Venison Breakfast Sausage

[Hawken1911]

I had a little bit of last season's venison in the freezer so I thought I'd give sausage a try.  I purchased a small, hand grinder off of Ebay for $12.00 and it works great.  Anyway, I looked at a lot of different recipes for pork and venison breakfast sausage, and then came up with my own seasoning mix to try.  The first batch is in the refrigerator now, and will be sampled for breakfast in the morning.  I'll give you an update tomorrow.

Venison Breakfast Sausage

3 pounds venison cubed
1 pound pork shoulder cubed
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Lowrey’s seasoned salt
1 tbsp fennel seed
½ tbsp allspice
½ tbsp thyme leaves
½ tbsp ginger
¼ tbsp cayenne pepper

Run the venison and pork through a grinder with a coarse blade.  Mix together and put through the grinder again.  Add all other ingredients and mix in thoroughly before running it through the grinder again.  Form into three, long, rounded loafs, approximately 2” in diameter and refrigerate overnight.  Then slice into patties and use within three days or freeze for up to 3 months.  Cook on a non-stick pan over medium-low heat until golden brown and cooked through.

[Hawken1911]

Kids, Do NOT try this at home!

The sausage cooked up and browned nicely, and had a good texture, but boy I botched the seasoning  :(  .  The sugar and seasoned salt might be O.K., but the other spices need to be measured in teaspoons, not tablespoons.  The flavors were way too strong.  My two German shepherds were happy though, as they enjoyed a pan full of sausage.

I was over confident.  Next time I'll sample the recipe before I post it    .