Homemade Venison Summer Sausage
Last year, our brother-in-law Don started sharing his homemade deer sausage. We went nuts over the flavor and couldn't get over how good it was. Since then, Andy has been thinking about processing his own summer sausage.We have toured every sporting goods store checking out and comparing different meat grinders and sausage stuffing machines. And you know the spice options are just more than you can even begin to pick from. Since the weather this winter has been pretty miserable, Andy did some searching and came across "Bud's Homemade Summer Sausage" which used beef.
It took him two tries, but Andy has hit a home run with his variation incorporating deer meat. And the kicker? If you're using ground meat, it doesn't require any equipment or a casing to process! The recipe below is for a 1 lb. roll. You might as well double or triple up. It doesn't last long.
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground venison (deer meat)*
1 Tbsp Liquid smoke
1 Tbsp Morton Salt Tender Quick
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
Bake for approximately 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Allow to cool completely. Vacuum seal and freeze or refrigerate and use.
*We used deer meat processed with a small amount of beef fat.
It took him two tries, but Andy has hit a home run with his variation incorporating deer meat. And the kicker? If you're using ground meat, it doesn't require any equipment or a casing to process! The recipe below is for a 1 lb. roll. You might as well double or triple up. It doesn't last long.
1 lb ground venison (deer meat)*
1 Tbsp Liquid smoke
1 Tbsp Morton Salt Tender Quick
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
Day 1:
The day before you want to process the summer sausage, mix the meat and spices in a bowl. Place the seasoned meat in a gallon zipper bag and roll into a 2" loaf. Refrigerate overnight.
Day 2:
Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with some aluminum foil. Place a rack on top. Place the loaf on the rack.
*We used deer meat processed with a small amount of beef fat.
Trying it this weekend looks AMAZING
ReplyDeleteHow did it turn out for you? Happy Thanksgiving!
Deletegot this receipe from a freind 30 years ago and have made it since off and on...but lost the receipe and we have four deer in the freezer THANK GOODNESS you posted this. cant afford to buy the stuff in the store and this is so good and easy THANKS AGAIN
ReplyDeleteThe stuff in the store is awful (and expensive ) once you've made it home made! Glad you found this! Let me know how it turns out. Happy Thanksgiving! Denise
Deletemade it...its gone...everyone said it was the best they ever had...making 10 lbs today for Christmas presents..I added a little more garlic and use 2 lbs 73% hamberger to 3 lbs venison since my venison is frozen with no added fat...THANKS AGAIN
DeleteI'm so excited this turned out so well for you! It disappears pretty quickly around here also.
DeleteMerry Christmas!!
Do you put the meat in a casing?
DeleteNo casing at all. That's why we love this recipe.
DeleteCould you add ground pork instead of beef?
ReplyDeleteWe haven't tried that but don't see why you couldn't. Anytime we want to try a new variation, we cut back on the amount we fix in the event we don't like it. Let me know how it turns out if you do fix it. Happy New Year!
DeleteLet me clarify...we normally make 10 lbs. or more at a time, which is why I said cut back on variations.
DeleteLet me clarify...we normally make 10 lbs. or more at a time, which is why I said cut back on variations.
Deletecan u put jalapeno and cheese?
ReplyDeleteAndy gets his high temperature cheese here:
Deletehttp://www.lemproducts.com/category/high-temp-cheese
I hope this helps!! Good luck!
Yes you can and we have. There is a special cheese Andy uses. I'll get that information for you. Thank you for visiting! --Denise
ReplyDeleteHow do I store this? How long would it last in the fridge?
ReplyDeleteWe vacuum deal and freeze. We Ziploc what we want to eat immediately. A stick disappears quickly.
DeleteWe've made this the last 2 years and making again tomorrow. This is an excellent recipe! When it's done in the oven, we put it in the Little Chief Smoker for 20-30 minutes. Not necessary, but it smokes up better than in casings. The vacuum packing seals in the flavors. Going to do 10 lbs. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteEvery time it gets made; it's gone in no time! I mentioned that you smoked yours a bit. We will definitely try it.
DeleteThanks for following Man, That Stuff is Good! ---Denise
I always do 10 lbs. 10 rolls. I do 7 lbs deer & 3 lbs pork. Works out great. I always use Backwoods summer sausage kit from LEM . And I have been using the Trail Bologna kit lately & it's amazing. I put them on the smoker about 4 hours. But I'm anxious to try your recipe.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think about this one. Andy did ten pounds this morning. I left for a nephew's birthday party and when I came back 4 rolls were gone thanks to a few visitors. :-) your version sounds good too. Thanks for commenting. Merry Christmas!
