Venison Breakfast Sausage

If you've got ground venison in the freezer, you're ten minutes away from better breakfast sausage than anything you can buy at the store. The trick is adding fat back in — venison is too lean on its own for sausage, so mixing in ground pork or pork fat gives you the right texture and flavor. Season it with sage and a touch of maple syrup and you've got a Nebraska breakfast staple.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground venison
• 1/2 lb ground pork (or pork fat)
• 2 tsp dried sage (rubbed, not ground)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

• Combine the ground venison and ground pork in a large bowl.
• Add the sage, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, thyme, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar.
• Mix with your hands until all the seasoning is evenly distributed. Don't overmix — you just want it combined.
• Fry a small test patty in a skillet to taste for seasoning. Adjust salt or spices as needed.
• Form the mixture into patties about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. You should get about 16 patties.
• Cook the patties in a cast iron skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side until cooked through and browned.
• Freeze uncooked patties in a single layer on a sheet pan, then transfer to freezer bags. They'll keep for 3 months.

Tips

The pork fat is essential. Straight venison sausage crumbles and dries out. The 80/20 ratio of venison to pork gives you the right bind and juiciness.

Fry a test patty before you form the whole batch. Seasoning is personal — this recipe is a starting point. Some people want more sage, some want more heat.

Freeze in bulk. Make a huge batch and freeze individual patties. Pull them out the night before and you've got a 5-minute breakfast all hunting season long.