This is a basic recipe for smoked venison sausage that you can modify as you will. The only things to keep constant as you experiment are the salt and curing salt. That's for safety.
1/2poundvenison,lamb or beef fat (see Notes below)
1 1/2poundsfatty pork shoulder or belly
33gramsabout 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
4grams1/2 teaspoon Instacure No. 1 (optional)
1tablespoonbutter or olive oil
1cupminced shallot, about 3 shallots
6cloveschopped fresh garlic
1tablespoonground black pepper
2tablespoonsground dried mushrooms(optional)
3tablespoonsminced sage
1/4cupcold water
1/4cupred wine
hog casings
Instructions
Chop the meat and fat into chunks of about that will fit into your grinder. (Optional expert step: Mix the salt and curing salt with just the meat and refrigerate overnight. This helps make a tighter bind by developing myosin in the meat.)
Heat the butter or oil in a small pan and cook the shallots until soft. Don't brown them. Move them to a bowl to cool.
Take out some hog casings and set in a bowl of warm water.
Make sure the meat and fat are very cold, about 34°F or thereabouts. If it's not, freeze the meat and fat for an hour or so. When you are ready to grind, mix the garlic, shallots, herbs and spices together and toss with the meat and fat. Grind the meat and fat through your coarse die, anywhere from 10 mm to 7 mm. If the mixture is still nice and cold, grind immediately again through a finer die, say 4.5 mm. If the mixture's temperature has climbed beyond about 38°F, chill it in the freezer until it's cold enough.
After grinding, put the mixture back in the freezer until it's very cold -- about 30°F. It won't freeze solid because of the salt. When it's cold, take it out and add the red wine and water and mix thoroughly either using a Kitchenaid on low for 60 to 90 seconds or with your (very clean) hands for 2 minutes. This is important to get the sausage to bind properly.
Stuff the sausage into the casings all at once. Twist off links by pinching the sausage down and twisting it, first in one direction, and then with the next link, the other direction. Or you could tie them off with butcher’s string.
Hang the sausages in a cool place for at least an hour; the colder it is, the longer you can hang them. If it is warm out, hang for one hour. If it's colder than about 45°F, you can hang up to overnight. Once they have dried a bit, put in the fridge until needed. They will keep for at least a week in the fridge.
Smoke your sausages at about 225°F until they hit an internal temperature of about 150°F. This should take about 2 to 3 hours. When you're getting close to done, get a large basin of ice water ready. When your links are done, plunge them into the ice water until totally cool, about 15 minutes. This helps prevent shrinkage... and no one likes shrinkage.
If you are freezing the sausages, wait a day before doing so. This will tighten up the sausages and help them keep their shape in the deep-freeze.
Notes
I typically use oak or fruit woods to smoke venison, but really any wood you like will work.
Keys to Success
Make sure you work cold! Once meat and fat gets much above 40°F, it can mess with the bind of the sausage. When in doubt, chill more. Good life advice there...
Other options for herbs and spices would be rosemary, parsley, savory, or oregano.
I prefer dried morels or porcini here, but you can use what you have, or skip the dried mushrooms altogether. I normally go right for homemade porcini powder.
If you are using venison fat, use only a little. It will add great flavor, but too much will cause the fat to coat your mouth when the links cool. I do use it, though, because I want my venison sausage to taste like venison.