Homemade Smoked Venison Sausage

We are knee-deep in fall, which means it’s time for hunting…and for my husband’s smoked venison sausage!!

He usually makes a couple of batches of smoked venison – in the spring and again in the fall.  The spring batch gets us through the summer grilling season.  And the fall batch, well, that’s just for good measure.  😉

To do this, though, you need to freeze your venison after hunting season.  And that is a tutorial for another day. 

So, for this tutorial, we are using frozen venison.  But you can also use fresh venison.  That’s probably better, anyhow.  😉

Sadly, I am writing this post without his help, so you’ll have to bear with me.  All I did was snap pictures as he worked.  If you have any questions at all, please put them in the comments below, and I’ll get the answers for you.

[I have to tell you that this post contains affiliate links, which means Making Mommas earns a (very!) small commission if you decide to purchase your supplies through my links. It costs you nothing extra and helps to support the Making Mommas blog. For my complete disclosure policy, click here.]

For homemade smoked venison sausage, you’ll need:

  • venison
  • pork sausage

I’ll leave links at the bottom of this post for you if you need to purchase these things.

Plus, before getting started, you should know that this is a two-day process. It takes one day to stuff the sausages, and then it’s best to let them rest overnight, before smoking them. So, it’s a good weekend project. 😉

These smoked venison sausages look and taste very much like brats. They aren’t breakfast sausages. So, if you are looking for that recipe, maybe I’ll share it the next time he makes breakfast sausage.  😉

How to make smoked venison sausage at home

homemade smoked venison sausage
Sorry…I’m not a food blogger, so my pictures aren’t professional and gorgeous! They are just snapshots.

My husband used to bring his meat to a meat locker for processing. But that gets pretty spendy!  And when you are on a tight budget, it is hard to find the money for it. So, he decided to invest in the equipment and do it himself!

Now, all these years later, our boys do it with him!  What a handy skill to teach your kids – and a great way to spend time together.  ☺️

Step one:  prepare your meat and casings

how to make homemade venison sausage
Rinse your meat before grinding

If your meat is frozen, you’ll need to thaw it in the fridge for a few days. 

After your meat is thawed, rinse the excess blood off of it.

If your meat isn’t already cut into one-inch pieces, cut it now. It’ll make grinding easier.

how to make homemade venison brats
Soak your casings while you prep the meat

Next, rinse the casings under cold water to remove the salt from them. Then soak them in warm water for about one hour, while you are grinding your venison.

Step two:  grind the venison

After your meat has drained, run the venison through the grinder.

Push your venison through the grinder.

It looks like dog food! 😂🤣

Ground venison

Step three:  mix in the ground pork sausage

Use equal part venison and equal part pork sausage, a one-to-one ratio.

Mix the ground pork sausage with the ground venison sausage.

Mix ground pork sausage with your ground venison at a one-to-one ratio

Step four:  prepare your venison sausage seasoning

Hi Mountain polish sausage seasoning kit

My husband usually doesn’t make his own seasoning. He just buys a Polish Sausage seasoning kit. He likes the Hi Mountain brand.

Mixed version sausage seasoning

Then, follow the package directions and mix your venison sausage seasoning.

Step five:  mix the venison sausage seasoning into the meat mixture

Pour your seasoning over the meat mixture and then just work the seasoning in by hand.

DIY venison brats
Mix the seasoning with the meat.
Mix the seasoning with the meat

Step six:  run the seasoned meat mixture through the meat grinder again

After your meat is seasoned, run it through the meat grinder a second time.  This mixes the seasoning, pork, and venison together even better, and grinds it to a finer texture.

Run the meat through the grinder a second time.

Step seven:  stuff your sausage casings with the meat

You know what sausage casings are, right?  😆 Yup, that’s right – intestines!  And they look and smell just like you would expect them to.  🤢  Yet, I still eat my husband’s smoked venison sausage.  🤷🏻‍♀️

What can I say?  It’s delish!

Before stuffing the casings, my husband likes to dump a can of beer into the meat mixture. If you do that, be sure to mix it in well.

And then stuff your casings with the meat!

I think there’s an art to it, so just check out the pictures and watch the videos before trying it for the first time.

And all I can say is that practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the better you’ll be.

So, first, load up your stuffer with the meat mixture and run it through, just to the point where it is at the tip of the stuffer tube.  Then, gently ease the casing onto the stuffer. 

Set your tip.
And then load the casing onto the stuffer.

Tie the end off.  Be sure to pull it tight.

Tie the end off.

Then gently push the meat mixture through the stuffer and into the casing, using your hands to mold the sausage as you go along.

If you get a hole, it is okay.  You can leave it if you choose to do so, but my husband recommends cutting it off and starting over. 

