VENISON MAPLE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE WITH FRESH SAGE
Updated: Sep 16
This homemade Venison Maple Breakfast Sausage recipe is one of the easiest and tastiest wild game sausages that I've ever eaten and for good reason. It's freshly prepared and packed with flavor!
Whether it's ground with the fat of a wild pig that you harvested or a delicious fatty domestic hog that your local butcher processed, this recipe will be a tasty treat.
If you follow these easy steps, you'll be making freezers full of homemade venison breakfast sausage for the whole family to enjoy at the breakfast table in no time. You do have the option of stuffing the venison sausage mixture inside of hog casings or lamb casings for sausage links or you can form them into breakfast sausage patties for a quick skillet meal.
Cooking Tips and Notes:
What Cuts From a Deer Can I Use to Make Breakfast Sausage?
Ideally, you can use any cut that you like that has little or no silver skin. Using cuts with a lot of silver skin will clog up your grinder blades, which in turn makes the attachments work harder and become hot. The easiest cuts to use are from the hind leg of a deer, such as the top round and bottom round. You can choose other cuts, but be prepared to do a little knife work to clean them of the connective tissues.
Keep The Equipment and Venison Cold:
Keeping your meat grinder attachments ice cold is just as important as fo the meat and fat. It plays a part in achieving superior flavor and texture with this sausage. Grinder attachments can warm up fast and when metal warms up, fat starts to melt. I also like to pre-chill the container that the ground pork will be falling into while grinding, in the freezer before starting as well.
Want a Leaner Sausage?
If you want a sausage with a little less fat content you can go with a ratio of %80 lean venison to %20 pork fat. So that would be 4 pounds venison and 1 pound of pork fat.
Can I Use Fresh Herbs In Place of Dried Herbs?
Sure thing! There's nothing wrong with using easily accessible simple ingredients such as dried herbs. For an even more convenient shortcut, you could also use salt-free poultry seasoning in place of the fresh herbs that I have listed below. The flavors won't be as bright and profound as with the fresh ingredients, but they will still be tasty.
How Long Does Breakfast Sausage Last in the Refrigerator?
I have no problem leaving the raw sausages in the refrigerator for up to a week if they are wrapped tightly. After a week, they start to lose flavor and color. Again, wrapping and storing them properly in an airtight container or plastic wrap will help with a quality shelf life.
Can You Freeze Breakfast Sausage?
Absolutely. Like most fatty sausages, if they are stored properly, they freeze well for around 3 months and still retain their quality. I like to wrap them first in a layer of plastic food wrap, followed by either freezer paper or freezer bags. Vacuum sealing is another great and convenient option.
Can I Use a Replacement for the Real Maple Syrup?
I don't recommend using artificial pancake syrup if you're looking to achieve the best flavor. The flavor qualities aren't the same and more than likely it contains food coloring and other additives. I also wouldn't use corn syrup, as there really isn't much flavor. A great option for extra flavor would be to use sorghum syrup or honey for sweetness. You can opt to leave the sweetness out altogether and add a little red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper for a spicy sausage.
Don't Burn the Sausage:
When cooking sausages with added sugars, you need to be extra careful not to burn the meat. I recommend cooking the sausage at around medium heat to get that golden brown color that most of us are after. You could take it up to medium-high heat, but I would be cautious.
Forming Sausage Patties:
A great way and probably the easiest way to form uniform sausage patties, is to roll the homemade sausage up into a log using food-grade plastic wrap. Place into the freezer until the ground meat mixture is firm. Remove the plastic wrap and cut into disks. However, the easiest way is to just patty them out with my hands right before cooking them.
Internal Temperature:
If you are working with wild boar/wild hog fat to incorporate into your sausages, the CDC/USDA recommends cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. If you are worried, you can easily do this with an instant-read thermometer.
Looking for other wild game recipes? These are a few of my favorites:
Lastly, if you make this simple homemade Venison Maple Breakfast Sausage Recipe, be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram! I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you've made.
Optional Equipment and Specialty Items:
VENISON MAPLE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE
Yield: 5 Pounds
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Author: Larry White
INGREDIENTS
3.5 pounds of venison, boneless (large dice)
1.5 pounds pork fatback (large dice)
3 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt (around 40 grams if using a different salt)
1/4 cup minced fresh or jarred ginger (or 1 tablespoon dried ginger)
2.5 teaspoons dried thyme
2.5 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1/4 cup fresh sage (finely chopped) or 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons dried sage
1/2 cup real maple syrup (chilled in the refrigerator)
1/2 cup ice-cold water
DIRECTIONS
Combine all of the ingredients except for the maple syrup and water into a large bowl. Toss thoroughly to combine.
Grind the venison mixture through the small die plate into your chilled mixing bowl or a bowl that is sitting over ice.
Using your stand mixer's paddle attachment (or a sturdy spoon), start mixing the sausage at a low speed. Slowly pour in the chilled maple syrup. Now slowly pour in the ice-cold water and mix on low speed until the liquids are fully combined and the meat has a tacky/sticky appearance.
Check for Seasoning: Fry a small piece of the sausage and taste. Now is the time to add seasoning as you see fit. This could be more salt, herbs, or syrup. If you want a little spice, you could add in a teaspoon or two of red pepper flakes. Repeat until you are satisfied with the finished product.
Refrigerate until needed or freeze for future use.
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