Venison Sausage "updated"

[puddle jumper]

Tried my hand at sausage making,,,5 lbs of Venison and a sausage cannon,, littler work and they turned out great... Several people have tried them and everyone loves them...
I think I have found a new hobby...
8)
PJ
One thing about the pics I actually used the backwoods "Hickory Seasoning" but the same brand...

 

[DivotMaker]

Oh my... ;D  Those look incredible!  What kind of wood, temp and how long?  Probably need to mail a box of samples to me for inspection.  lol.

 

[puddle jumper]

LOl, I would love for you to try them and tell me what you think,, one of these days when things get bigger around here we need to try to do a get together for the forum,I would love to meat some of you guys.,

  I'm on a Peach wood kick right now, so that's what they where smoked in,,, about 6 hrs 170 to start and bumped it up to 200 for the last hr,,, to get them to 170. IT..

  Im no expert, this is my first time running sausage in the smoker,, I have done thin cut strips in the oven in the past but its been a long time,, but im really happy with the way these turned out,, the only problem I had with them was the casing I used is a little loose on some of the areas but I think that's due to air being trapped in the casing, I popped some of them but did not get them all so maybe take my time and get them all next run,,,I used clear collagen casings next run I think I will use the red casing more like on slim jims..
PJ

 

[DivotMaker]

Sounds mighty tasty, John!  I bet peach was a good choice.  I like peach on pork, but have never smoked venison with it.  I just drooled a little...sorry!

 

[Paul Case Luca]

Oh man.... That is nice! I never get venison anymore but now am thinking of getting some from my brother in law.

 

[puddle jumper]

Funny Story,,, I ended up making 30 stix,, I froze half of them to keep them fresh,, two days later I pulled them back out of the freezer becouse they where gone,,LOL, I'm making another batch this week but I'm going to add a little cyan for some bite...

Sausage is a hit at my house...
PJ

 

[4wd-n-archery]

Did you put a tray of water in for moisture or smoke the dry.
look delicious. I'm looking to do the same soon.

 

[puddle jumper]

Nope, no water tray,,
I figured that this was about drying out the meat so just heat and smoke on this one...
Santa got to stay home...LOL
8)
PJ

 

[NDKoze]

Those stix look awesome. Twisting them makes them look pretty cool. My family and I typically do 25 lbs. at a time, so to make things easier, we just stuff the casings without the twist and then cut them into sizes that fit on the racks, and then cut the final product into 4"-6" pieces before getting vacuum packed.

On a related note, does anyone know what IT we snack stix should be cooked to?

I have always just gone by site/feel. But am interested in a more quantitative answer for the desired IT. I just ordered a new Maverick ET-733. So plan on trying to be a bit more precise on the next batch.

While my stix taste really good, I think they are a little dry on the inside compared to the ones that you get in a meat market.

Thanks for any information you veteran smokers can provide.

 

[Paul Case Luca]

Oh dear lord I gained four pounds just looking at those photos

 

[puddle jumper]

Just a quick update,,,
I didn't take any pics of the stuffing but I did another batch,, everything the same but I added a teaspoon of cyane,
and I tried making some jerky sticks "no casing" along with ones in the casing,,

Results where really good they have a nice bite to then but not to bad,
One thing I learned, I ether need to do them in the casing or just the stix because the smoking time is different for the two... stix don't need as long, they got a little to dried out but they where still tasty just should have come out of the smoker about a 1 hr to 1 1/2 earlier...
Happy Smoking
PJ

 

[NDKoze]

Did you monitor the internal temp at all?

Would a Maverick even read correctly if you put the probe in one of the six?

 

[DivotMaker]

I don't think the Maverick (as good as it is) would be very helpful on thin stix like these.  It's a lot like ribs, wings or jerky - some trial and error on the time, and "feel," until you get it dialed-in.  But, I could be wrong.  Since there's no bone to influence the temp (like ribs), it might work. 

 

[puddle jumper]

I did put the probe in one of the sausages just for a little feedback,,, cooking at 170 it really surprised me how long it stalled at 145, and I pulled them when it got to 165 but that was after I kicked the temp up to 200 at the end...
PJ

 

[NDKoze]

I don't think the Maverick (as good as it is) would be very helpful on thin stix like these.  It's a lot like ribs, wings or jerky - some trial and error on the time, and "feel," until you get it dialed-in.  But, I could be wrong.  Since there's no bone to influence the temp (like ribs), it might work.

I was kind of wondering the same thing. I think I will still try it and see what happens.

 

[DivotMaker]

I'll be waiting to hear more feedback on this!  Thanks for the update, PJ!  Wouldn't think sausage would "stall."  Very interesting!

 

[Pork Belly]

I had just posted this under snack sticks then I say this topic, so here is a copy and paste.
My experience making around 300 pounds of snack sticks the past four years pounds has caused me to develop a few opinions:
Butcher & Packer in Detroit sells the best tasting Stick seasoning, I buy the kit it has everything you need.
You need a snack stick stuffing tube, it saves your sanity, use the Collagen casings they are best for sticks.
You need at least a five pound sausage stuffer, stuffing off a grinder makes a mush consistency of your meat.
Vary the texture and size of your grind for a better mouth feel.
Adding High Temp cheese is never a bad idea, its tasty and increase your yield.
Stuff as much as you can at a time making long ropes, hang these ropes or cut to length and place on racks. You can twist licks if you want to look fancy but really nobody cares.
Run the smoker at 250, sticks are thin they take smoke quickly, a hot smoker keeps them from sweating and getting greasy. You want them to cook not sweat.
Don't believe the nitrate hype, use the pink salt that comes in you kit so you don't die or kill your friends.
Use a probe thermometer to tell when your sticks hit 150, yes I know the bag of mix says 165, however they don't want to get sued. 150 makes a moister more consistent stick. If a slab of bacon is fully cooked at 150, why would you torture those skinny little sticks all the way to 165?
At 150 IMMEDIATELY remove the sticks from the smoker and PLUNGE them into a large cooler of ice water, don't be stingy with the ice. This ice bath stops the cooking process, it cools the stick so meat and fat do not separate. It also prevents the sticks from being withered and the casing slipping off.
Cut the sticks to length, wrap in Cling wrap twice and freezer paper once, they will keep excellent in the freezer for several months or until your teenage children find them.
Enjoy

 

[Smokster]

Wow, those look amazing, I will have to try making these in the near future.  What type of meat would you recommend if I don't have access to venison.  Pork, beef or a combination of both, and if so, what type of cut of meat and what ratio (if mixed).

 

[Pork Belly]

If you buy whole beef chuck and grind it yourself you will have good results. Chuck has a fat meat ratio similar to pork shoulder. Or do a combo of beef and pork. you want 70% meat to %30 fat as a minimum. Occasionally we make "Freezer Sticks" which are anything that is odds and ends or starting to freezer-burn (trim the burn grind the rest) when we do the yearly defrost on the freezer. Last year was Duck, Goose, Deer, Pork and Bison. Great stuff.