- 5 lbs Venison trimmings, cut into 1-2” cubes
- 3 lbs boneless Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt), cut into 1-2” cubes
- 4 1/2-5 Tbsp Brown Sugar; could substitute with honey powder or maple powder, but it may throw your ratio off
- 10 tsp (3 1/3 Tbsp) dried Sage, ground
- 10 tsp (3 1/3 Tbsp) salt
- 5 tsp (1 2/3 Tbsp) Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp dried Oregano, ground
- 1 tsp dried Chili pepper, ground (I used cayenne); could substitute pepper flakes, I just prefer the finished texture that ground pepper produces
- 1/2-1 tsp ground Clove (for a really interesting flavor profile, double this measurement and/or the following Nutmeg measurement)
- 1/2-1 tsp ground Nutmeg
- 1-2 Tbsp dried Garlic, ground (I used 1 which tasted nice, but I like a garlicky breakfast sausage, so I should have added more); could substitute minced fresh garlic, about 1/2-1 clove per pound of meat
- 2 tsp dried Onion, ground (optional)
- 2-3 tsp sweet or smoked Paprika (optional)
- Combine all dry seasonings (if using wet seasonings, add them to your meat immediately after dry-seasoning) and spread hunks of meat evenly on a very large baking sheet. You want even visual representation of pork and venison across the sheet, to facilitate the process of mixing the two meats together right away. Season all meat evenly with your dominant hand, and periodically toss/mix the meat with your non-dominant hand. Dust, toss, dust, toss, repeat. By the time you’re done, the meat should be red and greenish-brown all over, and slightly tacky.
- Toss seasoned meat into an airtight freezer bag, and let it marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (I did about 16). After that, transfer meat to the freezer for several hours, up to another 24. You want the meat to come as close to freezing as possible, without freezing solid. Alternatively, if you have to schedule your sausage making incrementally like I did (three kids and two jobs), you can keep the meat frozen solid then partially defrost in the fridge when you’re ready to grind. Another way to store the meat before grinding is by sticking the bags into a large glass or metal bowl, putting that bowl onto a larger bowl bottomed-up with ice, then laying a large ice pack (such as a Yeti Ice) over the top and placing the entire setup in the fridge for 24 hours. You will need nearly-frozen meat for the next step no matter which method you choose.
- While your meat is chilling, make sure your meat grinder’s components are clean and store any metal in the freezer for at least a few hours before grinding, and leave it there until right up to the moment you are ready to grind. About one hour before that, lubricate all food-contact components with a food-safe silicone spray and return them to the freezer.
- Defrost the meat just enough to be able to separate the hunks with your finger strength. However, it’s better to be more frozen than less, so if you have to use a sharp, stout knife to help you separate/chop apart the hunks, don’t stress—it’s going to get ground up anyway, and you’re going to want 1-2” chunks for the grinder regardless of how they get that way.
- Assemble your grinder with the coarse/medium plate installed. Arrange a glass/metal bowl with ice and a slightly smaller, empty glass/metal bowl on top of that ice. You’ll be catching the ground meat in that smaller bowl (if you haven’t figured it out yet, keeping everything VERY COLD is extremely important through this whole process).
- At a ratio of 2-3 pieces of venison to every piece of pork in the feed tube, grind your meat one time. The resulting “noodles” of sausage should be evenly pink, red, and white with a smattering of brownish seasoning throughout. You can hand-mix the contents at this point, but I prefer not to; the warmth of human hands could possibly change the consistency of your grind for the worst. Instead of hand-mixing, I simply wrap the mix in a freezer bag and freeze overnight. If you’re pressed on time, stick the ground meat in the freezer for 30-45 minutes, break into chunks again, then skip to Step 8 below.
- After another night in the freezer, stick the meat back in the fridge until you’re ready to grind for the second time. It should be defrosted just enough to allow you to cut into strips with a sharp, stout knife. These “meatsicles” should be about 1-2” thick and 3-5” long.
- Reassemble your sanitized, re-chilled, and re-lubricated grinder with the same coarse/medium plate, and grind the meat a second time. The resulting mixture should be uniformly pink-red and the seasoning should be mostly homogenized with the meat.
- Package in 1-lb “loaves”, wrapping each in a double layer of airtight plastic wrap/Saran, then tightly packing in freezer paper.
- If you want to make links (I greatly prefer patties for breakfast sandwiches) you can stuff them at any time, as long as the meat is pre-chilled or frozen and partially thawed prior to stuffing. You can also pre-form patties (1/4-1/3 lb each) and freeze them in stacks with wax paper layered between them and plastic wrap around the bundles.
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