SapperDawg
01-10-2015, 08:24 PM
I was fortunate enough to harvest a young buck over the Thanksgiving holidays on some land I own in South MS. As this deer was young, I kept most of the primal cuts whole as they are much more tender than the average deer I have harvested. The downside is, that only left me with about six or eight pounds of cubed meat for grinding. I decided to make sausage with the cubed meat from this deer, as most of my burger will come from elk this year, and have enough for two batches: one five pound batch of breakfast sausage, and one five pound batch of boudin (I kept the buck liver for this).
First up is the breakfast sausage. Several years ago I purchased Michael Ruhlman's book "Charcuterie", and I have been using the breakfast sausage recipe found there. One adjustment I have made to the recipe in the book is with the amount of fresh sage used. The book calls for 30 grams of sage, but trial and error over several batches has caused me to cut that down to 10 grams, and we like it much better.
From the mechanical perspective, I have two "specialty" pieces of equipment for this: a LEM #8 grinder, and KitchenAid stand mixer. The stand mixer is for mixing the liquid in the ground sausage as the last step versus doing it by hand. I like using the stand mixer as the grind is generally VERY cold and hurts my fingers (think fishing in an ice chest for the last beer), and the mechanical mixing helps ensure a more even spread of the fat and seasoning throughout the mixture. I also purchased two large plastic bus-tubs at Sam's last year, and have used them extensively in my home butchery. Easy to clean, sturdy and hold a large volume, I highly recommend them. Here is my setup to start the grinding process:
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/DD866EA5-34E1-4BD8-9D27-886D0AA415DA_zpsrwnlf0ii.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/DD866EA5-34E1-4BD8-9D27-886D0AA415DA_zpsrwnlf0ii.jpg.html)
The process is pretty straightforward, cut four pounds of venison into one-inch cubes, add one pound of pork fat cut into one-inch cubes, add the seasoning mix, combine it all, and toss it all in a cold fridge or freezer for 20 minutes to an hour while you get set up.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/88834C80-035F-4117-81A5-9F19E0860CF9_zpsdrk3niv8.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/88834C80-035F-4117-81A5-9F19E0860CF9_zpsdrk3niv8.jpg.html)
It takes less than five minutes to run a five pound batch through my grinder with the small die.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/3D3C80FF-FDE7-47E2-BC76-752CDF13CD9E_zps6k65bstv.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/3D3C80FF-FDE7-47E2-BC76-752CDF13CD9E_zps6k65bstv.jpg.html)
The mixture then goes into the mixer where the cold liquid is added, in this case water, and is mixed until it is very sticky (about a minute on low):
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/8A5AD9D7-B864-489D-A477-C1A254E83C1A_zpsefkfy6tp.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/8A5AD9D7-B864-489D-A477-C1A254E83C1A_zpsefkfy6tp.jpg.html)
Always cook a test patty to ensure seasoning is right. It was.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/F4E64DCC-81A4-4AFA-B7C8-D6F478226A47_zps0elhc143.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F4E64DCC-81A4-4AFA-B7C8-D6F478226A47_zps0elhc143.jpg.html)
Finally, put your desired volume into plastic wrap and roll into logs. Toss in the freezer to get it solid, then wrap in butcher paper or vacuum seal:
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/8727B228-FF84-416C-97D7-9DA42EC96C65_zpssr8culil.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/8727B228-FF84-416C-97D7-9DA42EC96C65_zpssr8culil.jpg.html)
This should be enough to hold us over for a while. Tomorrow, we tackle cajun style boudin.
First up is the breakfast sausage. Several years ago I purchased Michael Ruhlman's book "Charcuterie", and I have been using the breakfast sausage recipe found there. One adjustment I have made to the recipe in the book is with the amount of fresh sage used. The book calls for 30 grams of sage, but trial and error over several batches has caused me to cut that down to 10 grams, and we like it much better.
From the mechanical perspective, I have two "specialty" pieces of equipment for this: a LEM #8 grinder, and KitchenAid stand mixer. The stand mixer is for mixing the liquid in the ground sausage as the last step versus doing it by hand. I like using the stand mixer as the grind is generally VERY cold and hurts my fingers (think fishing in an ice chest for the last beer), and the mechanical mixing helps ensure a more even spread of the fat and seasoning throughout the mixture. I also purchased two large plastic bus-tubs at Sam's last year, and have used them extensively in my home butchery. Easy to clean, sturdy and hold a large volume, I highly recommend them. Here is my setup to start the grinding process:
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/DD866EA5-34E1-4BD8-9D27-886D0AA415DA_zpsrwnlf0ii.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/DD866EA5-34E1-4BD8-9D27-886D0AA415DA_zpsrwnlf0ii.jpg.html)
The process is pretty straightforward, cut four pounds of venison into one-inch cubes, add one pound of pork fat cut into one-inch cubes, add the seasoning mix, combine it all, and toss it all in a cold fridge or freezer for 20 minutes to an hour while you get set up.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/88834C80-035F-4117-81A5-9F19E0860CF9_zpsdrk3niv8.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/88834C80-035F-4117-81A5-9F19E0860CF9_zpsdrk3niv8.jpg.html)
It takes less than five minutes to run a five pound batch through my grinder with the small die.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/3D3C80FF-FDE7-47E2-BC76-752CDF13CD9E_zps6k65bstv.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/3D3C80FF-FDE7-47E2-BC76-752CDF13CD9E_zps6k65bstv.jpg.html)
The mixture then goes into the mixer where the cold liquid is added, in this case water, and is mixed until it is very sticky (about a minute on low):
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/8A5AD9D7-B864-489D-A477-C1A254E83C1A_zpsefkfy6tp.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/8A5AD9D7-B864-489D-A477-C1A254E83C1A_zpsefkfy6tp.jpg.html)
Always cook a test patty to ensure seasoning is right. It was.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/F4E64DCC-81A4-4AFA-B7C8-D6F478226A47_zps0elhc143.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F4E64DCC-81A4-4AFA-B7C8-D6F478226A47_zps0elhc143.jpg.html)
Finally, put your desired volume into plastic wrap and roll into logs. Toss in the freezer to get it solid, then wrap in butcher paper or vacuum seal:
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo192/scumglove/Mobile%20Uploads/8727B228-FF84-416C-97D7-9DA42EC96C65_zpssr8culil.jpg (http://s375.photobucket.com/user/scumglove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/8727B228-FF84-416C-97D7-9DA42EC96C65_zpssr8culil.jpg.html)
This should be enough to hold us over for a while. Tomorrow, we tackle cajun style boudin.