Calling all venison sausage makers... I need help.

[Anonymous]

3way is correct about pork fat having only 6 months. Even frozen. That's a big reason why we stopped raising 2 pigs at a time for ourselves. Couldn't eat it quick enough

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Can the sausage, will last a long time.

 

[Jogeephus]

Now if you use some cure you can avoid some of that but to me the whole point of making my own is to avoid the use of cure!

I disagree with you on this. Your ancestors used cure. They just didn't know what it was. They've been using cure for over 2000 years before Christ. To me, making your own is all about keeping some of the other ingredients out and having control over what your recipe. I don't do it to gamble with my life.

 

[3waycross]

Now if you use some cure you can avoid some of that but to me the whole point of making my own is to avoid the use of cure!

I disagree with you on this. Your ancestors used cure. They just didn't know what it was. They've been using cure for over 2000 years before Christ. To me, making your own is all about keeping some of the other ingredients out and having control over what your recipe. I don't do it to gamble with my life.

The only cure i use and it's the same as my Grandpa used is SALT.

The only place i will add Pragg powder is in my Sopressata for a number of reasons not the least of which is it costs a fortune to make and if i use cure it almost never spoils. I also do not have to freeze it. We cryovac them and keep them in the refer for as much as a year.

FWIW we used some cure in the Summer sausage and I lost one of them within a week after i thawed it and cut it and it was never out of referigeration for more than a minute or two.

However for what we call the "fresh" all we use for seasoning is Salt, ground red chili pepper, garlic powder, and ground fennel. That's it. Then we freeze it after it macerates for a couple of days and we try to use it within 6 months.

 

[Jogeephus]

3Way, there is a lot of confusion in this area and I'm sure your grandfather only used salt but the salt he used in the day was different. It was more raw and unrefined. This salt naturally had cure in it. Heck, they didn't even know what cure was till well into the 20th century but people knew there were certain sources of salt that were better at making sausages than others and this is what they used and this is what was available in the stores. So you are right in saying he only used salt but he used a different kind of salt. The omission of cure with todays refined salts is extremely dangerous.

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks everyone for the responses and replies
Jo - I will definately follow the book.. The just dont have a recipe for the spices it just said what spices to use lol

I went on a back fat finding mission a couple months ago. All the local super markets received their meats already trimmed to 1/8. Finally found back fat at old time butcher shop in Portland, 45 miles away.

Post pics of the sausage! :tiphat:

Alan - here ya go... I put it on fine china to enhance the look of it :lol2: It made 15 lbs this was the portion I kept out for us to eat for bfast the rest is in the freezer.

Skyhigh - you sure start a lot of arguments..

Definately wasn't intended :hide: I just wanted to know how to make sausage :lol2:

 

[skyhightree1]

I did use hickory bacon in it lol did taste good and was a sweetness to it probably more so cause i put brown sugar in it so it would taste like it had pancake syrup on it. I made some hot sausage and got carried away with cayeene and red pepper flakes and sat down and ate it with my grandmother and both of our noses started running but it sure was good.

 

[skyhightree1]

seasoning I was speaking of I used it

 

[Alan]

Looks good Sky!

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks Alan... While being bored today I decided to try to make venison bratwurst it taste good but I gotta tell you using natural pork casings made me say a few bad words here is a few pics,... Its my first batch... I am no Jo but im trying to make alot of my foods myself starting 2014.

 

[Alan]

Sky, I see one immediate big problem with your brats! It's if you look closely you will not find ten of those links at my place ...... Do you need a shipping address? :lol:

They look great, I have only stuffed hog casing three or four times, it gets easier each time!

 

[3waycross]

Sky, I see one immediate big problem with your brats! It's if you look closely you will not find ten of those links at my place ...... Do you need a shipping address? :lol:

They look great, I have only stuffed hog casing three or four times, it gets easier each time!

How do you prepare your casings?

 

[Alan]

Sky, I see one immediate big problem with your brats! It's if you look closely you will not find ten of those links at my place ...... Do you need a shipping address? :lol:

They look great, I have only stuffed hog casing three or four times, it gets easier each time!

How do you prepare your casings?

I am by no means an expert or even a much experience person in sausage making, Jo may be the guy to ask. With that said, I buy the packaged hog casings which are packed in salt. Soak a length of casing in a bowl of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse the outside of the casing good in warm water. (here's the visual image part) I then us a small or medium funnel and open one end of the casing enough to get the funnel end into, then using a chair on the front porch I stand on the chair and pour a large pitcher of warm water through the casing. It seems to not only rinse and clean the inside of the casing, but makes it very easy to work with. It then can be slid on to the stuffing tube easily.

Also the first few batches I used the kitchen aide mixer, stuffer attachment, a real pain in the rear to stuff with. I picked up a 5lb vertical sausage stuffer which made life much more simple.

So picture a chubby old guy on the front porch standing on a chair pouring water through pig guts! :shock:
:tiphat:

 

[Jogeephus]

Cleaning fresh casings isn't that bad a job really. Especially when it comes to cow middles and such because these things can be expensive and there is a gold mine in each cow if you don't mind getting your hands dirty. A garden hose set with a steady stream will have you fixed in no time.

