Sausage making...let's hear from the experts.

outdoorwoman said:
recipes looks good you guys :)
i make an average of 17 diffrent sausages every hunting season
plus pepperoni Yummmm
have a ton of recipes for almost every kind of sausage wont clog up the page with all them but ill post some very yummy ones later on if your all interested :D
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post away would love to see other recipes
 
ok heres one of my hubbys favorites:)
very good if lightly smoked there is no salt in this recipe but if you like you can add
1/4 tsp salt

buffalo wing sausages

10 pnd venison
2 pnd beef fat ( can add more or less depending on taste)
1 c vinegar
6 tbsp paprika
4 tbsp hot ground pepper ( i use thai chilli peppers)
1/2 tsp capsicum powder
2 tbsp cayenne
4 tbsp fresh diced garlic
1 tbsp oregano
3tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 c water
2 tbsp mustard seed
3 tbsp onion power


mix spices vinegar and water in blender and let sit over night before adding to meat
add mix to meat and mix well.Fry a small amount in frying pan before stuffing as it may need salt depending on your taste I never add it but other may wish to add a bit :)
 
I should discuss the venture of sausage making with my folks. Dad has a smoker, mom has a meat grinder (she even has a big-daddy electric one for her mixer!) and well, I have the guns to shoot the deer with. :D
 
I was wondering if how sausage would turn out if you added less animal fat (pork or beef) and maybe a bit of oil like canola, olive or grapeseed? I like making my own sausage so I can see what's going into it but I don't like the large amounts of animal fat most recipes call for.
 
For me, sausage making is a family affair. The annual sausage making takes about a weekend and yields us between 300 and 500 lbs, depending on how the season went. In SW Sask you can get two anterless mule deer each, which we dedicate mostly to grinding for sausage. Dad also raises wild boars on the farm, and 2 of them are thrown into the mix. It has a taste of its own, with the benefit of the fat for the sausage.

Only my Dad knows the recipe. He mixes up a small bowl to start, and we fry up some nuggets to get the flavor right. The usual spices: garlic, salt, pepper. Not much more. We keep it simple.

We use two antique sausage stuffers from the turn of the century (cast iron and indestructable). Recently, we've made up our own grinder. Runs on a 1-HP electric motor if i remember right. I think its about 4 inches in diameter.

We have a custom built "smoke shack." Its a 2x4 frame with plywood and a metal firepit ring in the bottom. Holds 100lbs or so. We prune the apple trees every spring, and by fall, the wood has cured enough to make a nice smoke. By the time the sausages leave the smoke shack, they are fully cooked (and a bit of cure in the mix for good measure). Its a hot smoke and it leaves a fairly dry sausage. Perfect for snacking on. A little smokey for some people, but we've grown to love it.

After we've finished giving away a bunch to neighbors and other family members, I end up with about 40 lbs a year in the freezer. More than enough to have sausage and perogies a couple times a month.
 
Hard to keep track of which thread is which. Someone in one of the threads on sausage suggested the book, "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing, by Rytek Kutas. Worth owning, IMO!
I picked up a copy at Halford Hide in Edmonton, a place I'd recommend a visit to, for pretty much anyone interested a little bit or more, in Trapping or Sausage making.

I've bludgeoned my way through making a batch of pepperoni sticks, that I had the aforementioned problems with temperature control in a C-Tire smoker. They got a bit overcooked, but other than the grease that formed up under the casing, the only issue was that they got more smoke than they needed.

The second batch was better. I smoked them for a couple hours, then finished them in the oven. Cheating, yes, but it was fast and worked great.

I made a stuffer. Pretty much a Jerky shooter, but based on a large size caulking gun instead of the small one. Works OK. PITA to load. Need something bigger, but not too impressed with the build quality of the Princess Auto ones, and a bit flinchy about dropping the price of the small commercial grade ones. Gotta watch the garage sales...

Cheers
Trev
 
Wow lots of content in this thread! I'm no expert but I have made some rookie mistakes :)! Temp. is crucial, grinding with ice is almost critical IMHO. I think 4C or 5C is max meat temp, 2 or 3 is better. I don't like using pure pork fat, I like pork butt with lots of meat, I may try some back bacon after reading this thread. I use CTR mixes also, the garlic, maple, breakfast, and hot pepperoni are our favorites. The hot pepperoni isn't that hot I sometimes add crushed chilies and corse black pepper. I add corse black pepper to everything because I love it. If you don't like the big black pepper corns in your sausage you can use fine black pepper or white pepper. CTR sells lots of spice in bulk wayyyyyy cheaper to buy them that way. CTR also puts on an excellent sausage making school, I attended last year and wish I had gone earlier, I totally reccomend it! Also, use a scale. Weigh your meat and your spices and get it right, it sucks to have 25lb of crap that nobody wants to eat. We tried a Hi Mountain bratwurst kit and were very happy with it. I'm trying more hi mountain kits this year, I also like their jerky mixes. Some come with casings and everything for $20. They are available at WSS.

For your pepperoni sticks, I have made them in 1" hog casings. Alot easier stuffing, they're about twice the size of the traditional pep sticks but I think of them as "MAN SIZED". :)

A note on equipment...... don't buy junk. It may cost a little bit more now but worth it! We have a small group that works together and we buy the equipment together to help with cost. We got a large 30lb stuffer from cabelas a couple years ago and we like it.

