Ok folks, I am making a bunch of sausage this weekend and thought I'd take some pictures of the process and share my experience online. This weekend I'm making summer, brats, and sweet italian ssg using a feral pig I shot this february. I froze the pig and later found it to be pretty tough. Fully expected considering it was a 350 lb pig. I thawed it and ground it once then refroze it. Finally i thawed it this week and am making ssg. All this refreezing won't hurt the meat from a safety perspective but will diminish the quality to some degree. I'm also grinding up some of last year's venison for chilli and spaghetti. I won't add fat to this. Also i'm making some jerky. For the pig I've trimmed all the fat off. I buy fat from a domestic pig to add later. When I was butchering this pig I found lymph nodes and a few worms in the fat so i threw it all out. I have made a fair bit of sausage using fat around 12 - 15%. This really isn't enough and I've bumped the fat content up to 20% and another batch at 25%. The jerky won't have any fat added and neither will the ground venison. The only time I add fat to venison burger is when I want to cook it on the grill. Ideally beef fat is probably best for burgers but I am just using pork fat. To be continued.

Ok, so I'm realizing this is a bigger endeavor than I originally thought. As such this may take me a couple of days to finish.

The thing to remember about making sausage is cold and clean are your friends.

When you are making the sausage you have it out of the fridge a long time. This can allow bacteria to grow. Smoking, cooking or freezing will kill the bacteria but it's best to do as much as you can to minimize it.

This means to wash your equipment and your hands frequently.

It also means that anytime you're not grinding, mixing or casing the sausage put it in an ice chest or in the fridge.

For spices I've tried a bunch of hoome made recipes and never quite been pleased with the results. I've turned to premix kits now and they turn out pretty good. I do intend to work some more on mixing my own spices so I can customize them somewhat. I realized that much of my problem was likely due to not enough fat.

The two spice kits i've used are LEM and High Mountain. It's a preference thing so try different kinds to see what you like.

I got casings for this endeavor from Whole Foods. The casings are hard to find and you can mail order them, stored in salt. They keep indefinitely but the stuff I got from whole foods was fresh.

The summer ssg casings came with the kit and it's nonedible.

The pork fat is hard to find too but you can substitute pork butt or a similar cut. I prefer straight fat though so I know exactly how much fat I'm putting in my ssg.

Another thing I'll add is that this is a very time intensive process. I've put in around 7 or 8 hours on this batch so far and still have another 3 or 4 hours.

The yield will be about 60 to 65 lbs. I do this because I enjoy it and prefer my product to that of a processor.

Pics coming soon plus I'll talk next about equipment.

Feel free to ask questions as I'm sure I don't remember everything.

Ok, still working and it's way too late to write much. Here's some pics that I'll add text to later.

THE EQUIPMENT

Scales-In order to get the right proporations of fat to meat it's necessary to weigh it out. I used bathroom scales for years and it works fine but you'll have to do larger batches (5-10 lbs min) because they don't have the precision to do smaller batches.

A note about math: (here's where you show your kids the importance of math class)

If you're making 10 lbs of finished sausage then how much venison do you use and how much fat for, say 20% fat content?

A: 10 lbs finished sausage x 20% = 2 lbs fat and 8 lbs venison

Another question...if you've got 10 lbs of venison and you want to mix 20% fat then how much finished product will you have?

A: 10 lbs. venison / (1 - 0.20) = 12.5 lbs finished product and you have to add 2.5 lbs fat.

Grinder-I use an attachment to my kitchenaid mixer. You can see the attachment looks like any other grinder. I've literally used this for probably 1000 lbs of meat and have done batches upwards of 250 lbs ground 3 times. This will handle it. I have decided however that it's a bit slow for big jobs and will get a dedicated grinder in the future.

Sausage Stuffer-You can see the attachment to the grinder in this pic. You replace the blade and the piece that has different size holes in the grinder with a plastic insert and an appropriately sized tube for the type of casing you use. Otherwise it's the same procedure as using the grinder.

Smoker-I have two smokers. This step is optional really. It's not used (by me anyway) as a method to preserve the meat. It can be done this way but it's a LOT of time. Instead I smoke the sausage to add flavor.

One smoker I have used the most is a 'Little Chief'. It's large enough for a medium sized turkey. It's electric with a pan in the bottom for wood chips. It does not have a temperature control though. The second I use is a torpedo smoker. This is larger but without the removable tray it's a little harder to use. It does have adjustable temp though.