Sky, here is a tip for you brats or sausages that need linking. If you pinch down and twist every other link about five times in the same direction then put them in the cooler for a day they will "set" and you can cut each one into an individual link with little to no spillage from the ends. This will help when you package them in packs for later use. Also leaving them in the cooler for another night will also let the spices meld better.

 

[3waycross]

How do you prepare your casings?[/quote]

I am by no means an expert or even a much experience person in sausage making, Jo may be the guy to ask. With that said, I buy the packaged hog casings which are packed in salt. Soak a length of casing in a bowl of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse the outside of the casing good in warm water. (here's the visual image part) I then us a small or medium funnel and open one end of the casing enough to get the funnel end into, then using a chair on the front porch I stand on the chair and pour a large pitcher of warm water through the casing. It seems to not only rinse and clean the inside of the casing, but makes it very easy to work with. It then can be slid on to the stuffing tube easily.

Also the first few batches I used the kitchen aide mixer, stuffer attachment, a real pain in the rear to stuff with. I picked up a 5lb vertical sausage stuffer which made life much more simple.

I will share my family's old country method which is to turn them several times. We obviously use the same casing as you but what we do is to soak them for a bit in the warm water then we start turning them after they are softened. We also add a small amount of lemon juice to them while they soak. This is done by simply cutting a few lemons in half and squeezing most of the juice into the water with the casings. This does two things. It kils some bacteria(because of the acidic environment) and more importantly it sweetens the casings so that they smell a whole lot better when you work with them.
Now for the important part.They need to be turned several times leaving the inside out in order to get them really clean. It's simpler than it sounds but what you do is turn a cuff into the end of a softened casing about 2 inches long then put the cuff over the spout on your faucet and let the water turn the casing inside out. I usually turn them a couple of times leaving the inside out for an hour or two then turn them back to stuff them. Now there is one really important thing to remember here. That same acidic lemon juice that sweetens them will also eat them up if you leave them in it too long. We usually get them to soaking in it late at night or early in the morning and use them within 12 hours at the most. Otherwise they are weakened to the point of splitting by the lemon juice.

 

[skyhightree1]

Sky, I see one immediate big problem with your brats! It's if you look closely you will not find ten of those links at my place ...... Do you need a shipping address? :lol:

They look great, I have only stuffed hog casing three or four times, it gets easier each time!

Alan thanks again... :lol: Yea, the casings were a pain.

3way I did the same soak in warm water untangle the lil suckers then found one end opened it and layed the casing in the sing put the end i opened over the water spigot end and turned water on and let warm water flow through it.

LOL thats funny I used a manual grinder to stuff the casings with the help of my kids...Santa better bring me a electric grinder and stuffer for xmas :lol2:

Sky, here is a tip for you brats or sausages that need linking. If you pinch down and twist every other link about five times in the same direction then put them in the cooler for a day they will "set" and you can cut each one into an individual link with little to no spillage from the ends. This will help when you package them in packs for later use. Also leaving them in the cooler for another night will also let the spices meld better.

Thanks I left them twisted and folded and put in freezer bags cause they kept busting open that will help me alot thank you so much for that tip. I did however let the un cased meat sit in the fridge another night before casing so spices would do that before i cased it.

 

[3waycross]

You did not turn them Sky and that is important as it gets the inside out and allows them to get a lot cleaner. I am guessing that if they were splitting they were not soft enuf and also if you want to let the meat and spices macerate do it AFTER they are cased. The meat gets dry and binds if you let it set like that.

 

[skyhightree1]

You did not turn them Sky and that is important as it gets the inside out and allows them to get a lot cleaner. I am guessing that if they were splitting they were not soft enuf and also if you want to let the meat and spices macerate do it AFTER they are cased. The meat gets dry and binds if you let it set like that.

Na I didn't turn them inside out they were too much of a P.I.T.A. as it was lol They sat in the water for about hour or so I let it sit with spices then put in some liquid smoke and a cup of warm and remixed it with my hands again I thought that would help with it being dry. Whoops you learn as you go and get good advise from yall so I know what to do and not to do Thanks

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the casing tip 3way! :tiphat:

Sky, as 3way stated, I also learned a lesson on mixing spices and grinding, then letting the sausage meat sit over night before casing. I got about four inches cased and said screw it. The meat had set up and was impossible to send through the stuffer. It turned into patties and cooked as ground sausage.

One of my first of many more lessons to learn ...... Stuff into casing right after grinding .... Check!

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks for the casing tip 3way! :tiphat:

Sky, as 3way stated, I also learned a lesson on mixing spices and grinding, then letting the sausage meat sit over night before casing. I got about four inches cased and said screw it. The meat had set up and was impossible to send through the stuffer. It turned into patties and cooked as ground sausage.

One of my first of many more lessons to learn ...... Stuff into casing right after grinding .... Check!

Excellent tip 3 way :tiphat: .. Yea, sometimes you gotta learn the hard way lol.. I had about 2 lbs left after cranking and stuffing for 2 hours and said screw it and fried it and gave to my family thats visiting for thanksgiving lol I also had diced seriously sharp cheese by cabot and put in the sausage so hopefully that will be good after being smoked or grilled