Today we will be making a Polish Hunters Sausage inspired by the traditional Polish Kiełbasa Myśliwska. It’s a double-smoked and dried sausage, giving it that deep, savory flavor and firm texture that develops naturally through the process. The result is a shelf-stable sausage with a rich, smoky character that’s meant to be enjoyed on the go or on a charcuterie board with cheese and fruit.

There’s something special about these old-world sausages. They were made to last, but more importantly, they were made to be enjoyed.

Here are a few things you might find useful when making this sausage.

SavorYe Flavor Booster
Calabrian Pepper Sweet and Hot (For 15% off your spice order use the code – 2GUYS )
8.4 QT Stand Mixer
Sausage Stuffers
Meat Grinder
Stuffing Horn Cleaner
Digital Smokers (I use the model 4D Pro-series WiFi)
Bella’s Cold Smoke Generator
High Quality Natural Casings (AA Grade)
Non Fat Dry Milk (Binder for better texture and moisture retention)
Potato Starch (Binder for better texture and moisture retention)
Insta Cure #1
Eco Cure #1 (A Nitrite free alternative to curing your meat)
Cure Accelerator
Thermapen ONE (Accurate Thermometer)
Sausage Pricker
Kotai Chef Knife
Butcher Twine & Dispenser
Small accurate Scale for spices
Drying rack and tray
Custom Cutting Board
Jende Lapping plate for sharpening our grinder plates and knife

Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Polish Hunter Venison Sausage

Double Smoked, Ultra Savory, and Shelf Stable

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time4

Total Time11 4 30

How much do you want to make? 1000 grams

Ingredients

Metric – US Customary

500 g venison
200 g lean pork
300 g pork back fat
18 g kosher salt
2.5 g insta cure #1
8 g minced garlic
3 g black pepper
1.25 g ground juniper berries
2.5 g marjoram
7 g SavorYe
25 g potato starch
100 g water
hog casings

Instructions

Prepare the casings

Rinse off the salt and flush the casings with some cool water. Place the cleaned casings in some fresh water with some baking soda in it (I use 1 tsp per quart of water) and place in the refrigerator. If you let your casings soak for at least 12 hours, they will be nice and tender by the time you use them.

Prepare the Meat

Clean meat from any silver skin and arteries. Chill the meat and the fat so that the temperature is below 34f (1.1c)
Grind chilled pork meat, fat, and 1/4 of the venison on a course plate (8mm – 10mm). Then Grind the rest of the venison on a fine 4mm plate. Rechill. Keep the temp under 34f (1.1c)
Mix all the meat together along with the rest of the ingredients (spices, liquids, binder) and mix till the meat turns into a sticky batter. The meat mixture will stick to your hand when you grab a small handful of it and turn your hand upside down.
Stuff mixture in your casings and link them to your desired size. If you notice any air pockets, be sure to prick them out
Place the sausage in your refrigerator overnight so that the cure can do its job
The next day, smoke the sausage using incremental adjustments in temperature to slowly bring the sausage up to a core temperature of 145f (62.7c) – 150F (65.5c).
OPTIONAL: Once cooked place the sausage in a cool humid room for 1-2 weeks. The ideal temp should be around 55f (13c) with a 70% – 80% humidity. Dry curing cabinets works great or if you have a basement or cellar that is nice and cool. If you don't have either you can always place the sausage in a paper bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator (try not to over crowd the sausage) and let the sausage dry in there. How long you let this sausage dry is up to you. If you prefer a softer Hunters Sausage you can pull it at 5-7 days. If you prefer more of a salami type texture you can pull it at 14 days.
OPTIONAL: After 24 hours cold smoke your sausage for 4-6 hours then rehang in a cool humid area to complete the drying process
This sausage is technically done after cooking and you can eat it right then. The smoking and drying steps are for longer preservation

If you have a digital convection smoker:

1 hour at 100f (37.7c) with the fan on at 50%. This dries out the sausage.
1 hour at 125f (51.6c) start adding smoke. Fan still on at 50%
1.5 hours at 150f (65.5c)
The finally increase the temp to 170f (76.6c) till the internal temperature of your sausage reaches 145f (62.7c). Once you hit your target internal, let the sausage remain there for 3-5 minutes for proper pasteurization. I like to add an additional warming stage to my smoker where I'll back the temperature down to 145f (62.7c) to complete pasteurization.

If you have a non convection digital smoker this is a great cooking schedule:

1.5 hours at 100f (37.7c) – this dries out the sausage (leave the dampers wide open and leave the door slightly ajar)
1 hour at 125f (51.6c) – this is when I start applying smoke
1 hour at 155f (68.3c)
1 hour at 175f (79.4c)
then I bump up to 200f (93.3c) until I reach an internal of 145f (62.7c). Make sure you let the sausage cook for at least 3-5 minutes once you hit the 145f (62.7c) temperature to achieve proper pasteurization.

If you are cooking on a pit or offset:

on indirect heat start smoking sausages while the pit is at 150f (65.5c) and smoke for 3 hours.
Increase the temperature to 250f (121.1c) and cook till you get to an internal of 150f (65.5c)

Storage Instructions

For long term storage, place the smoked dried sausages in a vacuum sealed bag and refrigerate or freeze. If you dry your sausage to the firmness of a salami you can simply store in an airtight container without refrigeration.

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