I prefer electric because the temp is easier to maintain.

Jerky Shooter-This is your standard everyday jerky shooter. It 'shoots' ground venison (with no fat added) from a 'caulk gun' like device. It will shoot round tubes or flat strips. Both work fine. Alternately you could use a rolling pin to flatten out ground venison and just do it that way.

The equipment cont. See pic for jerky shooter.


THE INGREDIENTS

Meat-As is the case with almost anything, the better meat you use the better the end result. To me this doesn't necessarily mean only use backstrap. Rather it means that whatever cut you use, from flank, to neck meat, to shoulder, to hams to tender loins, it must all be as free from the white sinew and fat as possible. Just clean it up good, cut it into chunks sized for your grinder and you're good to go.

TIP: The meat should be well chilled for safety. It also grinds a lot easier if it's about half frozen too.

Fat-I've include a pic of domestic pork fat, once ground. I use pork fat most of the time but have also used beef fat. I *think* it's traditional to use beef fat for venison burgers, chilli, etc and pork fat for sausage but I just pick one and stick with it. I use it to the same mix percentage.

I started off trying to figure out how much fat suited me. I did this by mixing a half pound each of diff percentages. 12%, 14%, 16%, and 18% and then fried it in a pan with no spices just to do a taste test. I found 14% worked well for me so I made all my burger and sausage using that. MISTAKE. Use that method to determine what fat content is best for burgers ONLY. You need at least 20% fat for sausage. I tried to cut back to make it healthier but don't do it.


Casings-I think this is covered in an earlier post. If you get the salt cured kind be sure to soak the casings for an hour in cold water. I understand they can be repacked in salt for what you don't use but I've always just thrown the old stuff away. They are not expensive.

I've included a pic of casings for summer sausage. These are thicker, tougher and nonedible.

Tip: Pack the summer ssg casings extra tight.



Seasonings-As mentioned earlier I've been using premix spices. Be sure to follow the directions. Many times they call for ice water to be added. Do this. It helps the spices to bind with the meat.

I have home made recipes but none I'm pleased enough with to pass along.

You can start getting recipes by calling your county extension agent. They are a great resource.

THE PROCESS


Grinding/Mixing/Spicing-My grinder comes with two different plates that the meat is pushed through after it goes through the cutter. One plate has a bunch of 3/8" (i think) holes and the other has 1/4" (i think). I cut my meat and fat into chunks first and grind all the meat once, using the plate with the larger holes. Then I grind the fat, again using the plate with the large holes.

Then I'll weigh my meat and fat and mix it up in 5 or 10 lb batches. Whatever size fits into whatever containers I have handy. I'll mix the two by hand until they are as mixed as I can get them. Then I'll add the spices and other required ingredients, sprinkling it over the whole mess. Again I'll mix by hand.

Finally I'll regrind and it just depends on my mood which plate I use to grind.

Then I've got my sausage, fat, and meat mixed and I'll store these in a container in the ice chest.

I'll then move on to another batch.

I would not recommend making batches over 10 lbs max because the meat/fat is out too long and it warms up too much.

The spiced meat then needs to sit for 24 hours (chilled) to let the meat soak up the spices.

Often I'll tear off enough of this for a patty and fry it up.

Be warned though, how it tastes then is not how it will taste later, so don't be upset if it's too strong tasting.

At this point I'm usually too beat to do more but you can stuff the sausage into casings before you let it sit for 24 hours.

A word about cure (potassium nitrite) - The brats and italian type sausages I make are considered 'fresh sausage' meaning it is not preserved in any way (smoking, curing, cooking, etc) until right before dinner time. The summer sausage I make is smoked for flavor for 3 or 4 hours and then finish cooked in the oven. Because the meat is brought to temperature very slowly you MUST add potassium nitrite to prevent botulism from forming before it reaches high enough temp. This is not harmful in correct doses and the body naturally produces it. If you are not very careful and overdue the amount then you CAN and WILL get sick. Just double check your measurement for this stuff please. here's a discussion providing more detail. Wikipedia


Stuffing into Casings-This is the only moderately tricky part of the process. With the appropriately sized tube installed on the end of the grinder I find one end of casing and begin loading it on the tube. I keep working the casings over the tube until I run out of a single piece of casing. Then I tie a knot in the other end of casing and begin feeding the sausage into the grinder/stuffer. You have to be careful not to trap air in the grinder or it will get pushed into casing. If this happens then just pop a small hole in the casing with a toothpick. This is a two person job, at least for me.

