Venison Wieners/Hot Dogs

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smokenharley

Smoke Blower
Original poster
May 20, 2010
90
104
Lancaster Co., PA
It was a rainy, cold, and blustery weekend - perfect time to make a batch of venison doggies. I like the AC Legg seasoning but I embellish it with some fresh garlic and a tiny bit of Mace. I decided to go small (5#) on this batch with no cheese or other additional add-ins. My favorite ratio is 70% venison, 20% pork shoulder, and 10% fat. It gives me a very smooth texture and excellent taste.

I grind through a 1/8" plate at least twice. Generally, I separate the meat and the fat in the grinding process. Mixed all the ingredients and put them in the fridge until the next afternoon.

Next up is homogenization or emulsification. I usually keep a bowl surrounded by ice as the receptacle to keep the mixture cool after the process because it does generate a bit of heat due to the friction in the process. The point of emulsification is to join two dissimilar compounds (fat & protein) so it's important to keep everything as cool as possible. If I am doing a large batch (20#) I use several small bowls within a large bowl with plenty of ice.
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The next step obviously is stuffing - pretty boring so I didn't take any pics. After that I loaded my indoor smoker. It was way too cold and windy outside so I used my indoor franken smoker.

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In the smoker at 130F for 30 minutes, bumped-up to 140F with smoke for 1.5 hours. Ready for Sous Vide.

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Vacuum sealed and ready for Sous Vide.

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Sous Vide to 147F for 55 minutes. After a cold water bath I let them go to room temperature and then to the fridge.

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I took a few in to work the next day and was inundated with requests from people to make a batch. Given that hot dogs or wieners are probably the most process intensive sausage to make, I respectfully declined but, I did suggest that a good case of stout may change my mind.

I hope my smoking brotherhood enjoyed,
Smokenharley
 
Smokenharley, your wieners/hot dogs looks absolutely awesome! The outside and inside color is just beautiful. What's more, it looks like you were able to emulsify the ground meat to perfection. I am wondering, what kind of device did you use for this task? I usually emulsify meat for hot dogs using Cuisinart 14-cups food processor but never was able to reach that texture. Also, what kind of casing did you use? Any chance you can share your recipe?
 
Smokenharley, your wieners/hot dogs looks absolutely awesome! The outside and inside color is just beautiful. What's more, it looks like you were able to emulsify the ground meat to perfection. I am wondering, what kind of device did you use for this task? I usually emulsify meat for hot dogs using Cuisinart 14-cups food processor but never was able to reach that texture. Also, what kind of casing did you use? Any chance you can share your recipe?

I use a Champion Juicer to homogenize my mix. It is marketed as a juicer but will homogenize - nearly the same as emulsifying - you just need cooling. They are quite expensive new but can be found on Craigslist or Ebay for much less. I purchased mine for $60 hardly used.

Casings and I have been a love hate relationship for years. I make a lot of venison snack sticks and I have gone through many different casings from many different resellers. I settled on cellulose for my snack sticks and hot dogs. After the ice bath, the dogs and sticks slide right out of the casing. And there is no chewy stuff to deal with as you are eating the stick. They are smoke permeable and I think they nearly as good as any other casing for smoking.

Most of my process is posted but I'll detail it with additional ingredients in a day or two.
 
Found several Champion Juice's on my local Graigslist with a price range from $60 to $200 and additional cost of $25 for S&H.
Want to get it but afraid (!!!) my wife will kick me out of house for an additional piece of equipment. :emoji_laughing:
Seems like all providers sell cellulose casing in large quantities only... I'll be using collagen eatable casing (I used it before) for hot dogs. Waiting on details (recipe) for additional ingredients for your hot dogs... Thanks!
 
They look nice. Did you use the 26mm casings? I used them last time and they just seemed small to me once finished. I ordered the 31mm to try this year.
 
Great looking dogs!

I love it when folks ask me to smoke a turkey they got free from work. They have no idea how much work goes into brining, curing, injecting, trussing & then smoking turkeys. I can only do three birds hanging at a time, so I always say - for family, yes....anyone else, no. Then our daughter started asking this year for her friend, still no.

I always say that my smoker is available to any friend or family member to use. I'll gladly help but you gotta be here to help also. Still just me , the Mrs. & our thirst here when we run the smoker. No takers when they have to help.
 
Great post! Thank you! I have some elk meat in the fridge cut up and ready to grind. I'm going to make some hotdogs, and little smokes so I'm glad I found this. I also intended to use my Sous Vide to finish them to temp. I probably won't get a full emulsification since I don't have a large food processor or juicer like you do. I was planning on just doing a double or triple grind with my small place with some freezer time in between, then stuffing into some sheep casings. Thanks again for the inspiration and info!
 
SH, Your dogs look quite professional and I can see why your coworkers want to place orders ! Like
 
Found several Champion Juice's on my local Graigslist with a price range from $60 to $200 and additional cost of $25 for S&H.
Want to get it but afraid (!!!) my wife will kick me out of house for an additional piece of equipment. :emoji_laughing:
Seems like all providers sell cellulose casing in large quantities only... I'll be using collagen eatable casing (I used it before) for hot dogs. Waiting on details (recipe) for additional ingredients for your hot dogs... Thanks!

Here is my recipe
70% ground venison
20% ground pork shoulder
10% pork fat
AC Legg Frankfurter seasoning - .56oz per pound of meat
Pink Salt #1 - 1 teaspoon per 5# meat
1 cup NFDM per 5# of meat
13oz. Ice water per 5# meat (possibly additional if meat is very dry - you will need to judge as you are mixing)
Any additional seasonings you wish: I add a bit of garlic and mace
 
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Found several Champion Juice's on my local Graigslist with a price range from $60 to $200 and additional cost of $25 for S&H.
Want to get it but afraid (!!!) my wife will kick me out of house for an additional piece of equipment. :emoji_laughing:
Seems like all providers sell cellulose casing in large quantities only... I'll be using collagen eatable casing (I used it before) for hot dogs. Waiting on details (recipe) for additional ingredients for your hot dogs... Thanks!

I purchase my cellulose casings from The Sausage Maker www.sausagemaker.com. You can purchase them in most any quantity and their prices and shipping are reasonable. Good luck on the Champion. They do work fantastically.
 
Nice looking hot dogs Smokenharley. Yours makes me want to make a batch.... Great job!

Boykjo
 
I do ten pounds at a time and it has never flinched. It's a well made heavy duty juicer/homogenizer. My preference is 10#, refrigerate, and then begin the next 10#. I have noticed a very slight warming of the mixture but nothing like a food processor. In order to mitigate any warming I grind it into a SS bowl surrounded by ice. Generally my batches are 25#. I hope this helps.
 
I have access to a bowl chipper....but I would need a bunch of people to go in and make a batch of emulsified sausages to make it worth the while to pull it out and use it. I hear they are a royal PITA to clean....
 
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