My dad usually gets his deer processed, and he tried this one processor in east Texas. They made him a venison pan sausage that was delicious, but getting your deer processed can be quite pricey. I decided to do my own take on this venison pan sausage.
It turned out great and goes with eggs or any breakfast food. I also use it in a Venison Bolognese recipe I made, which is a family favorite!
For this recipe, you will need a meat grinder with a medium grinding plate and preferably a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Yields ~5lbs depending on waste from grinder. Have a vacuum sealer or other way to freeze extra meat ready to go.
We keep our meat in an extremely cold freezer. I take the meat out the night before and put it in the refrigerator. When I make the sausage, it is still partially frozen the next morning when I grind it. Keeping the meat cold is essential so your grinder does not overheat and precook (yucky!) the meat.
Venison Pan Sausage
Ingredients
- 3.5 lbs venison
- 1.5 pork fat*
- 1.5 T Sage
- 1 T Red pepper more or less depending on spice tolerance
- 1 t Garlic powder
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2.5 T Salt less if desired
- 2.5 t Ground pepper
- 2 1/4 t Brown sugar
- 1/2 T Thyme
Instructions
- Cut venison and pork fat into small cubes that will fit in your meat grinder and place to the side.
- Mix seasonings together in a small bowl.
- Toss the meat together with the spices and put the meat on a baking sheet or casserole dish**. Cover with aluminum foil and place this back in the freezer to keep the meat extremely cold (30 minutes).
- Next, grind your meat. The first grind will give you a rough chop between the meats and the spices.
- Once all meat has been ground, cover with foil and place back into the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Grind your meat again. The second grind will be a much smoother mixture, which is what you want with pan sausage.
- Place meat into your stand mixer. This might be a two step process depending on bowl size of your mixer.
- Mix meat on low speed for 1-5 minutes. This will ensure spices are evenly spread throughout.
- Make a small patty and cook in a pan over medium-high heat until cooked through(~2-3minutes per side). Taste this patty and adjust seasonings as desired mixing meat and seasonings well again.
- Cook up desired amount and freeze the rest.
Was looking for a breakfast sausage that wasn’t chorizo or maple, these fit the bill. They were delicious, even managed to get the kids to eat some even though they’re picky carbotareans.
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the feedback! 🙂