For most of my venison recipes, I prefer to separate each muscle and cut slices or chunks across the grain of the muscle.

The muscles from the tenderloins, back straps and hindquarters are the best choices for frying, grilling and roasting (these muscles are ranked in order of decreasing tenderness, but all are good quality). These muscles, as well as the neck, shoulder and flank muscles, can be used in other recipes such as stews, fajitas, chilies, smoked meats, sausages and hamburgers. Some recipes that work well with beef or pork may not work well with white-tailed or mule deer because these deer meats tend to be “dry,” lacking intramuscular marbling. Avoid undercooking and overcooking venison when frying, grilling, roasting, smoking or microwaving, because undercooked venison might provide a health risk, and overcooked venison becomes tough and dry. Soon after evisceration, the carcass or quartered meat should be cooled and stored at 34-38 degrees Fahrenheit. The carcass is easiest to skin soon postmortem, but skinning can be postponed for a few days as long as the carcass is quickly and thoroughly cooled. Tenderness is generally improved when the carcass or quartered meat is aged at least a week at 34 to 38 F with good air circulation around any exposed meat. Air circulation around exposed meat causes its surface to dry—the dry layer should be trimmed off during butchering. Tenderness continues to improve during the cold storage aging process until about 16 to 21 days. The meat that will be ground and the tenderloins do not need to be aged. Freezing should be avoided during the aging process because it inhibits aging and speeds spoilage after thawing. However, meat does not go bad when it freezes during the aging process. The meat should be kept clean and dry throughout field dressing, cold storage and aging processes. Soiling and excessive moisture increase the likelihood of spoilage.

WILD GAME SAUSAGE RECIPES

Summer Sausage Safely From Game Meat

Wash your hands with soap and water before working with meat, after changing tasks, and when finished.
Start with clean equipment – sanitize surfaces with a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water or follow directions on container.
Select only fresh, high quality meat and other ingredients (spice, cure, etc.)
If using frozen meat, first thaw in refrigerator..
Follow the recipe exactly for the proper lean-to-fat ratio to ensure good texture and binding properties.
Keep the temperature of the meat as cold as possible (below 40 degrees F) during grinding and mixing.
Mix the dry ingredients in water to dissolve the curing ingredients and allow for even distribution throughout the product during regrind.
If you have the grinding equipment, coarse-grind the meat, then add the rest of the ingredients and regrind.
If stuffing sausage, choose only high-quality hog casings that have been salted.
Soak casings in clean water 30 minutes before use, and rinse them in cold water to remove excess salt.
Wash grinding and stuffing equipment with hot soapy water. Then sanitize with solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water when done or 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach per quart of water.
Use food thermometers to ensure cooked sausage products have reached proper internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

IMPORTANT TIP

Keep the temperature of the meat as cold as possible during grinding and mixing.

To make great tasting venison sausage from home, you will need a few pieces of equipment.

1.) A meat grinder. This can be electric or a manually operated, hand-crank meat grinder. If you do not have access to a meat grinder, you can still make great tasting sausage from home. You can use a sharp knife to cut your meat into pieces as coarse or fine as you desire.

2.) 2-Large mixing bowls. One bowl for mixing your seasonings. The other bowl for catching the venison as it is ground.

3.) Sharp knife

4.) Measuring spoons

5.) Measuring cup

6.) Rubber gloves

Venison Summer Sausage Recipe

Note: Sausage is quite spicy. If you like less spice, cut down proportions of spices.

Ingredients:

15 pounds venison
10 pounds pork trimmings (5 pounds lean trimmings, 5 pounds fat trimmings)
7 ounces (2/3 cup) salt
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) commercial cure
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) mustard seed
3 ounces (1/2 cup) pepper
3 ounces (1/2 cup) sugar
1/2 ounce (3 tablespoons) marjoram

Directions:

Mix salt and cure with coarsely ground venison and pork trimmings. (Cure is optional. It is used to develop the characteristic pink color, improve flavor and inhibit the growth of clostridium botulinum.)
Pack in shallow pan and place in refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Then add rest of ingredients and mix well.
Smoke sausage until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F as measured by a food thermometer.

Homemade Venison Smoked Sausage Directions

Stuff prepared sausage into 3-inch diameter fibrous casings.
Smoke at 140 degrees F for 1 hour, then at 180 degrees F until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the sausage).
Remove from smokehouse and spray with hot water for 15 to 30 seconds. Follow with cold spray or place in ice water to cool down rapidly.
Refrigerate at 40°F or freeze.

Making Bulk Sausage

Bulk sausage is one of the most versatile types of sausage you can make. You use bulk sausage much like you use ground venison or ground beef. Bulk sausage is sausage not stuffed into casings.

Cooking with bulk venison sausages offer near endless possibilities. Bulk sausages can be used as burgers, as meatloaves, in meat sauces and in casseroles or hot dishes. Any place you use ground meat, you can substitute bulk venison sausage.

Bulk Breakfast Sausage

This recipe will make ten pounds of venison sausage. You will be using 6 pounds of venison and 4 pounds of beef or pork. The beef or pork you add to your venison sausage should be no more that 70 percent lean.

1.) Place meat into the freezer while you mix your seasonings and set up your grinder. Placing the meat into the freezer before you grind will make it easier to grind.

2.) Mix spices:

5 Tablespoons Salt
1 Tablespoon ground white pepper
2 Tablespoons rubbed sage (if you do not like the taste of sage replace with garlic powder or minced garlic)
1 teaspoon ginger
1 Tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 Tablespoon ground thyme
1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Mix spices and 1 pint ice water in large bowl. Make sure all the salt has dissolved.

