Hey all, a while back I made some venison Italian sausages that were 80/20 venison and pork fat. I ground twice, kept everything real cold, and hand mixed everything to that “sticky texture.” Once I cooked them though I was a little put off by the texture. The filling was extremely dense unlike the filling you find in store bought sausages that have that sort of chunky looking texture. I want to make some more but wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on improving the texture or knows what caused this. Thanks!
Venison Sausage Texture
- Thread starter TM0218
- Start date
How could yours be chunky if you ground it twice? What size plate did you use? Fat is less dense than lean venison. Some store made sausages can be 40% or more fat.
How did your product taste? What size casing did you use? If you want your sausage to have the texture of commercial pork sausage you will need to up the pork % and or the pork fat %
How did your product taste? What size casing did you use? If you want your sausage to have the texture of commercial pork sausage you will need to up the pork % and or the pork fat %
The taste wasn’t great but I attest that to the recipe itself. It was also pretty dry so I figured not enough fat. I planned this time to do 50/50 venison/pork shoulder. I have a stuffing plate for my grinder so I’ll continue to use that. I can’t remember where I learned about the grind twice but I may not this time. Do you guy still mix heavily until the mixture binds?
2rocky
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My Italian Butcher does 50/50 pork shoulder and Wild Game Meat.
Invest in a Vertical Stuffer, grind once and mix.
Invest in a Vertical Stuffer, grind once and mix.
Wilderness_56587
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I do 75% venison 25% pork sausage, ground twice through medium blades and then vertical stuffer. I have started seasoning the meat before the grind, this way the seasoning gets mixed with the meat almost 3 times before stuffing.
WyoDoug
Well-known member
I would also be careful not to over mix meat when you are making sausages or you end up with bologna type texture and density. For italian sausage, I only mix it enough to be well blended. If it's too dry for the stuffer, I add just a little bit of ice water until it feeds through well.
WyoDoug
Well-known member
I grind both fat and meat twice, once using a 18/25 hole plate then again using the 6/25 hole plate. I add a just a little bit little bit of ice water after the first grind so it goes through easier without chunking up.
devon deer
Well-known member
Do you also add rusk to the mix?
It helps retain moisture, or milk powder in place of the rusk?
I do 70/30 venison/pork
Cheers
Richard
It helps retain moisture, or milk powder in place of the rusk?
I do 70/30 venison/pork
Cheers
Richard
devon deer
Well-known member
Kaitum
Well-known member
This. Don't over-mix. If you want fine textured sausage like a summer sausage or snack sticks, then mix it well until the meat becomes tacky. For brat / Italian style sausage, just mix enough till the seasoning is blended in but no more.
devon deer
Well-known member
Sorry I might have steered him in the wrong direction, my idea of a sausage is the British banger, not Italian which I just googled!
Cheers
Richard
WyoDoug
Well-known member
Another tip for you: You want your metal parts that touch the meat as cold as possible. You do not want them to be getting warm or they will partially render the fat in the sausage and melt any cheese and that might create lumps too. For the grinder and stuffer, I put all the metal parts including blades in a bin and put it in the freezer for at least 6 hours. For the mixer, I put frozen bags of water in zip lock bags in the mixer and cover it with a towel.
If you use cheese, you want to buy the high temp cheese available from Weston or Cabellas. Over the counter cheese, unless it is high temp cheese, will turn into a liquid cheese and you will not even notice it when you grill the sausage and it may have a weird texture and taste.
If you use cheese, you want to buy the high temp cheese available from Weston or Cabellas. Over the counter cheese, unless it is high temp cheese, will turn into a liquid cheese and you will not even notice it when you grill the sausage and it may have a weird texture and taste.
6mm Remington
Well-known member
Wild Game Fresh Ground Sausage Seasonings
2 Flavors Available FLAVORS: Country Blend; Italian Blend.
Hi-Country sausage and jerky mixes are fantastic! They are all excellent. I use them each and every year. Country Blend, Italian, and German are all excellent. Like others have stated mixing a little more pork fat/meat into the works will work nicely for you. I grind twice. After first grind I add the sausage mix into the 5-gallon white bucket I use only for mixing game in, nothing else. I mix it well by hand and then I grind the second time. I also mix it by hand again after the second grind. I feel that it gets the sausage mix more evenly distributed in the meat. I have never used a sausage stuffer and like to make my sausage into bulk packages right at about a pound each or just a touch more. For me at least it works better for us using it this way. You can find pork bellies on sale quite often and they make excellent mix as they are about 50% meat and 50% fat. I also like to vary things a bit if I prefer or want a little more of a spicy sausage, I just cut down on the total amount of meat I am mixing the seasonings into. Say the package calls for 30 pounds of meat I might use 25 pounds of meat so I get a little bit more flavor in the sausage.
Hi Country also makes excellent jerky mixes. I love them. My favorites for jerky are the Original Blend, Smoky Blend, Three Pepper, and Sweet & Spicy.
Wild Game Jerky Seasonings
FLAVORS: Original Recipe; Sweet Teriyaki; Smoky Blend; Garlic Pepper-No Added MSG; Three Pepper-No Added MSG; Sweet & Spicy-No Added MSG.
Hi Mountain Seasonings
Wrangle up Big Western Flavor with Hi Mountain Seasonings, bold western flavors, make your own jerky, sausage, smoked meats
himtnjerky.com
Hi Mountain spices out of Wyoming also makes some excellent flavorings also. I've used a couple different mixes of theirs and really liked them, but I pretty much have stuck with Hi Country. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
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LuketheDog
Well-known member
Okay awesome thanks everyone! So it sounds like more pork and less mixing is the consensus. If anyone has any recipes that they’re willing to share please do! Thanks again
More than likely it's the mixing. Try some of Hank Shaw's recipes @ honest-food.net
WyoDoug
Well-known member
I missed one more item that will make your sausage lump up. What is the temp of your meat and fat when you process it? It should be almost frozen, just thawed enough to go through the grinder and the sausage maker. Too warm, it lumps up, sometimes badly. When I am processing fresh butchered meat, I put my grind bin in the fridge at 34 degrees overnight before I make sausage or burger with it.
