Easy Venison Maple Sausage Link Recipe Without Nitrates
This easy venison maple sausage link recipe is so easy and delicious! You don’t need nitrates to make a good venison breakfast sausage. This sausage was juicy and tasty, and makes the perfect breakfast addition! We only added some beef fat to this sausage, it has no pork mixed in!
Why Make Homemade Venison Maple Sausage Links?
Making homemade sausage sounds intimidating, and I almost didn’t try it, but it was actually so easy! And some of the best sausage I have ever tasted! Not only is this sausage made with just a few simple ingredients, it’s lacking the nitrates and other harmful ingredients most sausages are made with!
We just used our meat grinder to make this recipe, a sausage stuffer would be helpful, but a meat grinder will suffice if that’s all you have! Ours came with a stuffing attachment and it worked just fine.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission when you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Read my full affiliate link disclosure here.
Tools Needed for Making Venison Maple Sausage Links:
These are the tools you’ll need to make throwing these sausage links together a breeze:
- Sausage stuffer or meat grinder with stuffing attachment
- Large bowl or large tub for mixing the meat and seasonings in
- Vacuum sealer for storing them in the freezer
Ingredients Needed for Easy Venison Maple Sausage Link Recipe:
- 10lbs of venison trimmed and chunked
- 4lbs of beef fat
- 1 cup maple syrup (make sure to use real maple syrup)
- 1 cup of water
- Natural pork casings (there are different sizes, we had the bigger ones on hand but use whatever size you prefer)
- Salt (we use Redmonds Real Salt)
- Black Pepper
- Ground Sage
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Rosemary
- Ground Coriander
- Granulated Garlic
- Smoked Paprika
Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Venison Maple Sausage Links:
Step 1: Run the fat first and then the meat through the meat grinder by itself with the larger grind plate on. This helps break up the meat and fat, and not clog up the smaller grind plate.
Step 2: Once you’ve ground up the meat and fat, put the smaller grind plate on your grinder and run the meat through again, this time adding fat in with the meat.
Step 3: After the meat has been run through with the fat, mix it well with your hands to ensure the fat is evenly distributed throughout the meat.
Step 4: Add all of the seasonings, and maple syrup to the meat in your big bowl or tub, and mix well with your hands until fully combined.
Step 5: Put the sausage stuffing attachment on your grinder, or set up your sausage stuffer if using one and prepare to stuff the sausages. Prepare the sausage casings according to the instructions on the package.
Instructions (continued):
Step 6: This part is easier with two people. It’s time to run the meat through the sausage attachment, while holding the casing in place. This part can be tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty smooth.
Step 7: Make sure to leave a gap between sections of sausage you want to tie off. These links were huge, so we made for 6 or so links per package, but if you have smaller links you will probably want more. The links will stay attached in each package, you will just twist each link the size you want it.
Step 8: After separating the links into the desired amounts for packaging, freeze them for a couple hours on a flat cookie sheet so they don’t get squished during packaging. This step is optional, but I find it makes a much better product after packaging.
Cook these up just like regular sausage links. They are so delicious and now one of my favorite things to make with ground venison!
Easy Venison Maple Sausage Links
Equipment
- 1 Meat Grinder
- 1 Sausage Stuffer (if not using meat grinder attachment)
- 1 Large tub or bowl for mixing meat
Ingredients
- 10 lbs venison chunks or ground venison
- 4 lbs beef fat
- 1 cup real maple syrup
- 1 cup cold water
- 3 Tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp ground sage
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- sausage casings (your preffered size)
Instructions
- Follow the directions on your sausage casings, and prepare them. The instructions will vary depending on the ones you use. The ones I used only needed a short soak and they were ready to go, but dried ones may need longer.
- If not already using ground venison, cut your meat into cubes and run it through the grinder using the course grind plate.
- Make sure you run the fat through the course grind plate as well before changing to the smaller grind plate.
- Once changed to the smaller grind plate, run the already ground meat, and fat through the grinder and make sure you mix it really well until fully combined.
- Once the fat is evenly distributed, add in the maple syrup, water, and seasonings and mix really well with your hands. Use gloves if you'd prefer.
- Set up your sausage stuffing attachment on your grinder if using that, or set up your sausage stuffer if using a stand-alone sausage stuffer.
- Tie the end of the sausage casing and then carefully put it over the end of the stuffer tube.
- Carefully holding the casing over the end of the sausage stuffer tube, put meat down the tube and turn on the switch, or if using a manual stuffer start cranking.
- Be sure to leave a gap between each set of sausages. For example, we tied them off after 5-6 sausages, and that's what we put in each package. You do not want to separate the sausages until after cooking or they could lose their shape. To create a sausage link, you just twist between each one at the desired length you want.
- When you get to the end of the sausage casing, make sure to leave enough room to tie it off.
- Freeze them for about an hour or so or just until firm so when packaging them they don't get squished.
Notes
- The casings are edible, but you can peel them off after cooking if you don’t want to eat them.
- If using larger casing like I did, you will probably pack less sausages in each package. These will need to cook a little longer, but in my opinion they are more delicious and juicy!
- Make sure to leave enough room on the ends to tie the casings, if not, the sausages will not hold their shape.
FAQ About Venison Sausage Links
Why are my casings splitting open?
If your casings are splitting open, it means you are filling them too full. Try filling them with less meat so they aren’t as tight.
Do sausage links freeze well?
As long as they are packaged properly, they freeze great. It’s ideal to freeze them on a cookie sheet first so when you vacuum seal them they don’t get squished.
Are the casings edible?
The casings are edible, but some people don’t like them. You can peel them off after cooking if you don’t want to eat them.