3) Set up grinder. Use a grinder plate with 3/16 inch holes.

4) Remove meat from freezer. Put on rubber gloves.

5) Grind meat through the 3/16 inch grinder plate into the empty mixing bowl. During grinding, alternate venison and beef or pork. To every three or four pieces of venison, grind one to two pieces of beef or pork. This will help distribute the beef or pork more evenly. If you like sausage with a finer texture, grind the meat a second time.

6) Pour the seasoning mixture over the ground meat. With your glove covered hands, mix the seasonings into the meat. Make sure all meat and seasons are thoroughly and evenly mixed.

7) When you think you have mixed the meat enough, mix the meat again. Mixing a ten to fifteen pound batch of meat by hand will take at least 5 to 7 minutes. Thorough and even mixing is important. If the meat and seasonings are not thoroughly and evenly mixed, your venison sausage will have bites that taste great and bites with no flavor.

8) When you are sure meat and seasonings are mixed well, wrap the venison sausage in butcher paper and place in freezer. You can also vacuum seal your venison sausage.

Bulk Italian Sausage

This recipe will make 10 pounds of venison Italian sausage. You will be using 6 pounds of venison and 4 pounds of beef or pork. The beef or pork you add to your venison sausage should be no more than 70 percent lean.

1) Place meat into the freezer while you mix your seasonings and set up your grinder. Placing the meat into the freezer before you grind will make it easier to grind.

2) Mix spices:

5 Tablespoons Salt
1 Tablespoon cracked or ground fennel seed
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons crushed hot pepper
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 Tablespoon ground coriander

Mix spices and 1 pint ice water in large bowl. Make sure all the salt has dissolved.

3) Set up grinder. Use a grinder plate with 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch holes.

4) Remove meat from freezer. Put on rubber gloves.

5) Grind meat through 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch grinder plate and into the empty mixing bowl. When grinding, alternate venison and beef or pork. To every three or four pieces of venison, grind one or two pieces of beef or pork. This will help distribute the beef or pork more evenly. If you like a finer textured sausage, grind the meat a second time.

6) Pour the seasoning mixture over the ground meat. With your glove covered hands, mix the seasonings into the meat. Make sure all meat and seasons are thoroughly and evenly mixed.

8) When you are sure meat and seasonings are mixed well, wrap the venison sausage in butcher paper and place in freezer. You can also vacuum seal your venison sausage.

Want to discover more old or almost lost recipes? Then you really need to have The Lost Ways Book !

Here’s just a glimpse of what you’ll find in The Lost Ways:

From Ruff Simons, an old west history expert and former deputy, you’ll learn the techniques and methods used by the wise sheriffs from the frontiers to defend an entire village despite being outnumbered and outgunned by gangs of robbers and bandits, and how you can use their wisdom to defend your home against looters when you’ll be surrounded.

Native American ERIK BAINBRIDGE – who took part in the reconstruction of the native village of Kule Loklo in California, will show you how Native Americans build the subterranean roundhouse, an underground house that today will serve you as a storm shelter, a perfectly camouflaged hideout, or a bunker. It can easily shelter three to four families, so how will you feel if, when all hell breaks loose, you’ll be able to call all your loved ones and offer them guidance and shelter? Besides that, the subterranean roundhouse makes an awesome root cellar where you can keep all your food and water reserves year-round.

From Shannon Azares you’ll learn how sailors from the XVII century preserved water in their ships for months on end, even years and how you can use this method to preserve clean water for your family cost-free.

Mike Searson – who is a Firearm and Old West history expert – will show you what to do when there is no more ammo to be had, how people who wandered the West managed to hunt eight deer with six bullets, and why their supply of ammo never ran out. Remember the panic buying in the first half of 2013? That was nothing compared to what’s going to precede the collapse.

From Susan Morrow, an ex-science teacher and chemist, you’ll master “The Art of Poultice.” She says, “If you really explore the ingredients from which our forefathers made poultices, you’ll be totally surprised by the similarities with modern medicines.” Well…how would you feel in a crisis to be the only one from the group knowledgeable about this lost skill? When there are no more antibiotics, people will turn to you to save their ill children’s lives.

And believe it or not, this is not all…

Making Your Own Beverages: Beer to Stronger Stuff
Ginger Beer: Making Soda the Old Fashioned Way
How North American Indians and Early Pioneers Made Pemmican
Spycraft: Military Correspondence During The 1700’s to 1900’s
Wild West Guns for SHTF and a Guide to Rolling Your Own Ammo
How Our Forefathers Built Their Sawmills, Grain Mills,and Stamping Mills
How Our Ancestors Made Herbal Poultice to Heal Their Wounds
What Our Ancestors Were Foraging For? or How to Wildcraft Your Table
How Our Ancestors Navigated Without Using a GPS System
How Our Forefathers Made Knives
How Our Forefathers Made Snow shoes for Survival
How North California Native Americans Built Their Semi-subterranean Roundhouses
Our Ancestors’Guide to Root Cellars
Good Old Fashioned Cooking on an Open Flame
Learning from Our Ancestors How to Preserve Water
Learning from Our Ancestors How to Take Care of Our Hygiene When There Isn’t Anything to Buy
How and Why I Prefer to Make Soap with Modern Ingredients
Temporarily Installing a Wood-Burning Stove during Emergencies
Making Traditional and Survival Bark Bread…….
Trapping in Winter for Beaver and Muskrat Just like Our Forefathers Did
How to Make a Smokehouse and Smoke Fish
Survival Lessons From The Donner Party