sausage Venison Summer Sausage

[DonBo]

With archery seasons open already, thought I'd post a favorite recipe that pikestabber first posted three yeas ago.  It does not require casings, so no stuffer necessary. That's why I tried it in the first place. It is very good.  Can't wait to put a couple more deer on the ground so we can make another big batch.

 

 I included a listing for both 10 pound or 25 pound batches.

 

10 lbs Venison Summer Sausage

• 7lbs. venison

• 3lbs. pork

• ½ cup + 1 T. of TenderQuick

• ¼ cup course ground black pepper

• 2 T. mustard seed

• 1 T. Cajun powder

• 1 T. Louisiana Cajun Salt

• 1 T. crushed red pepper

• 1 T. onion powder

• 1 T. garlic powder

• 1 C. water

 

25 lbs Venison Summer Sausage

• 17.5lbs. venison

• 7.5lbs. pork

• 1 3/8 cup of TenderQuick

• ½ cup + 2 T. course ground black pepper

• 5 T. mustard seed

• 2.5 T. Cajun powder

• 2.5 T. Louisiana Cajun Salt

• 2.5 T. crushed red pepper

• 2.5 T. onion powder

• 2.5 T. garlic powder

• 3 C. water

 

Coarse grind venison and pork. Mix remaining ingredients with water until well blended and dissolved, then mix into the meat until well incorporated. Regrind all through a fine plate. Refrigerate overnight in a plastic tub covered in tinfoil. Roll into logs of about 1lb each. Smoke (heavy smoke) at 225 degrees for 4 hours, give or take (until internal temp reaches 155 degrees). Wrap in foil and allow cooling to happen naturally. Eat or refrigerate in a week, or freeze in vacuum bags.

 

NOTE: I did weigh these out at 1lb each and made them all a uniform shape (for uniform cooking). My "logs" were actually flat on each side...more like an evenly formed rectangle...which made them easier to keep on the racks. I rotated the racks probably once an hour. You can run heavy smoke for about two hours and just let it dry after that.

[eyeguy 54]

got a wood that you prefer?

 

[DonBo]

got a wood that you prefer?

 

I really like hickory for most anything.  It's certainly my go-to for red meat.

[reinhard1]

Great job Don!!!  There is a way to make awesome sausage like you made without casings.  So that should encourage those who don't have a stuffer to go ahead and do it!!  I have done this myself.  

[ThunderLund78]

AWESOME!

I have yet to part with the $$$ for a good stuffer, so this is at the top of my list! I might try it with beef first before I screw up venison   Is Louisiana Cajun Salt a brand name?  I'm guessing Cajun powder is your standard store-bought Cajun seasoning?

[DonBo]

AWESOME!

I have yet to part with the $$$ for a good stuffer, so this is at the top of my list! I might try it with beef first before I screw up venison   Is Louisiana Cajun Salt a brand name?  I'm guessing Cajun powder is your standard store-bought Cajun seasoning?

Honestly, I've never found these exact products, just use something similar you've already got in your cabinet and you'll be good. I've never used exactly the same recipe twice and it still turns out great every time.  

You can certainly fine tune this to your own taste. Personally, I use less off the hot stuff and more garlic myself.

Don't be afraid, just go for it.  BTW, the smaller 10 lb batch has NEVER been enough.  

 

[ThunderLund78]

Great,

I will use some Tony Chachere's creole seasoning and some normal saltless cajun seasoning.  I'll be doing the small batch just because I'm pretty new to all of this and i want to make sure I don't waste a lot if something does go awry   But I'm sure I'll be making the big batches in no time.  THANKS AGAIN!

[LindellProStaf]

Very impressive batch Don.  You must be related to R1.  AND that is a compliment!

[ThunderLund78]

By the way, I did try the 10 lb batch using beef in place of the venison as practice for after deer season. This stuff is THE REAL DEAL!!!!  I'm an amature at this and I've gotten so many compliments on the flavor. Many say it's some of the best they've eaten (even compared to the private meat market-bought stuff) and much less fatty than the stuff you get at the store.

