50/50 venison and pork?

[Cj7851]

I'm preparing to do smoke sausage for the 1st time this year and I was just curious if anybody had ever done a 50/50 mix of venison and pork. Was hoping that I could get some tips or reccomendations from someone who may have done it before or to be told hey that's s bad idea dont do that. Thanks

 

[oberst]

That is my typical mix over the years. I buy butts and cut them up to add. I like a moist sausage and the fat level is to my preference. Have thought about trying a leaner mix though and will be interested in what others say about their preferred mix.

 

[Sowsage]

Im sure others will chime in with better answers but for me i like about 25% fat for a smoked sausage. Typically a pork butt with the fat cap still on will yield about 25% fat. Mix that with a basically 0% fat venison at a 50/50 mix and you will have about 12% fat in your sausages. For me thats pretty lean. But if you add nfdm (non fat dry milk) thats going to help keep the sausage moist and plump.

 

[Winterrider]

Usually do all my sausages 60/40 otherwise to fatty/ greasy for my liking.

 

[pc farmer]

How bout I throw this at you. My mix is usually 3 lbs beef, 2 lbs pork and 1 lb venison. Works for everything from burgers to sausage.

 

[Sowsage]

How bout I throw this at you. My mix is usually 3 lbs beef, 2 lbs pork and 1 lb venison. Works for everything from burgers to sausage.

This mix sounds good to me. If you had to throw out a guess of fat content what do you think your mix ends up at?

 

[pc farmer]

I have no idea. Sowsage 80/20 beef, I bet the same for the pork and venison has no fat.

 

[chopsaw]

I have always used 50 / 50 venison and pork . However , I have started using beef chuck , pork and venison and like that better . The beef really adds to the flavor for me .

 

[wazzuqer]

We use a 50/50 mix Deer and Pork butt, have for many years. Have tried less pork , but it’s to dry for us . Plus it stretches out your Venison !

 

[Sowsage]

I have always used 50 / 50 venison and pork . However , I have started using beef chuck , pork and venison and like that better . The beef really adds to the flavor for me .

I can see the beef having good flavor over the pork with the venison. Honestly it makes sense to have the red meat fat with the red meat venison. I have been throwing around the idea of mixing 50/50 beef and venison for some pepperoni snack sticks. I have done burgers 50/50 with a fatty beef...like the 70/30 stuff. And prefered that over a mix with pork. For burgers anyway. Have not really tried with sausage.

 

[tallbm]

I'm preparing to do smoke sausage for the 1st time this year and I was just curious if anybody had ever done a 50/50 mix of venison and pork. Was hoping that I could get some tips or reccomendations from someone who may have done it before or to be told hey that's s bad idea dont do that. Thanks

Hi there and welcome!

When looking at sausage making practices I believe it is recommended to be in the 20-30% fat range (can maybe go down to 15% in some cases).

I do venison sausage every year and I buy trimmed pork back fat from the butcher or restaurant supply story. I do 20% pork fat and 80% pure venison meat and the sausages come out awesome!
I also do my all pork sausages at 80/20 as well and same results.

The math is super easy at 80/20. For 5 pounds of sausage it is 4 pounds meat 1 pound fat. For 10 pounds sausage it is 8 pounds meat and 2 pounds fat. Work in 5 and 10 pound increments from there and life is easy.

I intentionally want as much venison as possible and only use the fat from another animal because it is mandatory. To me this makes the sausage as pure as it can be with the deer I have hunted. There's nothing wrong with other approaches of mixing in beef or pork, but I like knowing I'm eating venison rather than pork of beef with some venison tossed in. This is strictly a me thing and I don't expect the world to think just like me so take it for what it is worth :)

I look forward to seeing what you land on for your venison sausage :)

 

[tallbm]

I can see the beef having good flavor over the pork with the venison. Honestly it makes sense to have the red meat fat with the red meat venison. I have been throwing around the idea of mixing 50/50 beef and venison for some pepperoni snack sticks. I have done burgers 50/50 with a fatty beef...like the 70/30 stuff. And prefered that over a mix with pork. For burgers anyway. Have not really tried with sausage.

When I do my Ground Venison Pastrami Sandwich Meat (in loaf form then sliced) I use beef fat instead of pork. I save the beef fat that I trim from my briskets specifically for this. It is the key to getting a beefy pastrami flavor that I could never get using pork fat :)

 

[Sowsage]

When I do my Ground Venison Pastrami Sandwich Meat (in loaf form then sliced) I use beef fat instead of pork. I save the beef fat that I trim from my briskets specifically for this. It is the key to getting a beefy pastrami flavor that I could never get using pork fat :)

I'd be intrested in your recipe for the pastrami sandwich meat. ive done a couple old fashioned loafs before. Im assuming the process would be about the same but different flavors obviously. Sounds tasty!

