Venison Wieners

[pikestabber]

@ Reinhard1 or others...

I have a recipe for venison wieners that I want to try out (I would stuff using natural sheep casings). My question is, if I grind everything first as a coarse pass through, then as a fine pass through, how can I emulsify the mixture without a food processor? Can I run it trough on fine again, or could I use a some extra water and use a handheld electric mixer/beater? I am guessing I want a very smooth mixture prior to stuffing...

[bobbymalone]

Venison weiners? Huh, I didn't know people took that part. Explains why everybody wants to shoot a buck though

Sorry, too easy.

[reinhard1]

i have a good size food proccesor and usualy make small batches at a time [25lbs]. so after i do the course plate first i add all the seasonings, dry milk, cure in water or beer[mixed], and then mix it by hand well. after that the mixture should be somewhat sticky to your hands. then grind it through a fine plate once. at this time i would put a amount that a food proccesor or blender can handle but not overdo it.

i realy dont like it to fine a texture. i like it like the old fashion skin on type wieners like the Ambassador brand. if you dont have a blender or food proccessor i would mix the mixture with your hands one more time after the second grind with your hands and squeezing the mix as you mix it up. in the old days we would grind the mix like above and then put everything in a electric meat mixer and let it mix until we saw the texture we wanted.

i mix everthing by hand now in a lugger. but if you want that fine texture i would put it in a large food proccesor or a little at a time in a larger blender until you see the texture you want. they do sell small hand meat mixers at fleet farm for example that do up to 17 pounds or so. i have never used a hand held mixer as you describe. however if it has the power and you do an amount at a time that the mixer can handle i would think that it would do the job for you.

i dont have an idea of the amount you are making so i put up all those ideas above for smaller amounts. here is another way i have done this and it came out too fine for me but may work for you. grind the first batch course and mix all ingrediants well. then grind a second time in a fine plate. then leave the mix overnight so the seasonings and cure settle in. the next day before stuffing grind the mix one more time in the fine plate. you may have to clean the knife and plate during the proccess a time or two but it's important to keep them unclogged [so to speak]. this is more time consuming but probably the best way. good luck.

[pikestabber]

Thanks for the advice. I will likely mix it with my hands if I think the texture is good that way after a coarse then fine grind. I don't care if it is ultra fine, either...a little texture can't be a bad thing, right? And this would be a small batch, 25 pounds or so, so that should be quite manageable by hand.

Do you smoke them afterward? If so, how long, or if not, do you just freeze and then cook later? Thanks!

[reinhard1]

first of all i would let the finished mix set overnight so the cure and spices mix. the next day you can smoke them leaving all the wieners linked up. or you can also bake them in the oven at 220 degrees until the internal temp is 160 deg. also the smoker should not be hotter than 220 deg. some say even around 180, but 220 is my preference.

keep the wieners linked up so to handle them better after stuffing. hang the wieners in a vertical smoker or on fine mesh screens in the oven having foil cover the bottom to catch any drippings. i also poke very fine holes with a needle after stuffing and before making the links. this is to prevent casings breaking and also to prevent the wiener from bursting during cooking.

make sure you put a couple of meat thermometers in a couple of the wieners to let you know when the internal temp is 160 deg. as soon as the wieners are ready, have some cold water ready to put the hot dogs in right away after cooking. this will cool them off and prevent shrikage and wrinkling. then when they have cooled off [usualy 15 minutes or so] hang the wieners somewhere to dry for about 20 minutes and then you can freezer wrap them or vacume seal them. this is why i suggest to leave the wieners linked up, easier handling. good luck.

[pikestabber]

Excellent, thanks for all the help! This might be best directed in another thread, but in terms of snack sticks, polish, and summer sausage, do they all get an ice bath after smoking, too, to prevent shrinkage?

[reinhard1]

one thing i have not done is snack sticks [but will this year], but all the others i give a ice bath and i will give the snack sticks the same. when i operated a large walk in commercial smoker, everything we smoked [as far as linked sausage and things like summer sausage,salami] got a a cold bath. it was part of the pre programed cycle. i'm getting ready to buy the larger verticle Masterbuilt all digital smoker. i've been waiting for it to go on sale but it may not at Sams. right now it's $299. good luck.

[pikestabber]

Great, thanks, again!

[reinhard1]

no problem. ask anytime. there is always someone here that will help. good luck.