National Resource Center for Alaska Native Elders

Honey Sage Venison Sausage

Background Information

 At around 100 pounds, blacktail deer is one of Alaska’s smallest food animal prized in Southeast communities and Kodiak Island. Its meat is very mild tasting. I have a Tlingit friend in Juneau who regularly posts pictures of her deer stew. I asked her what traditional venison dishes her family has always prepared. She says they’ve always had: Deer stew, deer chop suey, deer meat, potatoes and gravy, deer sweet & sour, deer roast, fried deer steak. Her family used their traditional food, venison in more contemporary dishes.

 Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 4oz | Servings: 12 | Calories 200 | Total Fat 8.1g | Saturated Fat 3.8g | Cholesterol 93mg | Sodium 462mg | Total Carbohydrate 5g | Dietary Fiber 0.2g | Total Sugars 4g | Protein 25.3g | Vitamin D 0mg | Calcium 27mg | Iron 3mg | Potassium 369mg

How to make Honey Sage Venison Sausage

Venison Tales from Flora

Printable VersionDownloadable Infographic

Ingredients

Honey Sage Venison Sausage

  • 2 ½ pounds ground venison
  • ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 2 tsp dried sage
  • 1 tbsp ground mustard seed
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preparation Instructions

Honey Sage Venison Sausage

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl using gloved hands.
  2. Divide the mixture into 4 oz patties.
  3. Cook in frying pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil
  4. Additionally, patties can be frozen for up to one year by placing in plastic wrap and then freezer paper.
  5. Patties can also be refrigerated up to three days.

Notes

  • Read the label on honey jar. Is it real honey? Some manufacturers add corn syrup.
  • Use real maple syrup not pancake topping.
  • Option to use ground mustard power or ground brown mustard seeds.
  • Option to decrease salt by one teaspoon.
  • Try not to decrease spices, garlic, or vinegar as the cooked sausage will be very mild. Option to increase spices after cooking and tasting a teaspoon size piece of sausage.