COOK: Homemade Hot Italian Venison Sausage
- Serving & Pairing Ideas
- Hot Italian Venison Sausage Ingredients
- Kitchen Equipment Needed
- How to Make Hot Italian Venison Sausage
- Homemade Hot Italian Venison Sausage with Liver
This homemade spicy venison and pork Italian sausage recipe is highly seasoned with sweet herbs, spices, wine, and hot peppers. You can stuff the mixture into sausage casings and throw these sausages on the grill, saute them, or simmer them in tomato ragu. Or, use the bulk Italian sausage in your favorite recipes for homemade filled meat ravioli, sausage ragu, stuffed peppers, casseroles, pizzas, and more.
If you want to make this sausage even more nutrient-dense, you can add a bit of liver to the sausage mix. This hot Italian sausage recipe is a good way to disguise the stronger flavor of the organ meat. The liver, if you want to add it, adds a rich, mineral note to the sausage flavor without being overwhelming, and is rich in vitamin A.
You can also make this recipe as a plain pork Italian sausage by substituting pork shoulder for the venison and venison liver. Or, make a plain pork and venison sausage, leaving out the liver and substituting pork shoulder or half pork and half venison for the liver.
Serving & Pairing Ideas
This fresh hot Italian sausage is great on the grill, smoked, pan-seared, or gently poached in wine, broth, or tomato sauce… but however you prepare them, it’s delicious!
I like to pair these venison and pork sausages with grilled or caramelized onions and sweet bell peppers, and a dollop of grainy beer mustard or homemade giardiniera. Serve them on sturdy sausage buns, Italian bread, or with soft rye rolls, or by themselves with steamed or roasted vegetables.
They’re also delicious served on a bowl of homemade buttered egg noodles, spaghetti, gnocchi, or polenta. Brown and simmer the sausages in a rich tomato marinara or meaty ragu or spaghetti sauce. Pan-sear and slice them, then toss with penne or farfalle and pesto or tomato sauce, then bake.
Hot Italian Venison Sausage Ingredients
I’ve used a blend of pork and venison here, but you could replace the venison meat portion with beef, or any large hoofed game like elk, sheep, or goat, or even bear… but most of us will be using more conventional game or just pork.
The liver is optional, but a nice variation and way to get this nutritious organ meat into your diet!
- boneless venison, cubed
- shoulder, roasts, stew meat, or lean trim from butchering. You can substitute pork or beef for the venison, or other large hooved game or even bear.
- if you use bear meat, make extra sure to cook the sausages to an internal temperature of 170F, or 165F for at least three minutes
- fatty pork shoulder or fatback, cubed
- look for pork shoulder or cushion with good marbling to supplement the lean venison for juicy, flavorful sausages.
- venison or pork liver
- optional; substitute more venison or pork shoulder for the liver portion if you don’t want to use it or don’t have any on hand
- kosher salt
- flaky, not coarse salt so that it will dissolve evenly into the sausage blend
- granulated sugar or dextrose
- regular granulated sugar or corn sugar
- adds flavor and helps retain moisture for juicier sausages
- minced fresh garlic
- dried oregano
- dried basil
- coriander seed (whole and ground)
- fennel or anise seed (or a blend)
- fresh ground black pepper
- red pepper flakes
- sweet paprika
- cayenne or hot paprika
- fresh parsley
- granulated garlic powder (not garlic salt)
- dry red wine (or red wine vinegar and water)
- adds flavor, moisture, and acidity to the sausage blend
- nonfat dry milk powder (or soy protein isolate)
- this helps the sausages retain moisture and makes the blend more cohesive
- Note: Omit this if you plan to pressure-can the finished sausage or use it in a spaghetti sauce or ragu recipe for canning.
- hog sausage casings (optional)
- soaked at least 30 minutes and rinsed well in cold water
- skip this if you are freezing packages of bulk sausage or using it all as fresh loose sausage.
Kitchen Equipment Needed
Meat Grinder or Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixer:
I use a meat grinder attachment on my KitchenAid mixer, but if you make a lot of sausages or ground meat, it’s worth investing in a higher-powered dedicated grinder.
Keep everything very cold, and take breaks from grinding meat to clear any sinew from the grinder blade. Make sure you unplug the grinder or mixer before unscrewing the blade cover!
Sausage Press or Sausage Stuffing Attachment for Stand Mixer:
If you make a lot of sausage, it’s worth getting a sausage press, which is much more efficient, faster, and less likely to overwork the meat mixture when stuffing than forcing it back through the worm-drive of the KitchenAid meat grinder, but if you are just starting out or only occasionally make sausage, it will do.
I recommend buying a spacer plate with large openings to use instead of the grinder die if your grinder didn’t come with them. If you don’t have one, use the largest grinder plate you have, or try stuffing without a plate.
Large Mixing Bowls, Tubs, or Hotel Pans:
You will need to mix the cubed meat with the spices, and to hold the meat as you grind it. You’ll need another larger bowl or tub for ice to nest under the bowl of sausage mixture if you aren’t working in a cold area or walk-in cooler.
