Recipe: Festive Fresh Venison Sausage

Sweet, savory and a hint of fruit is a great combination for the festive season, or anytime of the year. Fresh venison sausage with a taste of cranberries and orange will have hunters looking to customize the taste to personal or family preferences. The sweetness does come through and helps to ensure the sausages brown properly when cooked.

Allspice and cloves are easily overlooked as spices for wild game but add subtle flavors to tantalize your taste buds. It’s nice to make fresh sausage in small batches and use it up without putting it in the freezer. Keep it simple and form patties, or stuff it in casing for a more traditional look and feel.

Ingredients
• 1½ lbs. ground venison
• 1½ pounds ground pork
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground sage
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ⅓ cup cold orange juice

Directions
1. Place all ingredients in a plastic mixing container and blend well. Put the mixture in a plastic or glass bowl or tub and refrigerate for an hour to let the salt and spices penetrate the meat evenly, and to firm it up for proper texture in the sausage.

2. Form the sausage into patties. You can make 16 patties that weigh 3.5 ounces. Alternatively, stuff the mixture into 30mm hog casings. Once the casing is full, pinch the casings between finger and thumb at the preferred length and twist to create separation between individual links.

3. For best results, place the sausages back in the fridge overnight on a rack to air dry. Eat, package for the freezer or keep in the fridge for a few days before grilling, frying or baking.

4. Fry the sausage in a Camp Chef cast-iron frying pan with oil and butter. The meat will brown nicely without overcooking the inside.

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For more delicious wild-game recipes, click here.