New member with a shed load of Venison!

[Fluffybunny]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to sausage making, but am about to embark on a monster session because I have just got myself a whole Roe deer and after butchering I have 6kg of meat to make into sausages. (Not to mention 2 monster sized haunches, shoulders and a saddle that I have to think of something to do with!)

I had a go a while back with duck but didn't get on too well I'm afraid. They turned out very dry, (surprisingly, as duck is a very fatty meat) and far too salty, as I had used bacon for additional fat.

So, I'm looking for a failsafe recipe which is simple to follow and the ingredients are easy to get.

Any advice / recipes would be really appreciated.

Cheers !

[Paul Kribs]

There are lots of recipes on this forum for using venison, there are a number of members who shoot their own. You can do no better than to use the 'search' function at the top of the page. I'm sure you will encounter some recipes to suit.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Fallow Buck]

Fluffy,

You'll find heaps of recipes on the site but if you are looking for an easy ready mix then you can always use franco's Pork and Apple. I find it a lot less salty than the game mix. I tend to use the game mix at about 10g-15g per kilo and add my own herbs on top of this to avoid the saltiness.

To add some moisture to your mix I would add 5kg's of pork belly and then 1kg of rusk to make the basic mix(and water of course). The rest is down to taste.

Roe is a very mild venison so it doesn't need heaps of spices etc. Caramelised onions are one of my favourite additions to a venison mix!!

Regards,
FB

[dougal]

...I tend to use the game mix at about 10g-15g per kilo and add my own herbs on top of this to avoid the saltiness.

To add some moisture to your mix I would add 5kg's of pork belly and then 1kg of rusk to make the basic mix(and water of course). The rest is down to taste.

Pardon my intervention FB, but for clarification, approximately how much venison are you proposing adding to the 5kg belly + 1 kg rusk?

And would the flavouring mix be added in proportion to the total meat weight, or the combined meat, rusk and water total?

[Fallow Buck]

Hi Dougal,

I was refering to Fluffy having said he has 6kg's of Venison to turn in to sausages. 5KG of belly (which is about 50% VL ) would give a fat content of about 23%-25%. If he can get pure fat then that addition can be halved to give the same fat content to the finished product. I would then add the 1kg of rusk as being just under 10% of meat weight.

As for the mix then I would add that as 10g-15g per kilo of meat/rusk mix before water is added. Personally I also add a large amount of caramelised onions (perhaps 4-6 decent sized ones) and add some extra Mixed herbs, white pepper and some garlic powder. Those bits go in as a sotrt of "that feels about right" sort of measurement!!

I have to order a load of new stuff to make a new batch. I have 100lbs of Fallow in the chiller so I'll be making Breasola out of one of the sirloins too next week, and possibly a "pork pie type" venison pie.

Rgds
FB

[Heather]

I tend to use minced lamb breast to add fat to venison sausages, at about 10% by weight. I don't use any fillers, rusk, etc. in my sausages, so they are generally 90% venison, 10% lamb breast and added herbs, spices, onions, leeks, fruit, etc. - whatever takes my fancy at the time.

I made some "Christmas" sausages last year, using orange zest and mulled wine-type spices - very nice, very seasonal, and gave them to various people as part of their Christmas gift.

[Fluffybunny]

Ok chaps, the Rusk, mix and casings have arrived, wifey has obtained the fat and I'm almost ready to go.

The only question left is how much water? Is this just down to making the mixture fluid enough for the machine or is it measured?

[Paul Kribs]

I normally go with the same amount of liquid as weight of rusk. I generally go for 10% rusk, weigh it out and then weigh out the liquid. I would add that it is advisable not to use all the liquid initially, but about 3/4 of it then mix and if it still feels too stiff, add more liquid. All meat varies a bit with it's own liquid content, but you will quickly learn the kind of mix that suits you, and go by feel when mixing.

If you get stuck, click the WWW on the bottom of any of my posts and you will find a basic pictorial tutorial on sausage making on my site.