Sheet Pans or Trays:
Use these to catch the finished sausage while you are pressing it, and to refrigerate it before using or freezing.
How to Make Hot Italian Venison Sausage
Prep sausage ingredients:
- Cube the meat and measure out all of the seasoning ingredients.
- Combine all ingredients except the casing and binding mixture (wine and milk powder) in a large bowl, cover tightly and chill, preferably overnight but at least one hour.
- 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 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).
- I like to grind this sausage mixture first through the larger die plate on my KitchenAid, and then do a second pass through a finer plate with half to 2/3rds of the sausage mixture.
- This will give you a tightly bound sausage that still has a bit of hearty texture.
- You can also do all of it through a fine plate for a finer sausage, or a single pass if you have a high-powered grinder.
- Stop periodically, unplug your grinder, and clear silverskin and sinew from grinder blade and plates.
- Add these to your trimmings bag to make homemade stock if you save scraps in your freezer.
- Mix the wine (or water and vinegar) and dry milk powder into a slurry and pour over the ground seasoned meat.
- Mix the sausage with clean hands or a large stand mixer with a paddle attachment, until well bound, uniform, and sticky. Keep it cold, both for food safety and to protect the texture!
- Cook a very small patty of the sausage mixture in a saute pan, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Stuff into casings:
- If you are using a mixer and grinder attachment, replace the meat grinder die plate with an open spacer plate and stuffing tube.
- Thread the rinsed sausage casings onto the stuffing tube, tie off the end (you can use butcher’s twine or tie the casing in a knot), and stuff the 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 the sausages into links by twisting or tying off sections, or coil into large rings.
- Use a sausage pricker or sharp skewer or tip of a paring knife to pop any air bubbles.
Chill and store your sausage:
- Refrigerate your Italian sausage overnight if possible before cooking or freezing. This will allow the casings to dry out a bit and tighten up the sausages.
- Portion and freeze any sausage you won’t use in the next few days.
- If you have a vacuum sealer, use it, otherwise wrap well with plastic wrap or butcher’s paper, or store in zip-seal freezer bags or an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
Homemade Hot Italian Venison Sausage with Liver
Ingredients
- 3 ½ lbs fatty pork shoulder
- 2 ½ lbs cubed venison
- 1 lb venison liver (optional… substitute half pork shoulder and half venison if you don't have or want to use this) (cleaned, cubed, and soaked in cold water for 12-24 hours)
Hot Italian sausage seasoning
- 5 cloves garlic (peeled & minced)
- 3 tbsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar or dextrose
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp toasted fennel seed (substitute anise seed for up to half)
- 3 tbsp dried oregano leaves
- 2 tbsp dried basil leaves
- 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp toasted coriander seed
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seed
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne or hot paprika
Binding:
- ½ cup dry milk powder or soy protein isolate
- 1 ¼ cup dry red wine, chilled (or 1 cup of wine + ¼ cup red wine vinegar, or ½ red wine vinegar + ¾ ice water)
Casing:
- 12-15 feet pork sausage casings (rinsed & soaked at least 30 minutes)
Instructions
Prep and chill sausage ingredients:
- Cube the meat and measure out all of the seasoning ingredients.
- Combine all ingredients except the casing and binding mixture (wine and milk powder) in a large bowl, cover tightly and chill, preferably overnight but at least one hour.
- 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 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).
- I like to grind this sausage mixture first through the larger die plate on my KitchenAid, and then do a second pass through a finer plate with half to 2/3rds of the sausage mixture.This will give you a tightly bound sausage that still has a bit of hearty texture.You can also do all of it through a fine plate for a finer sausage, or a single pass if you have a high-powered grinder.
- Stop periodically, unplug your grinder, and clear silverskin and sinew from grinder blade and plates.
- Mix the wine (or water and vinegar) and dry milk powder into a slurry and pour over the ground seasoned meat.
- Mix the sausage with clean hands or a large stand mixer with a paddle attachment, until well bound, uniform, and sticky. Keep everything very cold, both for food safety and to protect the texture!
- Cook a very small patty of the sausage mixture in a saute pan, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary, mixing again well to combine.
Stuff into casings:
- If you are using a stand mixer and grinder attachment, replace the meat grinder die plate with an open spacer plate and sausage stuffing tube (horn).
- Thread the rinsed sausage casings onto the stuffing tube, tie off the end (you can use butcher's twine or tie the casing in a knot), and stuff the 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 the sausages into links by twisting or tying off sections, or coil them into large rings.
- Use a sausage pricker or sharp skewer or tip of a paring knife to pop any air bubbles.
Chill and store your sausage:
- Refrigerate your Italian sausage overnight if possible before cooking or freezing. This will allow the casings to dry out a bit and tighten up the sausages.
- Portion and freeze any sausage you won’t use in the next few days.
- If you have a vacuum sealer, use it, otherwise wrap well with plastic wrap or butcher’s paper, or store in zip-seal freezer bags or an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
- You can grill, smoke, pan-sear, or braise these sausages in tomato sauce, broth, or wine, or however you like to cook your Italian sausages!
Notes
Nutrition
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