Fire up the pellet smoker and break out your sausage grinder, we’re about to make great use of some of that wild game that you’ve got in your freezer or fresh from the hunt and whip up a giant batch of Smoked Wild Hog Summer Sausage!

Smoked Wild Hog Summer Sausage

This year we got the chance to travel to Oklahoma to do a wild hog hunt at Prairie Fire Ranch. Well, one of us did. I’m not much of a hunter (yet), but Jeremiah grew up hunting for deer, grouse, ducks, geese, antelope, and fishing for everything that Minnesota and the Dakotas had to offer.

Last fall Jeremiah’s cousin Tony came out to visit us and do some fishing (follow along with our fishing adventures on our YouTube Channel and Fishing Instagram), and this January they organized a trip out to OK to bring home some wild hog!

We’ve been wanting to do more wild game recipes here on the site (check out all of our venison recipes here), and what better way than to go out and hunt it yourself. If you’re going to be a meat eater, there not a more honest way to do it.

So, what does wild hog taste like?

You might think that wild hog will taste like pig, and while it is similar, there are quite a few differences too. Wild hog has less fat than domestic pigs, and they also eat a much different diet than their farmed cousins. That means you need to make sure that you are including some additional fat when you cook with it if you want to keep it moist. This summer sausage recipe includes a fair amount of pork belly to account for that.

The wild hog that we brought home also had a slightly beefy flavor, which is a pretty common description for this type of wild game. What I didn’t notice is any kind of “gamey” or strong flavor. That could very well be because we only took home sows and not boars, which can impact the flavor.

Scroll through this Instagram post if you want to see photos of the hunt! Graphic, so don’t do it if you are sensitive to photos of no-longer-alive animals. 😉

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A post shared by Nicole (@orwhateveryoudo)

Is wild hog meat safe to eat?

Like all wild game, wild hog meat can be safe to eat if it is handled, cooked, and stored properly. There are some potential health risks associated with consuming wild hog meat you should be aware of to ensure the safety of everyone who will be consuming the meat.

Wild hogs can carry diseases such as brucellosis, leptospirosis, and trichinosis, which can be transmitted to humans if the meat is not cooked to the proper temperature. Additionally, feral hogs may consume contaminated food or water sources that can lead to the buildup of toxins in their meat. Make sure to source your wild hogs from areas you know, or use experienced guides to ensure that you are not taking animals that may be contaminated.

To ensure the safety of wild hog meat, it’s important to properly field dress, clean, and store the meat, as well as cook it to an internal temperature of at least 160°F. It’s also important to avoid consuming meat from wild hogs that appear sick or have any abnormal physical symptoms.

Wild Hog Summer Sausage shopping list

Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here’s the list of items you’ll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• wild hog meat
• pork belly
• ribeye or New York steak
• aged white cheddar cheese
• jalapeño pepper
• kosher salt
• dextrose
• curing salt
• mustard seeds
• dry mustard
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• ground black pepper
• ground ginger
• Fermento
• summer sausage casings

Equipment & Tools (and other things that’ll make your life easier)

Meat Grinder

If you’re going to make sausage, you need a good grinder and some good grinder discs. We use the LEM Meat Grinder similar to this. It is pretty hard core, so you might be able to get away with a smaller model if you aren’t planning on doing a lot of grinding.

Kitchen Aid and Bosch also make meat grinder attachments for their mixers that have good reviews.

Grinder Plates

You need a 1/4″ plate and a 3/16″ plate too.

Sausage Stuffing Tubes

These stainless sausage stuffing tubes are going to make your life SO much easier when it comes time to stuff the sausages! Just make sure and check the sizes to make sure they’ll fit your grinder.

Tips for success with sausage stuffing

• When it’s time to start the stuffing process, be sure that the mixture is ice cold. The colder, the better.
• Using two people to stuff the sausage makes things go a lot easier; especially if it’s your first time. Use one person to keep the hopper full and the meat going down without any air getting in, and the other person to hold the casing tightly to the meat tube while it is filling.
• Check for any air getting into the casing while it is being filled and make sure to get all the air out before cooking.
• Make sure the casings are tight and full. This will make for a better overall look to the finished product.

How to make Smoked Wild Hog Summer Sausage

This is just the overview so you can see what you’re actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

Smoked Summer Sausage FAQ

More great recipes for your charcuterie board!

• Smoked Confit Garlic
• Pickled Asparagus
• Smoked Onion Jam
• Traeger Cipollini Onions
• Traeger Smoked Salmon
• Smoked Black Cod
• Easy Smoked Pumpkin Seeds
• Pickled Red Onions
• Traeger Smoked Crackers
• TikTok Viral Smoked Butter Candle

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