Cajun venison sausage is a great sausage to make not only because it’s ridiculously good but its a great way to use up some deer meat. This sausage can be made with any part of the deer and all you have to do is add some pork fat to it. Pork fat adds a lot of flavor, texture, and will yield a juicy bite.
If you don’t have a lot of venison and want to get the most out it, add pork shoulder, pork belly, or even beef to the recipe. This will still give you a nice venison flavor with a bigger yield.
Dan (a fellow You Tuber: Home in the Sticks) shares with us some cool tips and techniques in the video demonstration of this sausage. The spices that Dan used for this Cajun Venison sausage come from Targil Seasonings (out of Opelousas, La.). Targil Seasonings make a wide variety of Cajun spice blends that are all very tasty. I know this because they are practically in my back yard.
If you want to take a crack at making your own Cajun spice blend for this sausage check out the recipe below. You can adjust the heat level as you see fit.
Follow basic fresh sausage preparation practices when making this sausage.
- Clean and Sanitize all of your equipment.
- Keep your meat and grinder parts super cold (below 34F)
- Any liquid that is added to the mince needs to be ice cold
- Mix your very chilled meat and seasonings till the mince becomes very tacky
- Stuff the mince into sausage casings and prick out any air pockets
- Cook till the internal temperature reaches 155F
Here are a few things you might find useful when making sausage
- High Quality Natural Casings (AA Grade)
- Iodophor Sanitizer
- MK4 Thermapen (Accurate Thermometer)
- Chef Knife – KOTAI
- Boning Knife
- Sausage Pricker
- Iwatani Professional Chef Torch
- Insta Cure #1
- Non Fat Dry Milk Powder
- Meat Grinders
- Meat Mixers
- Sausage Stuffers
- Smokers
- Bella’s Cold Smoke Generator
Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask away. If you make this at home I’d love to hear about how it came out!!
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Cajun Venison Smoked Sausage
Ingredients
- 1362 g venison
- 908 g pork fat
- 36 g kosher salt
- 5.7 g Insta Cure #1
- 19 g cracked black pepper
- 45 g minced garlic
- 28 g smoked paprika
- 5 g cayenne powder
- 1.6 g crushed red pepper
- 12 g onion powder
- 4 g brown sugar
- 5 g thyme
- 3 g mustard powder
- 45 g nonfat dry milk powder
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- hog casings
Instructions
- Clean your meat of any silver skin, sinew, arteries and cut into small strips or cubes. Place the meat and fat in the freezer for an hour or until the temp reaches 32f – 34F.
- Prepare all of your seasonings and clean and rehydrate your casings
- Grind your very chilled meat and fat on a course plate (10mm)
- Add your seasonings and ice cold water to your mince meat and mix till it becomes very tacky. If you grab a small handful it will stick to your hand if you hold your hand upside down.
- Stuff your mince meat into the casings, link, and prick out any air pockets and let rest in the fridge overnight.
Smoking Schedule (optional)
- Start at 110F for 1 hour with your baffles fully opened. This will help dry out your sausageIncrease to 125F for 1 hour and begin to apply smokeincrease to 135F for 1 hour, then 155F for 1.5 hours, then increase to 175F till the internal temp reaches 145F.
- Once finished place in ice cold water to cool down and allow to bloom for several hours at room temperature.
- Enjoy!
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Hi Eric,
If I leave out the cure#1 will that make this a fresh sausage?
My wife doesn’t like smoked venison sausage smoked.
Should I just leave the cure in and make sure it is cooked to an internal temp of 150.
Thanks
Yes. If you leave out the cure it’s just a regular fresh sausage. If you don’t plan on smoking the sausage you can add the cure or leave it out.. Up to you. If you do add the cure be sure to let it hang out in your fridge overnight to let the cure work😁
Thanks
Offered to make some venison sausage for a good friend who had the luck of bagging a deer this past season. I added about 15% pork shoulder to the recipe rather than using only venison meat…it turned out to be a good call!
Recipe was EXCELLENT….one of the best, if not THE best, I’ve every made! Once again Eric, you hit a ‘homer’ with this one! My new go-to recipe for wild game sausage!
Hey Charles. Thanks for such feedback!!! I’m glad that you liked it!!
Hi Eric,
thank you so much for this recipe, and to Dan for the original.
I’ve just made three versions and they are all great – a raw sausage for the BBQ and a smoked snack stick (both in smaller casings) and as described above, which can be reheated or eaten as is. So versatile!
What a cracker recipe!
Excellent!!!
I made this with elk instead of venison yesterday, followed the cooking regimen and the sausages turned out fantastic. I cut the cayenne in half and the spice is perfect for me and the youngsters. The color of the sausages is spectacular, but the flavor is even better. Thanks for posting this recipe Eric.
Thanks, Carl, for the comment. Glad to hear it turned out yummy