Good luck and enjoy! Part of the fun is having the guys over and a few drinks in the process, and there is always a good feed and the end of the night. I don't know why but the lumps at the bottom of the stuffer always taste the best at the end of the night.
 
outdoorwoman said:
ok heres one of my hubbys favorites:)
very good if lightly smoked there is no salt in this recipe but if you like you can add
1/4 tsp salt

buffalo wing sausages

10 pnd venison
2 pnd beef fat ( can add more or less depending on taste)
1 c vinegar
6 tbsp paprika
4 tbsp hot ground pepper ( i use thai chilli peppers)
1/2 tsp capsicum powder
2 tbsp cayenne
4 tbsp fresh diced garlic
1 tbsp oregano
3tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 c water
2 tbsp mustard seed
3 tbsp onion power


mix spices vinegar and water in blender and let sit over night before adding to meat
add mix to meat and mix well.Fry a small amount in frying pan before stuffing as it may need salt depending on your taste I never add it but other may wish to add a bit :)
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Now I have to go pop a mule doe and give yours a try. Sounds awesome. Here is my experimental recipe for Buffalo Wing Sausage.

5 lbs chicken/turkey whatever is cheap, groung through 3/16 plate.
5 pounds ground lean pork.
1 tbls white pepper
2 1/2 tbls salt
1 tsp garlic
4 tbls Franks Red Hot
4 tbls Presidents Choice hot wing sauce
4 tbls Red Chili flakes

Wasn't hot when fresh, but after a couple of hours it spiced up nicely. The next batch will have a bit of cayenne and vinegar to enhance the flavor a bit.

Last weeks experiment was pretty good too. Here it is

5 lbs pork
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbls Red chili flakes
2 tbls Salt

The kids really like this one. A bit of spice but not too much.
Either recipe would work with a variety of meats, I think. They may require a bit more spice for stronger flavoured meats like venison.
 
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This entire thread has been full of good information and recipes. I also read the thread dealing with bear meat. The topic that I was looking for that was not addressed in either thread was to see if anyone substitutes bear meat for pork in order to add fat to their deer/moose sausage? Bear fat is quite low melting similar to pork.
 
Gun5tuff said:
This entire thread has been full of good information and recipes. I also read the thread dealing with bear meat. The topic that I was looking for that was not addressed in either thread was to see if anyone substitutes bear meat for pork in order to add fat to their deer/moose sausage? Bear fat is quite low melting similar to pork.
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I have not had bear meat of my own for a very long time. BUT yes, for sure, once upon a time in the 70s we had a bunch of sausages made up with moose, elk, and bear meat. They were delicious.

I would tend to use bear meat all by itself, however. Occasionally it does go rancid, and it would be a shame to lose your deer/moose sausages for that, when you could just put a bit of pork with them. If you are not talking about a large volume, then I would say go for it, you will have DELICIOUS sausages!

Doug
 
I am looking to make some snack sticks out of some of my venison. Sadly I got a small doe and split the meat with my buddy who helped me skin and butcher the doe. So I didn't end up with much ground, maybe 5 lbs max.

I might grind up the roast later on if i like the way the snack sticks turned out.

I would like to mix other meat with the venison just to make the meat stretch a lil further and get more out of it.

So for snack sticks, would it be better to use pork fat or ground pork? I was thinking a 50/50 pork/venison ratio.

I am only using 1lb of venison to start off with as i am new to the snack sticks game. So any and all advise would be awesome!
 
Snake Eyez said:
I am looking to make some snack sticks out of some of my venison. Sadly I got a small doe and split the meat with my buddy who helped me skin and butcher the doe. So I didn't end up with much ground, maybe 5 lbs max.

I might grind up the roast later on if i like the way the snack sticks turned out.

I would like to mix other meat with the venison just to make the meat stretch a lil further and get more out of it.

So for snack sticks, would it be better to use pork fat or ground pork? I was thinking a 50/50 pork/venison ratio.

I am only using 1lb of venison to start off with as i am new to the snack sticks game. So any and all advise would be awesome!
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If you go 50/50 you had better use lean ground pork. If you go half fat and half venison you'll have grease sticks not snack sticks........

You might also consider using ground beef to stretch your venison out a bit more.

Doug
 
Doug said:
If you go 50/50 you had better use lean ground pork. If you go half fat and half venison you'll have grease sticks not snack sticks........

You might also consider using ground beef to stretch your venison out a bit more.

Doug
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Thanks Doug,

I will go with beef.
 
If you're using a large pork to deer ratio e.g. 50:50 grab a $20 pork loin from Costco, delicious sweet lean sausage will result.
 
Sausage making.

Snake Eyez said:
I am looking to make some snack sticks out of some of my venison. Sadly I got a small doe and split the meat with my buddy who helped me skin and butcher the doe. So I didn't end up with much ground, maybe 5 lbs max.

I might grind up the roast later on if i like the way the snack sticks turned out.

I would like to mix other meat with the venison just to make the meat stretch a lil further and get more out of it.

So for snack sticks, would it be better to use pork fat or ground pork? I was thinking a 50/50 pork/venison ratio.

I am only using 1lb of venison to start off with as i am new to the snack sticks game. So any and all advise would be awesome!
Click to expand...

When grinding & stuffing, keep the meet just this side of frozen. It'll go through faster, easier, and cleaner.

I like a 60:40 ven:medium pork mix (butt roast is just fine for this). If you're going the fat route, it really should be FATBACK, which must be kept very cold to prevent sliming up and refusing to follow the screw in the grinder.
 
I hand it all off to an old Italian Guy...I aint ever going to top him so no point in trying:). That and he doesnt' charge much.

I believe he does it 50-50 pork/venison .
 
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