Easy Venison Sausages in the Smoker Recipe

Smoked venison sausage is a delicious and straightforward way to enjoy wild game meat. The process of smoking the sausage not only infuses it with smoky flavour but also gives it a fantastic colour and seals in moisture.

Venison is such a lean meat that you will need to fill out the sausages with bacon or pancetta to make sure they don’t dry out.

Smoked Venison Sausage Recipe
Smoked Venison Sausages Recipe

Easy Venison Sausages in the Smoker Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs ground venison (minced venison)
  • 1 lb chopped bacon or pancetta
  • 2 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves
  • 1/4 cup cold water or red wine
  • Natural pork casings (hog casings)
  • Optional – 1 tsp crushed juniper berries

Smoked Venison Sausage Method

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground venison, smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, oregano, and chopped fresh rosemary.
  2. Add the cold water (or red wine if using) and mix until the meat takes on the moisture.
  3. Put your pork casing onto a sausage stuffing machine and tie off the casing at the end. Pull as much of the casing as possible up to the top of the nozzle of your sausage stuffer and then push the minced venison down into the hole in your sausage stuffer. Make your venison sausages long if you like or twist them round to form links along the pork casing.
  4. Smoke the sausages at 225°F (or 107C) for 2-3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
  5. Allow the sausages to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

When smoking venison sausage, it’s important to remember that venison is leaner than beef and pork, which is why you need bacon, pancetta or pork fat.

You can also add chilli flakes to the recipe if you prefer a slightly spicier sausage. Juniper berries can be hard to come by but if you can get them they pair excellently with venison.

What to Serve with Smoked Venison Sausage

  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Fries
  • Green Salad
  • Red Wine and Dark Chocolate Sauce (see below for recipe)
  • Sausage and Tomato Casserole
  • Venison Sausage Pasta Bake
  • Serve in a Hot Dog Roll with Fried Onion
  • Tobacco Onions

Red Wine & Dark Chocolate Sauce for Venison Sausage

  • 2 finely chopped shallots
  • 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp unsalted butter
  • 3 sprigs of thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 23 cup (100ml) red wine
  • 114 cup (300ml) good quality beef stock
  • 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 oz or 40g good quality dark chocolate (e.g. Green & Blacks)

Fry the shallots, garlic and butter over a medium high high heat for a couple of minutes and then add the rest of the ingredients, and mix to combine. When the chocolate has melted and the wine has burnt off run the sauce through a sieve.

Return the sauce to a pan on low heat and simmer until you are ready to serve. This sauce goes really well with venison sausages and mashed or roast potatoes in particular.

If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like our article on smoking beef sausages at home.

Smoking Sausage Recipes for Beef

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