DeleteGood recipe!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ben! Andy made 10 lbs last week and has 20 more ready to make. Our Christmas guests devour this stuff! Merry Christmas!
DeleteI just put mine in the refrigerator for the night and went back to reread the article and now noticed you added fat. I am hoping it will still come out okay. I asked my helper as we were doing this and he said nope when I ask him if we needed to add fat. Also, I ground the shoulder and ran it through the grinder one time then two more times after adding the seasonings. It seems really soft so I am hoping it will firm up. I only made 3 pounds (one shoulder off our small 100lb deer here in Northwest Florida) so I can make changes (add fat) next time. Looking forward to trying it. I also doubled the garlic.
ReplyDeleteWe have fixed it numerous times without fat and it is still good. The texture should be fine. Andy just fixed 30 lbs. (30 rolls) using ground up/processed deer that had fat in it. However, he miscalculated his seasonings (not enough).We were worried for nothing. Still good! We added high temp cheese and it was really good. He just said he thought he liked it better without the fat. Thanks for checking out my blog! Denise **keep a close eye on that temp so it doesn't get dry. The sticks firm up after they cool!!
DeleteI left the rolls in for the full 2 hours before I checked their temperature (got busy with other projects) and they over cooked and are crumbly. Next time I will add fat and check their temperature before the 2 hour mark...Looking forward to trying it again!
DeleteI have found ovens are notorious for cooking differently. If it was crumbly, I would check it at one and a half hours. What was the internal temp if you remember?
DeleteFat needs to be in sausage about 20 percent ( but not deer fat:
Delete185 degrees
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen you smoked them what kind of wood did you use? Hickory? Applewood? Cherry?
ReplyDeleteWe bake this in an oven. No wood involved. The seasoning gives it the smoked flavor.
DeleteI don't have mustard seeds. I'm iced/snowed in my house can I substitute them for something else or are they pertinent to the sausage?
ReplyDeleteI don't have mustard seeds. I'm iced/snowed in my house can I substitute them for something else or are they pertinent to the sausage?
ReplyDeleteWe do like the mustard seeds in it. The only thing we'd recommend is to switch it with more garlic. We always make a small batch to test (1lb) when Andy tries something different so we don't waste a bunch of meat. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks!
DeleteI have used this recipe a few times. I wish it was a little moister. I can't figure out why when I freeze it, it leaves it watery after I thaw it out. Why do these kind of recipe's have to be so salty.
ReplyDeleteThrow in a little diced jalapeno and cheddar cheese and it makes it even better
ReplyDeleteYes! We have tried that several times and it is wonderful.
DeleteWhat can I substitute the Morton Salt Tender Quick for, can't find it in the stores here?
ReplyDeleteNice blog. Thank you for sharing. All Beef cuts in Pennsylvania
ReplyDeleteSeafood Distributor in Pennsylvania
I made 1 lb and it was so good that my husband turned around and had me make 6 more pounds
ReplyDeleteYAY!!!! Glad you liked it. Andy made about 15 pounds right before Christmas. We love it!!!
DeleteI love good venison summer sausage, but I've never tried to make it. This looks pretty easy so I'm going to try to make a small batch this weekend. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
ReplyDeleteWe haven’t done that but Andy thinks it shouldn’t hurt. Let us know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteDid you add ground beef? Some one asked if they could substitute with ground pork, but I did not see that as an ingredient.
ReplyDeleteWe've only ever made it with deer meat that has a little beef fat ground in it. If you try it, make a small batch and let us know how it turned out.
DeleteAre the 1/4 teaspoon measurements supposed to be 1 and 1/4 teaspoon? My math from Bud's recipe comes out to 1.2 teaspoons.
ReplyDeleteThe measurements are Andy's version. Original recipe is for credit/reference.
Delete"WoW amazing article! I'll give it a try! Have you tried this Smoked Venison recipe?
ReplyDeleteWe have Offset Smokers under $1000 various meats and both concur this one is most certainly the best one by a wide margin.
ReplyDeleteHow much fat do you add to the 1lb venison? And what kind if fat do you use?
ReplyDeleteI just saw this message. It’s late and the hubs isn’t a night owl so I will confirm with him in the morning. He typically uses a little beef fat.
Deletewhat temp do you bake at....sounds like a great recipe/
ReplyDeleteit seems like a lot of salt. is the sausage very salty at the end?
ReplyDeletea friend of ours just gave us a chub of this - frozen. How or what do I have to do to it to be able to eat it (other than thaw it out..) do I have to thaw it and then bake it? fry it? or is it ready to eat already...
ReplyDeleteJust thaw it and eat it! Keep refrigerated once thawed. Thank you for stopping by!
Delete