Recipe · Venison
Hunting Season Venison and Beef Summer Sausage
A 25 lb batch of tangy, peppery summer sausage from this season's deer. Slice it for the cracker tray and the holiday gift box.
- Makes about 25 lb
- Time Overnight cure, 10-12 hours in the smoker, and a 24-hour dry
- Made with Summer Sausage Seasoning
Summer sausage is how a good deer season lasts all winter. This 25 lb kit batch uses half venison and half beef, a full overnight cure, and a slow, stepped smoke. Slice it thin for crackers, or wrap a few chubs as Christmas gifts.
Ingredients
Makes about 25 lb. Time: overnight cure, 10-12 hours in the smoker, and a 24-hour dry.
- 12 1/2 lb venison plus 12 1/2 lb beef (80% lean chuck works), about 85% lean overall
- 1 package Frisco Summer Sausage Seasoning, with the cure pack that comes inside the bag
- 2-3 cups distilled water, ice cold, for mixing
- 25 oz (about 3 cups) distilled water, for stuffing
- Optional: high-temperature cheese
- Summer sausage casings (fibrous casings are common), prepared as the casing package directs, and hog rings
- Equipment: grinder, stuffer, smoker with temperature control, and a probe thermometer
Use the entire cure pack with the full 25 lb of meat. Never add extra cure, and never leave it out.
Steps
- Keep the meat at 40F or below throughout. Grind the venison and beef, a coarse plate first and then a finer one, and combine.
- Open the cure pack and mix it thoroughly into the seasoning. Add 2-3 cups of distilled water to the meat, then blend in the seasoning mixture until the meat is sticky and tacky.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, gently work in 1 oz of distilled water per pound of meat (25 oz for the batch). Don't overmix. Fold in cheese now if you're using it.
- Stuff tightly into the casings with no air pockets. Close each end with a hog ring.
- Smoke on this schedule:
- Preheat the smoker to 100F. Hang the sausages with the top and bottom vents fully open and dry them 1-2 hours, until the casings are dry to the touch.
- Set the top damper 1/8 open and the bottom damper 2/3 open. Smoke at 110F for 3 hours, keeping the wood supply going.
- Raise to 130F for 2 hours, then 150F for 2 hours.
- Raise to 170F and hold until the center of the thickest sausage reads 160F, the USDA safe minimum for ground meat.
- Spray the sausages with cold water right away until the internal temperature drops below 100F. Let them rest at room temperature for a few hours, then refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours so the casings dry completely.
- Package as you like. Refrigerate what you'll eat soon, and vacuum seal and freeze the rest.
Why it works
Coriander, garlic, mustard, and pepper are the tangy, peppery flavors people expect in a summer sausage. The overnight cure and the slow, stepped smoke turn deer trim into something you can slice and share.
Pair it with
Got more trim? Summer Salami Seasoning uses the same 25 lb method and smoke schedule, with a garlic and pepper salami flavor.
Summer Salami Seasoning
Garlic, pepper, old-world deli.
Best on: Sandwiches · Charcuterie boards · Snacking
