Got a whitetail this weekend. I've made the easy breakfast sausage before but this will be my first time stuffing.

Care to share any OB family recipes? I've had back luck in the past making breakfast sausage with random internet recipes. Don't want to waste time/meat on mediocre venison sausage. I'll be de-boning/grinding the meat tonight.

Simple link sausage recipe below:


Tastes similar to something like a slovaceks.

Once you get everything mixed, make a patty and fry it in a pan to taste. Adjust seasonings to your preference before stuffing it.

Generally use about 60% venison/40% pork shoulder.

If you want to smoke it, you will need to add curing salt and a binder (dry milk powder works well and doesn't affect the flavor).

If ya don't wanna smoke it, let it side uncovered in the fridge for a day before you wrap (or vaccuum seal) and freeze. Grill just like any other link.

Seems like a pretty straightforward recipe. I got the #1 salt cure at home so I can smoke them. Is the binder a game-changer to not have? I have not heard of using one before.

southernskies said:

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Seems like a pretty straightforward recipe. I got the #1 salt cure at home so I can smoke them. Is the binder a game-changer to not have? I have not heard of using one before.

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With leaner meats like venison it can get kinda crumbly without a binder when you smoke em. The binder just helps it all maintain shape, especially if ya are slicing it to serve and eat.

It's been a while since I did it, but I believe it was 1 cup of dry milk for every 10 pounds of meat. You'll have to add a bit of water into the ground stuff to make it easier to mix as well.

We haven't used binder in 50 years of making sausage. This thread is the first time I have heard of it, so maybe it does something but definitely isn't a required ingredient. Only suggestion is to add jalapeo and high melt cheese. If interested I can look up my recipe.

My favorite venison sausage is 100% pure pork

I love deer but that made me lol

OilManAg91 said:

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We haven't used binder in 50 years of making sausage. This thread is the first time I have heard of it, so maybe it does something but definitely isn't a required ingredient. Only suggestion is to add jalapeo and high melt cheese. If interested I can look up my recipe.

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Not the OP, but yes please.

Add mustard seeds

I've always considered cayenne and red pepper to be the same thing?

CS78 said:

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I've always considered cayenne and red pepper to be the same thing?

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I consider cayenne the finely ground powder, and red paper is the crushed red pepper flakes.

They add similar flavors, but the red pepper gives some texture as well.

You could also use any dried peppers ground up for different flavors. Some dried serranos might be nice to try.

Is the 30 lbs of meat in general, or is that 30 lbs of venison, and you add desired ratio of pork to it? I suspect it is the total and you ratio deer to pig as you wish.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Is the 30 lbs of meat in general, or is that 30 lbs of venison, and you add desired ratio of pork to it? I suspect it is the total and you ratio deer to pig as you wish.

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Total. If I recall correctly, we ended up with about 16-17 pounds of venison trimmed out, and the rest was deboned pork shoulder.

Every time I make a batch, I start with my generic recipe, and after we are happy with the samples, I make sure and write it down before we stuff. This one was done in Dec '19.

If you're willing to grind the meat twice and mix it thoroughly after you season it and after the first grind, you don't need a binder. I'd also switch to a 60/40 pork/venison ratio (our recipe is 65/35/5 picnic shoulders/venison/pork fat).

I made the recipe that AGS provided. Turned out great, I'm going to keep that one. I did add the milk powder though. Not sure what it would have done if I left it out but it seemed like a popular thing after researching so I said why not. Twice ground. The only thing I would do different is not use the finer grinding plate for the second grind.

40 lbs of meat

1 cup canning salt
1/2 C #32 grind black pepper
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C garlic powder
1/8 C cayenne pepper ..... I usually add a tsp or so more

IF you are dry curing it add 8 tsp of Pink salt #1

Cube up the meat. Mix. Add seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Set in the fridge for overnight. Mix, grind, mix again and stuff the next day. I just taste a bit of the grind before stuffing instead of cooking it up. Especially if you are going to dry cure. Cooking it with the Pink salt in the mix gives it a bit of a different taste and texture. Not bad, just different.

For the non sugar folks it gives the good bacteria something to feed on and multiply, helps the pink salt keep the bad guys in line and adds a greater depth of flavor to the sausage .... sorta like MSG does to food but w/o the added salt

JMHO

A.G.S. said:

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CS78 said:

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I've always considered cayenne and red pepper to be the same thing?

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I consider cayenne the finely ground powder, and red paper is the crushed red pepper flakes.

They add similar flavors, but the red pepper gives some texture as well.

You could also use any dried peppers ground up for different flavors. Some dried serranos might be nice to try.

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The crushed red pepper flakes are dried poblano peppers

Dried poblano or ancho peppers are a deep dark chocolate brown. There may be some ancho in the commercial product but I believe the primary pepper used are dried cayenne

southernskies said:

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I made the recipe that AGS provided. Turned out great, I'm going to keep that one. I did add the milk powder though. Not sure what it would have done if I left it out but it seemed like a popular thing after researching so I said why not. Twice ground. The only thing I would do different is not use the finer grinding plate for the second grind.

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Glad ya liked it.

And yeah, with too fine a plate it can end up at 'hot dog' consistency. They still eat just as good, but I prefer the coarser texture.

Rattler12 said:

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Dried poblano or ancho peppers are a deep dark chocolate brown. There may be some ancho in the commercial product but I believe the primary pepper used are dried cayenne

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When left on the plant to fully mature, Poblano/Ancho peppers turn a deep orange red in color. That's why the flakes are red. I grow them every year and make my own powder and flakes.

Doc Hayworth said:

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Rattler12 said:

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Dried poblano or ancho peppers are a deep dark chocolate brown. There may be some ancho in the commercial product but I believe the primary pepper used are dried cayenne

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When left on the plant to fully mature, Poblano/Ancho peppers turn a deep orange red in color. That's why the flakes are red. I grow them every year and make my own powder and flakes.

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I will also stand corrected on my belief. Red pepper flakes consist of 4 or more different types of peppers combined, which contain cayenne, anaheim/poblano, jalapeno and bell pepper. There seems to be many variations and depending on what is available at the time of production. I guess that explains why sometime it seem hotter than other times.

southernskies said:

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Seems like a pretty straightforward recipe. I got the #1 salt cure at home so I can smoke them. Is the binder a game-changer to not have? I have not heard of using one before.

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you can use either powdered milk or soy protein as a filler and binding agent. Both work and I have not noticed any difference in taste using either one. Just FYI, the powdered milk is not the same as the boxed dehydrated milk sold in grocery stores.

What is the difference?

with the way they work, very little, if any difference. It's just been a matter of what I have available as to which one I use. It will also depend on what type of sausage is being prepared. Some recipes call for the powdered milk and other specifically call for soy protein.

Isn't there a sausage thread?