THE ULTIMATE SPICY VENISON BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Updated: Apr 6

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This easy homemade Spicy Venison Breakfast Sausage Recipe is one of the most satisfying breakfast delicacies that you can make. It's a lot easier and faster than making your own bacon, plus you can change the flavor profile to your liking quite easily. I'm a huge fan of spicy breakfast sausage and wanted to create a recipe that has brighter flavors than dried chili flakes or powder. So I decided to use roasted green chilies in their place. Roasted green chilies (canned or fresh) add a little heat, smokiness, sweetness, and a welcomed robust flavor to this breakfast sausage. This sausage freezes very well and can also be stuffed inside of casings if you like.

Venison Breakfast Sandwich

Cooks Notes:

What Cuts from the Deer Can I Use to Make this Venison Sausage? In theory, you could use any cut from a deer to make the sausage. But using cuts like the shank or sirloin tip will have you fighting with silver-skin whole trying to grind the venison. I recommend using cuts that have no, or minimal connective tissue such as top round, bottom round, eye of round and loins.
Keep The Meat and Equipment Cold: Keeping your meat grinder attachments ice cold is just as important as for 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.
How Long Does Venison Breakfast Sausage Last in the Refrigerator? I have no problem leaving the uncooked sausages in the refrigerator for up to a week if they are well-wrapped. After that, 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.
Freezing Venison Breakfast Sausage? 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.
Swapping Fresh Herbs for Dried Herbs? Yep! There's nothing wrong with using simple ingredients. You can also take another shortcut and use the same quantity of salt-free poultry seasoning in place for what herbs that I have listed. The flavors won't be as bright and profound as with fresh, but they will still be tasty.
Making 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, most of the time I just patty them out with my hands right before cooking them.
Making Seasoning Adjustments: After all of your ingredients are mixed together, now is the time to make adjustments. I highly suggest cooking off a small bite of the sausage and adjust the seasoning to your liking. You can add more maple syrup for sweetness, peppers for heat or salt and pepper to your taste buds.

Optional Equipment and Specialty Items:

THE ULTIMATE SPICY VENISON BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Yield: Around 2 pounds

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1.5 pound boneless venison, diced
8 oz pork back fat, diced
1 sweet onion (finely chopped)
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 large poblano peppers or 1/2 cup of canned green chiles
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger)
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
ice cold water, as needed (usually around 1/4 cup)

DIRECTIONS

If using canned chiles, skip to step 2. On your grill or in your oven under the broiler, roast and char the chilies on each side. Place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Peel the skins off of the chilies and remove the seeds. Roughly chop the chilies. Place them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill.
Place all of the ingredients except the water and maple syrup in a large bowl. Toss the mixture to coat the meat and fat.
Grind the venison mixture through the small die attachment of your grinder. Place the ground mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large metal bowl and a sturdy spoon.
Mix the ingredients until they just start to incorporate. Now slowly add the water and maple syrup while mixing. Keep mixing until the sausage ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture is tacky. If the sausage appears to be dry and not tacky, add a little more ice cold water and repeat the mixing process.
Cook a small portion of the sausage in a skillet and check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Looking for other venison sausage recipes? These are my a few of my favorites:

Venison Salami Cotto

Venison Summer Sausage Jerky

Venison Poblano Boudin Sausage

Lastly, if you make this easy homemade Spicy Venison Breakfast Sausage, 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.