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Venison Summer Sausage

Venison Summer Sausage is so simple to make and is a delicious addition to charcuterie boards and holiday entertaining. An all natural recipe that is preservative and nitrate free. A great summer sausage to make and share with friends and family.

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We are always in search of new ways to enjoy venison beyond our favorite venison steak recipe and this summer sausage is a definite favorite. It is a simple mix of ground venison and spices that is smoked on the grill, no special equipment needed! We also love these Venison Teriyaki Meatballs for an easy grilling appetizer.

Smoked Summer Sausage on a board with cheese and crackers, text overlay

Ingredients 

  • ground venison
  • cold water
  • brown sugar
  • kosher salt
  • granulated garlic
  • dried onion flakes
  • black pepper
  • onion powder
  • dry mustard
  • red pepper flakes

Directions

  • Mix ground venison with cold water ( I added ice cubes to the water a few minutes before beginning and strained out the ice cubes before mixing).

bowl of seasonings and brown sugar for making summer sausage

  • Mix brown sugar, salt, garlic, black pepper, onion flakes, onion powder, dry mustard and red pepper flakes.

ground venison and spices

  • Mix into venison with your hands or a wooden spoon.

3 balls of ground venison sausage mixture

  • Divide mixture into 3 equal portions. Rolls of uncooked summer sausage - 3 on a sheet pan
  • Form each into about a 1 1/2 inch log. 

3 rolls of foil wrapped summer sausage

  • Wrap each in aluminum foil. 

Smoked summer sausage

  • Cook over indirect heat on a 250° grill for 30 minutes using hickory wood for smoke flavor, with the grill lid closed.

Smoked summer sausage on a grill 2 rolls

  • Remove from grill and unwrap from foil. Return sausages to the grill and continue to cook 30 minutes or until desired smoke level is reached. Sausages should have an internal temperature of at least 165° to be cooked through. After cooking for 1 hour, our sausage was at about 190°.

Smoked Venison Summer Sausage on a slate board. Whole Roll and partially sliced roll

  • Remove from grill. Cool and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

How to Store and Freeze

This recipe differs from traditional summer sausage recipes in that we are not using any msg, nitrates or preservatives.  So it is all natural. It needs to stay refrigerated until serving. 

Can be refrigerated up to 5 days.

To freeze summer sausage, use a vacuum sealer or wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze up to 6 months. Thaw in refrigerator. 

Recipe Tips and Variations

The mixture can be refrigerated overnight before smoking but we find it just as delicious to go ahead and cook it right away.

Try different spice combinations and different woods like oak or pecan for new flavors. 

Smoked Summer Sausage Charcuterie Board with cheese, nuts, crackers

Serve sliced summer sausage with cheese and crackers or it can be mixed into soups or casseroles. It is a great addition to our Meat Lovers Charcuterie Board.

Homemade Smoked Sausage Recipes

Venison Summer Sausage with cheese and crackers on a board

If you find yourself with an abundance of venison, this easy venison summer sausage recipe is a great way to enjoy it and it really couldn’t be easier to make.

IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE AS MUCH AS I DO, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND A FIVE STAR REVIEW, AND BE SURE TO HELP ME SHARE ON PINTEREST!

Venison summer sausage sliced on a baord, with cheese, crackers, herbs and nuts
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Venison Summer Sausage

Venison Summer Sausage is so simple to make and is a delicious addition to charcuterie boards and holiday entertaining. An all natural recipe that is preservative and nitrate free.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Venison
Cuisine: American
Keyword: homemade summer sausage, nitrate free summer sausage, smoked summer sausage
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 229kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ pounds lean ground venison
  • 1 cup cold ice water
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon chili flakes

Instructions

  • Mix ground venison with cold water ( I added ice cubes to the water a few minutes before beginning and strained out the ice cubes before mixing).
  • Mix brown sugar, salt, garlic, black pepper, onion flakes, onion powder, dry mustard and red pepper flakes.
  • Mix into venison with your hands or a wooden spoon.
  • Divide mixture into 3 equal portions. 
  • Form each into about a 1 1/2 inch log. 
  • Wrap each in aluminum foil. 
  • Cook over indirect heat on a 250° grill for 30 minutes using hickory wood for smoke flavor, with the grill lid closed.
  • Remove from grill and unwrap from foil. Return sausages to the grill and continue to cook 30 minutes or until desired smoke level is reached. Sausages should have an internal temperature of at least 165° to be cooked through. After cooking for 1 hour, our sausage was at about 190°.
  • Remove from grill. Cool and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Notes

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 5 days.
To freeze summer sausage, use a vacuum sealer or wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze up to 6 months. Thaw in refrigerator. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 725mg | Sugar: 3g

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5 Comments

    1. Hi Laurel,
      Yes you can make it in the oven. Just follow the same temperatures. You can add a bit of liquid smoke to the mixture if you would like it to have a smoky flavor.

  1. Photos of meat is Not venison, likely high fat beef, maybe pork blended in, it much too light in color. Venison is a dark meat, darker to than beef generally. I do my own deer processing, so I know what I am talking bout.

    1. Hi Tibbs,
      It is actually pretty lean venison with just a bit of pork fat ground in. We do our own deer processing also and I can assure you that the photos are of venison.
      ~ Milisa