5 Ways to Cook Wild Boar Sausage

If you harvest your own wild boar it’s almost guaranteed that you have wild boar sausage.

Depending on what type of hog sausage you have there are a few methods for cooking it.

The most popular way to cook hog sausage is on the frying pan, but there are a few others worth trying.

Frying

As I mentioned above frying hog sausage is one of the most popular methods of cooking them.

Frying them is also one of the easiest methods.

To get the most from the sausage you should use a cast iron pan.

Frying hog sausage takes about 15 minutes and leaves you with a crispy juicy dish.

Steps:

1. Heat oil in the pan over medium heat
2. Place the sausage on the pan and fry
3. Turn the sausage frequently to ensure even cooking
4. Remove the sausages from the pan when the internal temperature is about 155-160F
5. Rest on a wooden board for 2-3 minutes
6. Serve

As I said, this is one of my favorite ways to cook deer sausage and one of the most popular.

I mostly cook hog breakfast sausage like this, both with and without the skin.

This method goes well with eggs, hash, bacon, etc

It also makes a good breakfast sandwich, or to be different, serve with some mashed potatoes.

Roasting

One method of cooking wild boar sausage that is often overlooked is roasting.

While it’s true that roasting deer sausage takes a little longer than frying, it’s mostly idle time.

I’m also guilty of not using this method often, but for some recipes, there is no better option.

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F
2. Place the sausages on a baking tray and cover with oil and some seasoning
3. Place in the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 155-160F
4. No need to rest

The great benefit of using this method is you can cook a whole meal at once.

If you are making wild boar dinner sausage you can add in some vegetables to roast with the sausage, making a complete meal.

Grilling

Everybody’s favorite method of cooking hog sausage…grilling.

I’m not going to lie, although this method is probably the most labor-intensive, it’s my favorite.

There is something about the extra searing, flavor from the charcoal, and the overall experience of grilling, that makes the sausages taste better.

Steps:

1. Fire up your grill and bring it to a temperature of about 450F
2. Lay the sausages over direct heat and cook until you have a nice crispy skin
3. Move the sausages to indirect heat to finish cooking
4. Remove from the grill at 155F and rest for 2-4 minutes

You may find that by the time the sausages have developed a crispy skin they are already at an internal temperature of 155F, this will depend on the gauge of sausage skin you use.

Sometimes when I am grilling hog sausages I like to add a little bit of smoking wood to add some more flavor.

While it doesn’t add as much flavor as smoking the sausages, it does add a hint of flavor, especially if you use intense woods like hickory or mesquite.

If you want a stronger smoke flavor you can smoke the sausages, which I will explain below.

Smoking

While most of the other cooking methods for hog sausage are similar and involve cooking the sausage with some form of high dry heat, smoking is different.

Smoking hog sausage requires a low and slow cook.

Steps:

1. Set your smoker somewhere between 180-200F
2. Place the sausages in the smoker and close
3. Smoke until the internal temperature reaches about 160-165F (3-4 hours)

You can smoke almost any type of hog sausage.

I’m a bit of a charcoal snob and smoke only over charcoal, if you’re like me then you may want to use a tray of water in the grill to help manage temperature.

I personally prefer using stronger flavor types of wood for hog sausage such as hickory, oak, mesquite, etc.

You can also do the opposite such as apple, if the sausage is well seasoned, this will bring a more balanced flavor.

Air Frying

I’ve only gotten into air frying recently, I’m a late adaptor, but it’s safe to say I already love it.

I especially love what air frying does for sausages. You get an insanely crispy skin, yet the sausage remains so juicy.

Steps:

1. Set the air fryer to 180-185F and preheat
2. Rub a little oil on the sausages, not too much
3. Place them in the air fryer and cook for about 12-15 minutes
4. Turn them halfway to ensure crispy skin all over
5. Ensure the internal temperature has reached at least 155F

Wild Boar Sausage Temperatures

One of the most important things when cooking hog sausage is to reach an internal temperature of at least 155F.

While venison can be eaten rare, pink, or even raw like carpaccio, wild boar is a little different.

Hog sausages are always mixed with fat from another animal such as beef or pork.

For some hog sausage recipes, I also use pork belly.

On top of mixing meats, hog sausage typically hangs for a few hours, which may not be at the ideal temperature.

Couple all of this with the fact the meat is being ground changes things.

Hogs can have some drawbacks, mostly the risk of trichinella which can be transmitted to humans. Trichinella can be killed by cooking the meat to 145F and holding at this temperature for a few minutes.