 

[tallbm]

I'd be intrested in your recipe for the pastrami sandwich meat. ive done a couple old fashioned loafs before. Im assuming the process would be about the same but different flavors obviously. Sounds tasty!

Ask and ye shall receive my friend
Here is the full post on it: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pastrami-loaf-with-qview.263815/

In the 1st post I put a link that will jump you to the posting with all the exact recipe and instructions.

In all this is more like smoking sausage than it is like smoking a regular meat loaf. The good thing is that it is fairly easy.

• You just mix everything up.
• Line a loaf pan/foil pan/small cardboard box/etc. with plastic wrap and then push all the meat in and cover with the plastic wrap.
• You let it set overnight in the fridge and then unwrap the plastic wrap and gently dump the loaf onto a smoker rack. (The plastic wrap allows you to easily pull the loaf out of the pan lol)
• You smoke stepping up the smoker temp the same way sausage and bacon smokes are done until you reach the IT of 160F.
• Let cool in fridge overnight and then slice via a slicer (or electric knife, a regular knife is a bit difficult to use).

It is really really great stuff! I took a Reuben sausage recipe and worked it into this sandwich meat version. If you have any questions on it be sure to ask away

 

[Sowsage]

Ask and ye shall receive my friend
Here is the full post on it: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pastrami-loaf-with-qview.263815/

In the 1st post I put a link that will jump you to the posting with all the exact recipe and instructions.

In all this is more like smoking sausage than it is like smoking a regular meat loaf. The good thing is that it is fairly easy.

• You just mix everything up.
• Line a loaf pan/foil pan/small cardboard box/etc. with plastic wrap and then push all the meat in and cover with the plastic wrap.
• You let it set overnight in the fridge and then unwrap the plastic wrap and gently dump the loaf onto a smoker rack. (The plastic wrap allows you to easily pull the loaf out of the pan lol)
• You smoke stepping up the smoker temp the same way sausage and bacon smokes are done until you reach the IT of 160F.
• Let cool in fridge overnight and then slice via a slicer (or electric knife, a regular knife is a bit difficult to use).

It is really really great stuff! I took a Reuben sausage recipe and worked it into this sandwich meat version. If you have any questions on it be sure to ask away

Awesome thank you!

 

[chopsaw]

I have been throwing around the idea of mixing 50/50 beef and venison for some pepperoni snack sticks.

I have used beef and venison mix for sticks , big difference from using pork . Pork gets used because it's cheaper .

 

[Sowsage]

I have used beef and venison mix for sticks , big difference from using pork . Pork gets used because it's cheaper .

Thats kinda what i figured. I have a bunch of ground venison right now and i thought it would be a quick snack stick to just buy the big tubes of pre gound beef to mix with the venison i already have. Use the normal pepperoni seasonings and do a 24hr ferment with FLC culture. I would think it would turn out pretty good.

 

[chopsaw]

Thats kinda what i figured. I have a bunch of ground venison right now and i thought it would be a quick snack stick to just buy the big tubes of pre gound beef to mix with the venison i already have. Use the normal pepperoni seasonings and do a 24hr ferment with FLC culture. I would think it would turn out pretty good.

I've been doing the 24 hour ferment with T-SPX because that works with the temps I have in the house . I also do a post smoke hang in the basement if the temps are around 60 ish .
Beef , venison and red wine for the liquid ( plus whatever seasoning ) makes a great end result . If you use the wine don't get something to dark . Gives the sausage an off color .

 

[Sowsage]

I've been doing the 24 hour ferment with T-SPX because that works with the temps I have in the house . I also do a post smoke hang in the basement if the temps are around 60 ish .
Beef , venison and red wine for the liquid ( plus whatever seasoning ) makes a great end result . If you use the wine don't get something to dark . Gives the sausage an off color .

Ive not done the wine. But i think now that you have mentioned ill give it a go. Approximately how much per lb are you using? I usually ferment with the F-LC at about 100° with high humidity. Do you think that will still be good with the adition of the wine?

 

[chopsaw]

Ive not done the wine. But i think now that you have mentioned ill give it a go. Approximately how much per lb are you using? I usually ferment with the F-LC at about 100° with high humidity. Do you think that will still be good with the adition of the wine?

I don't know about the addition of wine and the higher ferment , but don't know why it wouldn't work .
As far as how much , I add the liquid and binder by feel . I add slowly until it comes together then I stop there . For me it depends on the fat in the meat mix on how much liquid it needs .