Venison summer sausage

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't been around as much, if you noticed, but I started a new job so I've been a little busier figuring it out...

Anyway, I am going to make some smoked summer sausage this weekend but need a little help. When I've done them in the past, the texture always seems off. Too much like a paste inside of the casing.

What's a good method for the grind? Go course plate, then medium plate? Do you do just course for the beef fat so it stays in chunks?



Then after that, what's a good plan for the smoker? Just set it at 175? Or do i Need to build the temp up?


Thanks in advance, and sorry for typos typing on my phone.

 

[wytex]

Keep that meat really cold, almost frozen when you grind it. We start with a really course grind, then mix in the seasoning and grind down to the size you want, we use a 1/4 inch plate for the final grind.
Let it sit in the frig overnight after you stuff it, helps the cure to penetrate the meat and get's the seasoning set .
Cook it really low temp to avoid rendering the fat, give it a good cold water bath after you get it cooked up to temp to stop the cooking. 175 should be ok to start then maybe go up to 190 or so to finish after the smoke.
They say start the smoker off without smoke to get the sausage to sweat before you add smoke. Don't over smoke it, it will take it nicely at the right temp. We finish ours in the oven after the smoke.
Usually we only smoke for about 2 hours so it doesn't over take the seasoning flavor.

 

[Sytes]

Grats on your new job - regarding summer sausage... my hunt partner is the maestro of those I know. I'll ask for his method though I look forward to reading this thread. Some amazing wild game chefs within HT.

 

[Steiny]

I cut my meat in small chunks to feed grinder, put it all in a big tub and blend the spices in with the chunks, put tub in freezer for a while to get the meat about half froze, then grind. The grinding helps blend the spices into the meat evenly. We use the coarse grind plate for everything.

Don't know that it matters, but we made some hanging rods for the smoker so we can hang the sausages with strings rather than place on a rack. Smoke at about 170 degree temp, need to get the meat fully cooked to an internal temp of about 165F, that takes some time, 6-8 hours. Cool it down immediately after, some suggest an ice water bath.

It's kind of a trial and error process and my stuff doesn't always look as pretty as store bought stuff, sometimes the casings wrinkle up, etc. ... but it always tastes good.

 

[kwyeewyk]

I use my grandma's old recipe, coarse grind and just form them into logs without casing, makes a nice rind that way. I grind as soon as I can cut the meat as it starts to thaw using the thickest setting on the meat slicer then hand cut into strips to feed in the grinder. Her recipe calls for mixing the seasoning and then storing in refrigerator for 3 days, remix each day. I agree don't need a lot of smoke. I finish in oven @ 200, 6-8 hrs usually. Awesome every time, just wrap in foil and freeze for later, I think the flavor gets stronger after sitting in the freezer for a few months.

 

[Kaitum]

Couple things that have improved my batches. Make sure the outside of the casings are dry when you put them in the smoker, and put heat on a low setting (130ish) for first hour without smoke. This helps ensure the casings are dry. Then start ramping up temperature and add chips. Don't go above 200 degrees, you don't want to render fat out of the sausage. Sometimes I have to put my summer sausage in the oven for the last hour to hit that 165 internal temp. Once internal temp is hit, immerse the entire casings in ice water bath for 10 minutes. This stops the cooking process and helps prevent casings from sticking to meat.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Got a batch sitting in the fridge. Went course grind for most of it, but did do one log a medium grind to test it. I ran out of casings, so I had to make about half of them into logs. Plan is tomorrow I'll fire up the smoker and see how it goes!

Thanks all for the input

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Just getting ramped up

Sorry they came in sideways, I took them normal direction.... Too windy for outside, so rocking it in the detached garage.

 

[JohnCushman]

HT summer sausage tasting at your house tomorrow......?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Haha, come on over!

 

[kwyeewyk]

I realized the coarse plate for my attachment grinder is very large with triangles, so I guess I was using a medium plate. I now have an old bomber industrial one that has 3/8" plate and it seems fine too. When I mix it for 3 days, the seasoning starts to break the meat down and it gets a little finer. I forgot to mention when forming the logs to make sure to squeeze them tight to get all the air pockets out since they fill up with gelatin/fat and don't make for a nice presentation when you cut through them, don't get that problem with a stuffer.

 

[wytex]

We've made courser ground sausage before but most we give to prefer the smaller chunks of fat int the 1/4" final grind.
Good point on making sure the casing is dry when you put it in the smoker, I wait til it then starts to sweat again before adding the heavier smoke for a couple of hours, then finish in the oven to keep the temp more regulated. I have a stick burner smoker.

 

[JohnBud]

We've made courser ground sausage before but most we give to prefer the smaller chunks of fat int the 1/4" final grind.
Good point on making sure the casing is dry when you put it in the smoker, I wait til it then starts to sweat again before adding the heavier smoke for a couple of hours, then finish in the oven to keep the temp more regulated. I have a stick burner smoker.

View attachment 132119View attachment 132120View attachment 132121View attachment 132122

That is a work of art. Tip of the hat to you, sir!

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Well mine isn't beautiful, but tastes alright while cooling down, we'll see how it tastes when fully cool. Loafs aren't perfect, but I didn't expect they would be, but they did accept the smoke better, so good and bad.

Not in love with the favoring I used, a little too much flavor for a summer sausage, but we're learning.