Stuff it! Try not to get any holes, if you can help it. But hey – holes happen. 🤷🏻‍♀️

As you near the end of the casing, slow down, remove the casing and tie a tight knot.

Carefully tie off the end.

Continue until all your casings are stuffed, or until you run out of meat mixture.

how to make your own deer brats
Stuffed venison sausage.

When you are finished, let your meat rest.  Overnight is best, but do not let it rest for more than 24 hours.

My hubby, relaxing after a hard day’s work ☺️

Step eight:  smoke your venison sausage

In the morning, load up your smoker with the venison sausage!

Lay the sausages on the screens, or hang from the racks, if you have one of those.

Your sausage needs to be dry to the touch before starting.

Smoke at 120º F for 1 hour, 160º F for 30 minutes, with the smoke “on”, and 180º F until the sausage reaches an internal temperature of 156ºF.

Leave the smoke on for up to 2 hours.

smoked deer brats
Now doesn’t that just look delicious?!?

Step nine:  freeze your smoked venison sausage

Vacuum Sealed Venison Sausage

We use the Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer to freeze all our meats, fruits, and vegetables.  You can find them at Walmart, or I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this post. 

You can use freezer bags if you’d like, but the Foodsaver keeps your smoked venison sausage fresher for longer.

Just follow the Foodsaver directions, when sealing your smoked venison sausage.

Generally, you can freeze your smoked venison sausage for one year. 

But ours never lasts that long.  😁

Step ten:  share with family and friends

You will be so proud of yourself after you’ve smoked your own venison sausage!! You’ll want to share it with all your family and friends! 😁

And they will love you for it!

And that’s it!!

It seems like it’d be really hard, but it’s not.  It’s just a process.

Do what my husband does – grab a beer, crank the tunes, and get to work!

Again, I’m trying to piece together how my husband smokes his venison sausage. So, if you have any questions, please post them in the comments below, and I’ll get the answers for you.

Enjoy your smoked venison sausage!

Meet my husband, Scott!  He is the go-to cook in our family. 

Our favorites:  ANYTHING he grills (although his grilled potatoes and veggies are to-die-for) and his HuHot. 

Scott is the proud father of six mischievous boys.  He is a certified welder and mechanic at Crystal Sugar, but when he’s not maintaining the plant you can find him maintaining his home!    (Because something is always broken….) 

His hobbies include hunting, fishing, woodworking, and snowmobiling, but his all-time favorite is just hanging out with his wife, his boys, and his German Shepherd.

Homemade Smoked Venison Sausage

No more buying store-bought deer brats! You can make your own smoked venison sausage brats at home. They are great grilled or over a campfire!

Equipment

  • 1 smoker
  • 1 meat grinder
  • 1 sausage stuffer
  • 1 venison sausage kit
  • 1 sausage casings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 part Venison It doesn't matter how much venison and sausage you use, as long as it is a 1-to-1 ratio.
  • 1 part Pork Sausage
  • 1 kit Polish Sausage Seasoning Kit (Hi Mountain)
  • 1 can beer optional

Instructions
 

  • Rinse excess blood off of your meat.
  • Rinse the casings under cold water to remove the salt from them.
  • Then soak your casings in warm water for about one hour, while grinding your meat.
  • After your meat has drained, run the venison through the grinder.
  • Mix the ground pork sausage in with the ground venison. You should have equal parts venison and ground pork sausage, a one-to-one ratio.
  • Prepare your venison sausage seasoning by following the kit directions.
  • Pour the seasoning over the meat mixture and work the seasoning in by hand.
  • Run the seasoned meat mixture through the meat grinder again.
  • If you'd like, mix one can of beer into the meat mixture.
  • Load up your stuffer with the meat mixture, and run it through to the tip of the stuffer tube.
  • Gently ease the casing onto the stuffer.
  • Tie the end of the casing.
  • Gently push the meat mixture through the stuffer and into the casing, using your hands to mold the casing as you go.
  • As you near the end of the casing, slow down, remove the casing, and tie a knot.
  • Continue until all of your casings are stuffed, or you run out of meat mixture.
  • Let your meat rest overnight.
  • In the morning, load up your smoker with the sausage.
  • Smoke at 120 degrees for 1 hour, 160 degrees for 30 minutes, with the smoke "on", and 180 degrees until the suasage reaches an internal temperature of 156 degrees F. Leave the smoke on for up to 2 hours.
  • If you'd like, freeze your sausage.

Get the ingredients & supplies!

Don’t have everything you need?  No problem! Here’s a list of the ingredients and supplies.  Just click on the one you need and order it straight off from Amazon.  

These links are affiliate links, which means if you choose to purchase from one of these links, Making Mommas may earn a small commission from the purchase.  This costs you nothing extra and helps support the Making Mommas blog.  For more information, see my disclosure statement.

homemade smoked venison sausage

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