Venison: making summer and smoked sausage (2024)

FAQs

How long does venison summer sausage take to smoke? ›

Homemade venison smoked sausage directions

Stuff prepared sausage into 3-inch diameter fibrous casings. Smoke at 140 F for 1 hour, then at 160 F for one hour and then 180 F until internal temperature reaches 152 F (insert a food thermometer in the thickest part of the sausage to check internal temperature).

Using a ratio of 75% game meat to 25% pork trimmings will give the game meat some pork flavor and bind it when cooking, without removing the venison taste.

A perfect sausage for slicing and snacking. Made with classic summer sausage seasonings. It's fully cooked and ready to eat.

Summer sausage, as mentioned, is a semi-dry sausage; it loses around 15 percent of its original moisture content during aging. While salami can be considered a type of summer sausage, it generally loses about 25 percent of its original moisture during aging, making it a dry sausage.

Let meat mixture rest in the fridge for 12-24 hours. This will help develop the flavors and allow the cure to start working. Using a summer sausage casing start stuffing the sausages with the chilled seasoned meat. Make sure you are stuffing the meat as full and tight as you can, you want the casings to be filled.

The best and most obvious way of telling when the sausage is ready is by using a meat thermometer. You need to closely monitor the sausage's internal temperature, aiming for 160°F (71°C).

There's no magic answer for how many times you should grind meat for sausages. It's really up to personal preference. If you like a coarse, chunky sausage then once should be enough. If you prefer a smoother sausage, then you probably want to grind it twice.

It's usually about two inches in diameter and about six to eight inches long. The sausage is a deep rosy pink with small white flecks of fat.

Yes, you can safely enjoy summer sausage without cooking or refrigeration. It's typically served thinly sliced on its own or alongside accouterments such as cheese. Some Southerners like to make post-holiday sandwiches with summer sausage, or even chop it up and throw it into a casserole.

Cooked deer sausages should be dark or golden brown and firm to the touch. Before eating your sausages, place a food thermometer in the center of the fattest link. If the internal temperature is at least 160 °F (71 °C), the sausages are cooked and can be removed from the pan.

Is summer sausage always fully cooked? ›

Yes, most summer sausages are sold fully cooked, which is why they're ready to eat sans refrigeration. However, it's best to err on the side of caution when it comes to anything we consume, so be sure to read the packaging label beforehand.

Pork: The best pork for this recipe is a whole pork shoulder (aka Boston butt shoulder roast) that you grind yourself. Pork fat is crucial to this recipe, and you'll need to make sure to have at least 20% fat in this venison summer sausage recipe.

Dried or smoked, the tangy taste is typically a result of it being a fermented sausage with a low pH that slows the growth of bacteria, so it doesn't need to be refrigerated. This results in a meat roll that has a greater resistance to spoilage, especially in the hot summer sun.

Summer sausage is a type of cured meat that was developed in Europe prior to refrigeration technology. Using several types of preservation methods at once allowed people to make a sausage that would keep from spoiling without refrigeration “in the summer months.” Hence the name, summer sausage.

Form into 2-inch diameter rolls and place in smoker at 225°F for 8-9 hours. Time may vary. Be sure to cook to the internal temp of 160°F before removing.

Preheat smoker or pellet grill to 250° Fahrenheit. Place sausages in the smoker, leaving space around each sausage link. Smoke for 1-1.5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165° Fahrenheit. Note: Time will vary based on the smoker and the size of the sausages.

Maintain a cooking temperature of 200-250°F, and turn sausage several times to ensure even smoking. Heat the Fully Smoked sausage 30-45 minutes until 165°F. Smoke the Fresh (Raw) sausage for 1½ -2 hours until 165°F.

Yes, you can safely enjoy summer sausage without cooking or refrigeration. It's typically served thinly sliced on its own or alongside accouterments such as cheese. Some Southerners like to make post-holiday sandwiches with summer sausage, or even chop it up and throw it into a casserole.