Game liverwurst – so easy and delicious
- Type
- Pre-cooked sausage
- Level
- Medium
- Rating
- Rate this recipe
Today I’m going to show you how to make game liverwurst. It’s easy and super quick to make.
Game liverwurst is a nice change and can be varied to suit your taste – whether with wild boar, venison or deer. The choice of meat is entirely up to you!
The game liverwurst is perfect for a snack plate. Together with cranberries and a good crusty farmer’s bread, simply heavenly.
If you love liverwurst, I also have other liverwurst recipes for you: classic liverwurst, my veal liverwurst, my pfälzer Liverwurst and my apple and onion liverwurst.
Here you can find the complete game liverwurst recipe as a video or to read through.
Have fun and good luck making it!
Table of Contents
Game liverwurst – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| game meat | 450 g | 45 % |
| dewlap or pork fat | 300 g | 30 % |
| game liver | 250 g | 25 % |
Spices per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| braised onions | 150 g |
| cranberries (optional) | 80 g |
| salt | 17.5 g |
| white pepper | 3 g |
| Cure #1 | 2.5 g |
| thyme | 2 g |
| ginger | 0.5 g |
| mace | 0.5 g |
The equipment to make Game liverwurst
A meat grinder cuts the meat into small pieces so it can be mixed with the seasoning. Cut the meat into pieces that fit the feed tube before grinding.
Sausage stuffer, grinder attachment or funnel
Use a sausage stuffer to fill the mixture into its casing. A stuffing attachment for your meat grinder or a hand funnel also works when you are starting out.
Cutter or food processor
A cutter makes the sausage mixture fine and uniform. A food processor also works for small batches.
Artificial casings, jars or tins
You can fill the sausage into jars, tins or artificial casings. For jars, I usually use Weck jars. I recommend artificial casings, caliber 45/25 for a smaller diameter or 60/25 for a wider one.
For readers in the EU: you can buy these casings in my German shop. Artificial casings, caliber 45/25, 5 pieces, Artificial casings, caliber 60/25, 5 pieces.
Game liverwurst – Step-By-Step Instructions
Cut the meat and the dewlap / pork fat into wolf-sized pieces and put the pieces of meat into a sealable plastic bag or vacuum seal them.
Note: If you vacuum seal the pieces of meat / put them in a plastic bag, you won’t lose any liquid into the water and you won’t need any cooking stock for the sausage afterwards, as all the liquid will remain in the vacuum bag with the fat and liquid that escapes. (If you want to cook your meat without plastic, I will explain how it works and what to look out for in the next step)
Now place the bag in the tempered water or in the sous vide cooker and cook the meat at 78 degrees (172.4°F) for 90 minutes.
How do I cook the meat without a sous vide stick and bag?
No problem. You need to weigh the meat once before cooking. Then weigh the meat again after cooking and note how much liquid the meat has lost. You can add this missing liquid back later. You can use the stock water in which you cooked your meat.
Chop the onions and fry them slowly over a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Once the pieces of meat are cooked and cooled, you can separate the juices from the meat.
Put the liver through the grinder first. Once this has been run through, you can run the meat and the dewlap / pork fat through. I personally use the fine perforated disk.
Optional: If you want to soften the flavor of the liver, you can poach it for approx. 5 minutes before grinding. This will soften the strong flavor of the liver.
Then put the spices, cooked onions, cranberries and the minced mixture into a food processor or cutter.
Blend the mixture until it has a pulpy consistency.
You can now fill the mixture into jars or casings. Make sure that the mixture is tight and that there are no air holes in the jars. When filling the jars, it is best to leave at least a fingertip of space so that the liverwurst can expand during cooking and does not overflow.
Now you have to cook the game liverwurst at 100 °C (212 °F) for 2 hours. If you want to use a casing, you can scald it at 80 °C (176 °F). The time depends on the diameter of the caliber used. Means: If you use caliber 45, then you scald the liverwurst approx. 45 minutes.
Your game liverwurst is ready 😄. Enjoy the taste.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make this with deer or venison liver?
Can you make this with deer or venison liver?
Yes, and the liver should follow the meat. The ingredient list asks for game liver without naming a species on purpose: if you are working with a roe deer, use its liver; the same goes for red deer and for wild boar. A liver keeps far less well than the meat does, so use it fresh, and if it has been frozen work it the day it thaws.
Game liver tastes stronger than pork liver, and deer liver in particular can be more than you want in a spreadable sausage. The recipe has an answer for that in step 5: poach the liver briefly before it goes through the grinder and the sharp edge comes off it. It is optional, and whether you need it depends on the animal and on how strong you like it.
What do you eat game liverwurst with?
What do you eat game liverwurst with?
On a snack plate, with cranberries and a crusty farmer’s bread. That is not decoration — game and something sweet and sharp belong together, which is also why cranberries turn up inside the sausage as an optional line in the spice list. Put them in the sausage or beside it, or both, and you have the same pairing either way.
The thyme, the ginger and the mace pull in the same direction: they are there to carry the game rather than to cover it. If you are used to a classic pork liverwurst this will taste darker and more pronounced, and it is meant to.
How long is the shelf life of the game liverwurst ?
How long is the shelf life of the game liverwurst ?
Keep the jars or tins in the fridge and use the liverwurst within 2–3 weeks. When opening, the following applies: See, smell, taste! If you use a casing, you should store the liverwurst in the fridge and consume it within a maximum of 10 days.
