I'm getting started…..

I finished butchering this morning and have a 25 pound lug full of whole muscle jerky curing with the seasoning in it on a garage bench. I have a 25 pound batch of summer sausage all batched out. There are 5 or 6 five pound bags of 1″ cubed trim in the freezer for making sticks as I need them. I should be eating well all winter.

I nicked an index finger while I was gutting the first deer and for all intents and purposes it had healed up nice and no longer was a bother….until I mixed the cure into the jerky tub. Yowzer, does cure set fire in a cut. I’ll remember this for a long time. lol

With this much cooler weather sausage making should be great this year as its so much easier to control everything with lower temperatures. The smoker will kick off the jerky making on Tuesday and everything else just falls in place from there. Man I love working venison.

My grandson loves breakfast sausage mix and sticks. I use fareway for sausage and Fleet Farm seasoning for sticks.

We are in the same boat, we butchered this last Saturday, ground 90lbs of venison. Its gonna be a heck of a batch of sausage this year. Once we buy pork and seasoning it will be split in to 20 halves. Half maple breakfast sausage. Grandpas old recipe turns out delicious, so good a bunch of friends ask if they can process and make it with me. Then the other half brats. Cold smoked for 50 minutes in grandpa’s old walk in smoker. The brats are the best on the ice food and are taken down very quickly. They also make great gifts for the family near x mas. Have fun I know it’s a ton of fun for us to make it all

Its darned near zero this morning so I’m going to hold the jerky until tomorrow. After today we’re supposed to see a warm-up for two or three days….enough to get the jerky wrapped up. I may do sticks while the jerky is getting stunk up so I can just keep on keeping on.

You guys don’t happen to need help sampling for approval by chance do ya! iowaboy1 and I are available!!

I will be right up to pick you up Glenn! then we will head over to Toms, need to stretch the legs on my truck anyhow!

hhhmmm,what can I bring along to wash down the eats?,I know !! jack single barrel !!

Come on up dude. Or down in Glenn’s case. You’ll be just in time for some smoked feral cat. Another one in the garage nosing around until I hit the lights and then that sucker flew. About one more of those wild suckers and the real gun will come out.

Two nights ago one got in my pails of venison fat that I render for bird suet….fat chunks all over the darned garage floor. I’m setting a live trap tonight just outside the garage doors. Tuna should do it. Whatever gets caught is going for a serious ride out to a farm with some big dogs as a welcoming committee. Damned cats.

Well I’ll be close. Headed to hagar city tomorrow!

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Come on up dude. Or down in Glenn’s case. You’ll be just in time for some smoked feral cat. Another one in the garage nosing around until I hit the lights and then that sucker flew. About one more of those wild suckers and the real gun will come out.

Two nights ago one got in my pails of venison fat that I render for bird suet….fat chunks all over the darned garage floor. I’m setting a live trap tonight just outside the garage doors. Tuna should do it. Whatever gets caught is going for a serious ride out to a <nobr style=”font-size: inherit”>farm</nobr> with some big dogs as a welcoming committee. Damned cats.

would that taste like smoked chicken Tom??????????

No idea….you and Iowaboy wanted to be the taste testers. You’ll have to wait though as no cats fell for the tuna. Maybe tonight.

The first batch of jerky is in the smoker though and if things go according to Hoyle I’ll have two nice piles to finish in the oven by mid afternoon. I’ll wrap up the jerky tomorrow then dig out the trim for the sticks. The nephew wants to help with summer sausage [actually he just wants some summer sausage and figures if he’s in on the work he’ll be due some….got his a$$ all figured out]. Once all the red meat has been dealt with the pork will start flying. Brats, breakfast and Italian sausages. Ma and I go thru a ton of brats so depending on what I have left for pork butts when I’m done with all the “planned” sausage I may make a second batch of brats or maybe even pepperoni again. I can always use pepperoni.

Hoyle played nice today and the first batch is now basking in 190 degree heat while drying down a bit more. I found a thinner piece that was close to an inside vent [hence more smoke and heat] and was dry enough to become a sample. All I can say is yum. Not super salty, not really hot but not bland either. Pretty good mix this Waltons blend is turning out to be.

25 pounds is a lot of jerky…..but I can handle it.

I found a second piece that’s ready too but that one is waiting until after dinner to go with an ice cold Shiner’s Lager.

so Tom, hows my, er……the jerky and wurst coming along!!!!!!!!

Nicely Glenn. Nicely.

Here’s the first batch from the oven. Yesterday’s batch will get allowed to rest a day, today, while I package and seal all of this up.

oh my……….slobber………slobber!!!!!!!!!! nicely done sir!!!!!!

Wow! How did I miss this smell a vision?
Wish I lived a bit closer!!

The nephew wanted to help with summer sausage just to get some hands-on before trying it himself and we set this Saturday for doing it. He lives north and west of the cities about 20 miles each way and had no idea that we have weather warnings flying down this way for Saturday. I’ve got the meat all thawed and laid out with the seasonings and casings, stuffer and grinder all set to go, so if he bails I will still get this done. What a winter already for weather. I sure wish the heat part of global warming would kick in here soon. I’d love rain, I don’t have to shovel or blow it.

I have 1st season opener Sat, 100% rain forecasted, ugly! I’ve heard of reports between 1/2″ to 1-1/2″. My gun most likely will not see the field if that comes to pass. See what Sunday comes.

Careful in the field Denny. I hope the hunting gods favor you!

Me too as I have just a couple of back straps and one three pound tube of summer sausage cut into 4 hunks! After my daughter arrives the back straps will get BBQ’d and the SS will make it back home with her. Thanks my friend.