Jalapeno chedder sausage

[Mark40]

I made my first sausage ever the other day. Used 8 lbs pork shoulder, and 2 lbs venison. Had good flavor, and spice, but a grainy texture. I'm thinking that adding fat next time would fix that, but not sure. I used course grind, hand mixed the meat and seasoning, then fine grind, then stuffed the sausages. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smokininthegarden]

Hey Mark
If you could describe the recipe you were using we may be able to help you
a little better. For now, there is a good chance you are right, it probably is a fat issue. Venison is a very dry meat and chances are the amount of fat on the shoulder just couldn’t supply enough fat. Added fat could help but there are other things to consider. Report back and we’ll see what we can do.

Cal

 

[crazymoon]

M40, Smoker times and temps come into play here. Too high of a smoker temp or IT snack stick temp can result in a "fat out " situation. Snack sticks need a low(170 or below) and slow cook IMHO. More info could help folks help you out.

 

[Smoky Momo BBQ]

The way that I did my first try at this I used 5 lb of pork butt 1 1/2 lb of pork fat. I put it thru the grinder twice, 1 large grind and 1 small. Then I put it in the natural casings which was a pain in the butt. Once they were all in the casing I took them out and I smoke them with a pit temp of 170 degrees until they reached an internal temperature of 160. 1 stay cool down my vacuum sealed them and put them in the freezer they turned out great I thought for my first time. I hope that helps a little bit.

 

[chopsaw]

Pork butt or picnic shoulder ? Like said , show the recipe you used along with cook temps and what smoker you used .
I've done venison sausage , 50 / 50 with pork butt . Plenty of fat .
M Mark40 I actually joined this site asking the exact same question as you . After learning a few things about time and temps and the addition of NFDM as a binder it left me with great results .

 

[Mark40]

I used
8 lbs pork shoulder
2 lbs venison
2 tbls course sea salt
2 tbls garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tbls black pepper
1 tsp pepper flake
1 tbls paprika
2 diced jalapeno
1/2 medium onion diced
2 packs of shredded cheese.
Done course grind, then hand mixed spices peppers, onions, and cheese. Then a fine grind, after I let sit in fridge over night. Then stuffed in hog casing. Smoked at 200 for roughly 2 hours.

 

[smokininthegarden]

Mark
Well your recipe looks fine as far as the spices go, lots of good flavors there.
You may want to use pork butt instead of the shoulder, the butt will have
more fat on it resulting in a juicer sausage. Basically you are looking for a ratio
of 75% lean meat and 25% fat, achieving that with just the fat from the pork
may not be possible with the added venison, so more fat will be needed. You could ask your butcher for some or better yet try to source some pork back fat, that is the best. This is just a general suggestion, the amount of fat on a pork butt can vary wildly, these days some butchers are cutting off the fat cap of the butt for a “healthier” cut of meat I guess, leaving the sausage maker with less than ideal amount of fat. The fat ratio is just something you need to get a feel for. Other options would be to add some binders and other additives to your sausage, non fat dry milk can help, I also use corn syrup solids and soy protein concentrate. All three can help retain the moisture in the meat during the cooking process. Take a look at Len Poli’s site (google “Len poli” and it will come right up) he has lots of information on this subject.

Cal

 

[checkdude]

No cure #1? 200*F ? Am I missing something?

 

[Mark40]

Mark
Well your recipe looks fine as far as the spices go, lots of good flavors there.
You may want to use pork butt instead of the shoulder, the butt will have
more fat on it resulting in a juicer sausage. Basically you are looking for a ratio
of 75% lean meat and 25% fat, achieving that with just the fat from the pork
may not be possible with the added venison, so more fat will be needed. You could ask your butcher for some or better yet try to source some pork back fat, that is the best. This is just a general suggestion, the amount of fat on a pork butt can vary wildly, these days some butchers are cutting off the fat cap of the butt for a “healthier” cut of meat I guess, leaving the sausage maker with less than ideal amount of fat. The fat ratio is just something you need to get a feel for. Other options would be to add some binders and other additives to your sausage, non fat dry milk can help, I also use corn syrup solids and soy protein concentrate. All three can help retain the moisture in the meat during the cooking process. Take a look at Len Poli’s site (google “Len poli” and it will come right up) he has lots of information on this subject.

Cal

Thank you.

 

[Mark40]

No cure #1? 200*F ? Am I missing something?

As I said first attempt. Trial and error. But thanks for the input.

 

[chopsaw]

No cure #1? 200*F ? Am I missing something?

That was my next question also . Looks like he cooked it high and fast due to no cure ?

 

[smokininthegarden]

Come on guys give him a break, he said this is his first attempt at making sausage, I don’t think there is anyone here that knew it all at the first try.
After 30+ years of doing this I am just cracking the surface of what there is to know. We are here to help newcomers, not criticize their every move.

Please be kind and helpful.

Cal

 

[crazymoon]

M40, I am guessing that you were adding smoke flavor to your sausage and then would fry or grill your sausage at a later date? I too like to use a fat back laden pork butt when mixing with venison as you need that extra fat.