I mentioned in a previous post that a friend gave me a generous amount of frozen moose meat. I have been processing some of it and will be giving her half in modest recompense for her generous gift. As we will be getting together soon, I was in a hurry to get some done to share with her.
Being short of time, I didn't get to doing a lot of research and went to our local outfitting store and picked up a Hi Mountain Hunter's Blend Summer Sausage kit. It comes with seasoning, cure and fibrous casings.
For two 3 pound chubs, it calls for 1 1/2 pounds of pork and 4 1/2 pounds of venison. I used moose, of course.
I got some pork shoulder and the moose out of the freezer and let it thaw until it was just crunchy in spots.Some of the moose was preground.
I cut the pork up and weighed it. It came in at 1 pound 11 ounces. I diced and added enough of the moose to make six pounds.
I ran the unground meat through the grinder attachment on my KitchenAid (medium plate) and added it to the preground moose.
I mixed the seasonings and the cure in a bowl in the amounts recommended by the instructions. I sprinkled that over the meat. Then I poured 1/2 cup of cold water on that. I mixed it thoroughly by hand for 4 minutes. I think the feeling in my cold hands will come back any day now.
I put the meat in the fridge to chill again for 1/2 hour. While I was waiting, I soaked the fibrous casings in warm water.
I ran the meat through the grinder with the medium plate again.
I put the meat in the fridge and did a test fry. I was surprised it was so spicy. I didn't know that Hunter style meant spicy! Still in is a nice flavour without too much burn. It is a little salty for me but I find everything too salty. She Who Must Be Obeyed said it was fine.
I put the meat in 2 of the fibrous casings. and let them sit in the fridge overnight. Note I tied the probe of my BlueTherm Duo into the end of one of the chubs.
The next morning, I turned the Bradley Smoker on to 120 F without smoke. I put the chub in the smoker or 1 hour. Then I increased the temperature to 140 F and started pecan smoke. I went for another hour and increased the temperature to 160 F for 1/2 hour. Then I increased the temperature up to 180 F and smoked to an internal temperature of 156 F (4 1/2 hours). I put the chubs in cold water and then left them on a rack for a couple of hours.
I put it in the fridge overnight and then sliced her up and tasted it.
The Verdict
This is a good product. I like the consistency and the spicy flavour. If you are looking for convenience, this is a good way to go. That being said, as I prefer a touch less salt than most people and I want to be able to adjust the flavour profile, I will look for recipes I can mix myself for further attempts.
However, I am enjoying this. I have some cooking on a pizza as I speak!
Disco
Being short of time, I didn't get to doing a lot of research and went to our local outfitting store and picked up a Hi Mountain Hunter's Blend Summer Sausage kit. It comes with seasoning, cure and fibrous casings.
For two 3 pound chubs, it calls for 1 1/2 pounds of pork and 4 1/2 pounds of venison. I used moose, of course.
I got some pork shoulder and the moose out of the freezer and let it thaw until it was just crunchy in spots.Some of the moose was preground.
I cut the pork up and weighed it. It came in at 1 pound 11 ounces. I diced and added enough of the moose to make six pounds.
I ran the unground meat through the grinder attachment on my KitchenAid (medium plate) and added it to the preground moose.
I mixed the seasonings and the cure in a bowl in the amounts recommended by the instructions. I sprinkled that over the meat. Then I poured 1/2 cup of cold water on that. I mixed it thoroughly by hand for 4 minutes. I think the feeling in my cold hands will come back any day now.
I put the meat in the fridge to chill again for 1/2 hour. While I was waiting, I soaked the fibrous casings in warm water.
I ran the meat through the grinder with the medium plate again.
I put the meat in the fridge and did a test fry. I was surprised it was so spicy. I didn't know that Hunter style meant spicy! Still in is a nice flavour without too much burn. It is a little salty for me but I find everything too salty. She Who Must Be Obeyed said it was fine.
I put the meat in 2 of the fibrous casings. and let them sit in the fridge overnight. Note I tied the probe of my BlueTherm Duo into the end of one of the chubs.
The next morning, I turned the Bradley Smoker on to 120 F without smoke. I put the chub in the smoker or 1 hour. Then I increased the temperature to 140 F and started pecan smoke. I went for another hour and increased the temperature to 160 F for 1/2 hour. Then I increased the temperature up to 180 F and smoked to an internal temperature of 156 F (4 1/2 hours). I put the chubs in cold water and then left them on a rack for a couple of hours.
I put it in the fridge overnight and then sliced her up and tasted it.
The Verdict
This is a good product. I like the consistency and the spicy flavour. If you are looking for convenience, this is a good way to go. That being said, as I prefer a touch less salt than most people and I want to be able to adjust the flavour profile, I will look for recipes I can mix myself for further attempts.
However, I am enjoying this. I have some cooking on a pizza as I speak!
Disco