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–+ servings
a close-up photo of a plate of homemade hot Italian venison sausage links braised in tomato ragu on a bed of bucatini noodles.

Homemade Hot Italian Venison Sausage with Liver

Alewyfe
This venison and pork Italian sausage is highly seasoned with sweet herbs, spices, and hot peppers, and a good way to disguise a bit of liver. It adds a rich, mineral note without being overwhelming, and is rich in vitamin A.
You can also make this recipe as a plain pork 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.
5 from 1 vote
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Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian, Italian-American
YIELD 30 sausages
Calories 142 kcal

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

Notes on Nutritional Information: The values shown are estimates, and calculated using the liver variation with nonfat dry milk and dry red wine. Substituting other ingredients will change the nutritional estimates. 
Important note about binding ingredients: Omit the dry milk powder or soy protein isolate if you plan to pressure-can the finished sausage links, or use the bulk sausage in a spaghetti sauce or ragu recipe for pressure-canning. Follow USDA-tested safe canning procedures, including not canning dairy or starches!

Nutrition

Calories: 142kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 19gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 773mgPotassium: 374mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3152IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 3mg
Keyword BBQ, charcuterie, comfort food, fall, fall foods, freezer meal, game-day food, grilling, sausage, sausagemaking, spicy, venison, wild food, wild game, winter
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