With the grinder on slow speed let the meat start filling the casing. You'll have to hold the casing onto the tube and sort of 'force it' to pack it in tightly. You want the casing snug with ssg, but not tight. Otherwise it will burst. This is slow, just take your time.

I let the casing fill about 6 inches then the person feeding the grinder stops putting meat into it for a second and I roll the casing about three turns away from me. I then fill another 6 inches and roll that sausage only TOWARDS ME a couple of turns. This way you don't unravel the first twist you did. This creates the links.

Sooner or later you will bust a casing. I usually scream like a girl until my wife stops the grinder. I'll cut the casing where it burst, leaving enough to tie off the last good sausage, and just start over. No biggie.

Making Jerky

I make jerky with sliced meat or will ground. I'm currently partial to ground because it's easier to chew. Don't add any fat and you'll be golden. Make sure you let the spices set for 24 hours before you smoke the meat. It will only take a couple of hours to smoke jerky, depending on the temp of your smoker. If you don't have a smoker then you might be able to do the same thing on your grill, providing you can keep the temps down to 225 or so. I've also done this in the oven, with the door slightly ajar. I put the oven on it's lowest setting.

Smoking -I personally can't tell a difference in flavor from different types of chips. They smell different, just dont' taste different to me. Sometimes I make my own chips by getting a 'helper' to stand behind me with a chain saw when I'm cutting down a hickory tree, oak tree, etc. Always use hardwood, never use evergreens.

One mistake I keep making is to make lengths of summer sausage that are too long to fit in my smoker (eye roll). Just make sure you pay attention to this one.

When smoking meat, of any kind, I'll remove from the refrigerator and let it reach room temperature. I also want the skin dry. This helps the meat absorb the smoke flavor effectively and for meats without casing, helps form the pellicle, that hard, shiny outer surface that tastes good.

I'll have the smoker warmed up with smoke rolling and I'll smoke my summer sausage (I don't smoke the brats or italian, though you can) for about 4 hours. Much more than than and you're not really adding any benefit. it's fully flavored by then.

A word about cooking temps: All my reading indicates cooking venison to 140deg is adequate for safety. When cooking steaks I often cook it less than that but for sausage I take it to 140. I measure the biggest piece with a meat thermometer. Also, domestic pork (and the fat from it) used to require 160deg but they dont' require this anymore as the domestic stuff is practically completely free of trichanosis. Feral pork however does NOT have this luxury. Therefore all the summer sausage I smoked was brought to 160deg internal temp.

Once I've applied all the smoke I think is necessary i will remove the sausage and bring it in to the oven to finish. There's no further benefit to smoking at this point and it takes my smoker FOREVER to get it up to temp. So I pop it into the oven for the last little nudge to the desired temp. I put the oven on 200 or 225 and it doesn't take long at all.

When you pull it out of the oven then you need to put the finished product in an ice bath. Youv'e got to cool the meat down rapidly and solidify the fat or it will all end up on the bottom of the sausage instead of mixed throughout. I just throw them in the ice chest and cover with ice for a half hour or so.

PACKAGING

After the sausage has set (chilled) for 24 hours I usually just vacuum seal it, label it and freeze it. Probably just as good is to wrap it in saran wrap, getting all the air out you can and then wrapping it in freezer paper. Some of the sausage I don't even put into casings. Just depends how you want to eat it.

THE FINAL PRODUCT

Ok folks, that's it. Below you'll find some final pics that I hope makes your mouth water.

Please ask questions and please chime in if I'm wrong about somethign or if you've got an alternate way. I've still got a lot to learn.

Bonus Round:

One of my favorite recipes is smoked pork loin. I will buy a pork loin on sale and make this ever so often. It's similar in flavor to canadian bacon. But that's a loose connection.

Try it, it's awesome!!!

Recipe:

1 tbl Morton's Tenderquick Salt
1 tsp sugar
1 lb pork loin

Rub on ham and put in ziplock bag. Refrigerate for 5-7 days, turning daily.

Rinse and soak in cold water for one hour prior to smoking. Make sure it is room temp and dry when you start smoking. Finish in oven if desired.

I shouldn't have opened this because NOW I'M STARVING! Thanks again for this GB!