Sausage Ingredients
• How to Make Venison Wiejeska
• Venison Wiejeska (Fresh Kielbasa Sausage with Marjoram)

Wiejeska is a garlicky polish sausage that is often served at the holidays, and especially around Christmas, but is delicious anytime.

Traditionally, wiejeska was made with pork and veal, but this homemade venison wiejeska sausage version is fantastic and flavorful, and a great way to use your wild game meat. This wild game sausage recipe is adapted from the wiejeska recipe in the classic Charcuterie cookbook by Ruhlman & Polcyn.

I’ve used a blend of pork and venison, but you could replace the venison portion with any large hoofed game like elk, sheep, or goat, or even use bear (if you make sure to cook the sausages to an internal temperature of 170F, or 165F for at least three minutes).

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Serving & Pairing Ideas

This fresh sausage is great on the grill, smoked, pan-seared, or gently poached… but however you prepare it, your friends and family are sure to love this venison wiejeska sausage!

I like to pair them with homemade sauerkraut, grilled onions, and a grainy mustard, and serve them on sturdy sausage buns, or with soft rye rolls. They’re also delicious served up with homemade buttered egg noodles or spaetzle, pierogi, or potato pancakes.

Venison Wiejeska Sausage Ingredients

• boneless venison, cubed
• fatty pork shoulder or fatback, cubed
• kosher salt
• minced fresh garlic
• dried marjoram
• fresh ground black pepper
• granulated garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• ice water
• hog sausage casings, soaked and rinsed

How to Make Venison Wiejeska

Prep sausage ingredients:

• Cube the meat and measure out all of the seasoning ingredients.
• Combine all ingredients except water in a large bowl and chill, preferably overnight.
• Put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour before grinding if possible. You want the meat as cold as possible without being frozen.

Grind & bind sausage mixture:

• Grind (small die) the seasoned meat mixture into a bowl (use an ice bath under the bowl, especially if you are working in a warm kitchen or if you didn’t partially freeze the mix).
• Stop periodically, unplug your grinder, and clear silverskin and sinew from grinder blade and plates.
• Add ice water and mix until well bound, uniform, and sticky. Keep it cold!
• Cook a very small patty in a saute pan, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Stuff into casings:

• If using a mixer and grinder attachment, replace grinder die with an open spacer plate and stuffing tube.
• Thread the rinsed casings onto the stuffing tube, tie off the end, and stuff sausage mixture into casings.
• Use the wooden plunger from the grinder attachment or a sausage press to push the mix into the casings, and keep a gentle even tension on the casings- fill evenly but don’t overstuff.

• Form into links by twisting or tying off sections, or coil into rings.
• Use a sausage pricker or sharp skewer or tip of a paring knife to pop any air bubbles.
• Refrigerate overnight if possible and then portion and freeze any sausage you won’t use in the next few days.

Venison Wiejeska (Fresh Kielbasa Sausage with Marjoram)

Alewyfe

A garlicky game sausage that is often served at the holidays, but is delicious anytime. Traditionally, wiejesca was made with pork and veal, but this venison version is fantastic. Great on the grill, smoked, pan-seared, or gently poached.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Course Appetizer, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Polish

YIELD 5 pounds

Equipment

• Meat grinder (freestanding or mixer attachment) with fine die
• Sausage press or mixer attachment and sausage die plate (open grinder plate spacer)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 ½ lb venison cubed
• 1 ½ lb fatty pork shoulder or fatback cubed
• 1 ½ oz kosher salt 3 T
• ¼ c. minced fresh garlic
• 1 ½ t. dried marjoram
• 1 T. fresh ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. granulated garlic powder not salt
• ½ c. ice water
• hog casings soaked and rinsed

Instructions

 

• Cube the meat and measure out all of the seasoning ingredients.
• Combine all ingredients except water in a large bowl and chill, preferably overnight. Put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour before grinding if possible.
• Grind (small die) the mixture into a bowl (use an ice bath under the bowl, especially if you are working in a warm kitchen or if you didn't partially freeze the mix). Stop periodically, unplug grinder, and clear silverskin and sinew from grinder blade and plates.
• Add ice water and mix until well bound, uniform, and sticky. Keep it cold!
• Cook a very small patty in a saute pan, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• If using a mixer and grinder attachment, replace grinder die with an open spacer plate and stuffing tube. Thread the rinsed casings onto the stuffing tube, tie off the end, and stuff sausage mixture into casings. Use the wooden plunger from the grinder attachment or a sausage press to push the mix into the casings, and keep a gentle even tension on the casings- fill evenly but don’t overstuff.
• Form into links by twisting or tying off sections, or coil into rings. Use a sausage pricker or sharp skewer or tip of a paring knife to pop any air bubbles.
• Refrigerate overnight if possible and then portion and freeze any sausage you won't use in the next few days.

Keyword charcuterie, holiday, kielbasa, sausage, sausagemaking, venison, wild food, wild game

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