Should I try to fix?

[ThunderLund78]

A few weeks ago I made 10 lbs of bulk venison breakfast sausage.  This was really the first thing I've ever processed myself from a deer.  I went with Curly's Southern Style Fresh Sausage mix.  My intent was to freeze half in one-pound vac packs and the other half in patties (4 to a pack).  My family and I have eaten through a few packs of the patties now - enough to form a solid opinion on my first run!

1. Flavor is good, but my wife would really like some Maple flavor - she's not a big wild game fan but eats the processed sausage.  I would actually agree that Maple would be a a good addition as well.

2. I like a more coarse sausage, but I definitely should've put the final mix back though the large plate one more time - at a minimum.  The venison itself is tender enough, but the pork trim has a lot of fat, tissue, etc and I think that's the main culprit.  It only went through the big plate once before I mixed it all together.

All in all, the chewiness and toughness make it just OK.  My kids will eat it and I will eat just about anything, but I'd like it to be something the whole family would enjoy and help me eat.  The venison has already been frozen and thawed twice - once when butchered, then I thawed to grind, and then when I vac-packed/re-froze and thawed to make the breakfast sausage. (next time, I will grind when i butcher - didn't have my meat grinder with me this year).

What I'm thinking of doing is thawing slightly and quickly re-grinding through the medium plate and then re-freezing, yet again.  I also might first make a quick 1 lb test with some Maple Syrup mixed in to see if I'd like to add to the rest of it.

Has anyone else ever went back to a mix after a few weeks and tried to fix/enhance?  I know I'll probably lose some quality with the re-freeze, I think I can do it quick enough to not have any spoilage be a concern.

[nofishfisherman]

It took me a few years of playing around with things before I got my preferred sausage mix down.  Texture and taste are the two big things that are easy to play with.  I keep a small note book with notes on things I've tried so that I can remember them from year to year.  

I usually do a course grind on the meat the first time and then once the seasonings have all been added I'll run it all through again on either a course or medium plate to get it all mixed and at a consistent texture. 

Another thing i do is while seasoning i'll season the way I think it should be and then take a small 1 ounce piece of the sausage and cook it up in a small skillet.  That way I can get a quick sample of what it tastes like in small batch.  Then I can amend the large batch as needed.  If you do that you can taste your mix without maple, then do a small 1 oz sample with a touch of maple and decide which you like best.  Doing these 1 oz taste tests really helps you dial in the seasonings.

This all holds true for any type of sausage or meatball that you might make.

I also usually freeze the meat initially since I can't always grind right away.  I then grind it when its partially thawed, mix in the seasonings and then refreeze. Hasn't been an issue so far. 

 

[ThunderLund78]

I did do the test when i first mixed.  But I think, especially for a newbie like myself, you get a little excited and want to like it so much that your judgement gets a little skewed.  And it does taste good, but now that we've had a little more time to experience it, I do think there's definitely room for some simple improvement, just from a texture standpoint and I'm wondering if there's a downside or risk that I'm not thinking of.

[reinhard1]

I don't think you will have a problem with the re-freeze as long as you keep the mix cold, grind again and freeze right away.  I have skipped the running through the course plate for a lot of my sausage [except kielbasa].  I have found that running the meat through a medium plate just once, and then mixing all the ingredients work best for me.  Grinding just course once and then mixing just doesn't make for a "tender" texture to the bite because you are just frying it at a higher temp for a short period of time.  Now  by using a course grind for smoking , that is a different story.  Longer cooking time with a lower temp breaks the meat down to a more tender bite.  As far as how much Maple syrup.  I go 8 oz. of "real" maple syrup per 10 pounds of mix.  Not the pancake syrup, but the real maple syrup.  Of course you can adjust it later to your liking.  good luck.

[nofishfisherman]

Yeah that makes sense.  Its easy to get excited and think "oh thats good" after the one bite.  It can take some time for the critical eye to set in.

Its kind of a pain but when you plan to use the 1 pound packs you could thaw and run it through the grinder quick before cooking it.  It means getting the grinder out and cleaning it each time you use one of the one pound packs but it prevents you from having to thaw and refreeze them.

I would suggest making a note somewhere what you are learning about your preferences.  Maybe make a note that the next batch needs 2 grinds.  That way next time you aren't as likely to forget.  I know I'm prone to that.

[leechlake]

I find mine is saltier down the road than when I do a test patty.  Could be the melding process.  I've got some italian bulk that is right on the edge of too salty for some recipes so I add a little ground beef when I use it.

I suppose in a perfect world I'd blend and let sit for 24 hours and then do the test patty.

[reinhard1]

That's right Kris, let the mix set overnight and then stuff or patty it up.  The melding thing is for real.  good luck.

[ThunderLund78]

Overall it's not that it's tough overall, it's that the grind is so course that there's chuncks of it that are tough. I know it's not the venison, I meticulously cleaned that stuff. I think it's the course grind on the picnic trim I used.  I went the cheap route, but next time I'm going to use straight-up pork shoulder.  Less connective tissue and fat.  I think one more grind would break that trim down and help it all mix in better for a more consistent texture.

Thanks for all the advice! I think I'll re-grind this weekend while I got the grinder out for some meat sticks (the next adventure)