DonBo is right, 10 lbs is NOT enough.  But if you just want to give it a try, it's an easy and manageable-sized batch.  Another great thing is that this is a great base recipe - its simplicity lends itself to tweaking/adding ingredients to your liking. You can really even customize it down to the roll if you want to try a bunch of different things.  Next time I will be mixing in some jalepenos in some of it, maybe some hi-temp cheese in other rolls.  I would also like to try a little fresh garlic to see how much that punches up the flavor.

Thanks DonBo for sharing this!

[DonBo]

Glad you tried it, and liked it.  Every one who's ever tried mine has said the same thing.  Casings? We don't need no stinkin' casings.  

 

[ThunderLund78]

Just curious, this could also go into casings if you wanted to, correct?  Or does cased sausage need more -or-less of something?

[DonBo]

I'm sure you could put this in casings.  Why not?

 

[pikestabber]

Is Louisiana Cajun Salt a brand name?  I'm guessing Cajun powder is your standard store-bought Cajun seasoning?

Here are the exact brands originally used. Louisiana Cajun is very similar to Tony Cachere's. The Cajun blend was a way to add heat without adding more salt, but you could certainly sub in cayenne or more red pepper flakes, etc. It's more of a preference thing. And I'll second the idea that this is definitely a "base" recipe that should be experimented with! Cheese, garlic, jalapenos, etc. It's actually good just in bulk to fry up as patties for breakfast.

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by pikestabber

[ThunderLund78]

I ended up using Perfect Pinch, just like you pictures and Tony C's - Turned out awesome!

[DonBo]

[Boar]

Funny, ive done this style before, I called them big fatties, its awsome that one dont need casings, why? ya dont eat them any way, ya cut it off and thro it away.  this is the way to go for summer sausage. Im gona try DB's recipe and tweek it a bit. I like sweet and savory cheesy style summer sausage, with a slight kick,  like adding some pine apple flavoring and srirach sauce. So im gona smoke a bunch of fatties! LOL!

[delcecchi]

Smoke a fattie!  Far out man (inhale loudly)

[eyeguy 54]

Funny, ive done this style before, I called them big fatties, its awsome that one dont need casings, why? ya dont eat them any way, ya cut it off and thro it away.  this is the way to go for summer sausage. Im gona try DB's recipe and tweek it a bit. I like sweet and savory cheesy style summer sausage, with a slight kick,  like adding some pine apple flavoring and srirach sauce. So im gona smoke a bunch of fatties! LOL!

gotta wrap fattys in BACON.    :) 

[DonBo]

Just finished up a big batch yesterday.  So good.

[reinhard1]

You have been a busy man!!!!  Great stuff!!  good luck.

[ThunderLund78]

About time for me to do another batch of this as well!  My son's a bit of a picky eater and not a big fan of school lunch. This summer sausage accompanies him to school in some form probably twice a week, on average.  He has yet to complain! What little I have left will probably be consumed over the holidays Thanks again for the great recipe!

[DonBo]

About time for me to do another batch of this as well!  

Told you 10 lbs is not near enough  

 

[delcecchi]

About time for me to do another batch of this as well!  My son's a bit of a picky eater and not a big fan of school lunch. This summer sausage accompanies him to school in some form probably twice a week, on average.  He has yet to complain! What little I have left will probably be consumed over the holidays Thanks again for the great recipe!

What the grand daughters call "munching meat". 

[lovebigbluegills]

I just went looking for this thread because i saw it earlier today and knew I wanted to try it. Went back thru 30 pages of great recipes, ideas, and smoky goodness, and here it was on page 1. 

I sure don't regret going thru the 'archives' again though, more good stuff than I could eat in a year!

I'll be starting the smaller batch over the holidays for sure

[Stick in Mud]

The timing here couldn't be better...Just got home from helping my buddy track and drag a big deer out of the woods, and we were discussing how we wanted to process this one.   Looks like we've got the answer, at least for some of it.