Good luck, and remember to keep the meat cold though the procedure. You will know if its cold enough during the mixing.. you will wish you were wearing thermal gloves..

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Fluffybunny]

..... just as an aside, I must say I was horrified when I received my "old English mix". Here I am making healty, tasty, bangers and then I see the mix is riddled with additives and preservatives in the form of E numbers! My kids will be climbing the walls if they eat this lot!

[Oddley]

Hi Fluffybunny, I would be interested in the E numbers in the mix, would you please post them.

You can of course make your own Old English mix up, click the link below for some recipes.

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... ht=english

[Fallow Buck]

Fluffy,

Were did you get the mix from? Was it one from here? I bought sme a while back when I couldn't get a game mix and the sausages ended up tasting lie saveloys!!! I couldn't quite put my finger on it for a while...

Incidentally you mentioned you didn't know what you were going to do with the haunches from your roe. If you decide to roll and tie roasting joints take the shanks off for braising. YOu may get two smaller bits from the shoulders too.

I made some last week by browning off in a pan then softening up an onion. Then I mixed up one chicken and one beef stock cube. 2tbsp of damson jam and 2 tbsp of tinned tomatoes and a litre of water or enough to cover them. I simmered for 4hrs and served on mash and thery were great. The whole thing took 10minutes to put together thhen I just forgot about it.

Rgds,
FB

[welsh wizard]

Hi all

Ref Venison haunches, I tend to bone them out, marinade the meat and then BBQ them.

I also bone and roll ready for roasting but personally I find the meat a little too dry, therefore most of my haunches go on the BBQ. I did try roasting the marinaded haunch once but it just didnt taste right to me.

Oh well we are all different.............

Cheers WW

PS Pheasants yesterday going into the game dealers @ 75p a brace!

[Fluffybunny]

Hi chaps,

Yes I got the mix from here and the E numbers are:

E450, E451 (Stabilisers)
E223 (Preservative)
E621 (Flavour Eenhancer)
E301, E331 (Anti-oxidants)

I also ordered the Game mix, but was sent Stephs Firecracker seasoning instead!

Anyway, I did the first batch today and I have to say they came out pretty well. I used:

2.5 Kg Venison
850g Pork Fat
350g Rusk
350g Water
Couple spriggs Rosemary
ditto Sage
handful of Dill
Salt
Black pepper
15g Schwartz Mixed Spice

Even the kids liked them, so not a bad first attempt! Thanks to everyone for the advice to get me started.

[Fallow Buck]

Fluffy,

I made up 2 batches last night too. 1st was Mallard(4kgs) with a kilo of venison shoulder. I used the english breadcrumb mix (250g) and 70g of italian mix. 600g of rusk with 2 glasses of red wine and a pint of water. They went into Hogs and I linked them short at about 3" to go into a bean stew at the weekend.

The second lot went into Sheeps casings. 3.5kg's venison with a KG of back fat. 3tsp mint, 2tsp corrriander, 1tsp cayenne, 2tsp fine white pepper, 2tbsp mixed herbs, 1tsp Nutmeg, 1tsp Cinnamon & 400g rusk.

The pepper and the mint really come through.

After reading your post I have decided to start making my own mixes up as I don't like all the E-#'s. To be honest I hadn't really noticed until I looked!! Franco has a great selection of herbs on the site so I should be able to do most things I want to.

Rgds,
FB

[dougal]

Hi chaps,

Yes I got the mix from here and the E numbers are:

E450, E451 (Stabilisers)
E223 (Preservative)
E621 (Flavour Eenhancer)
E301, E331 (Anti-oxidants)...

well...
E301, E331 (Anti-oxidants)
You'll find these in lemon juice (vitamin c and citric acid) plus salt (though that mix would be more acid).
E621 (Flavour Enhancer) thats MSG. Its a natural ingredient of Soy Sauce, which is why that has been traditionally used to enhance flavour.
E223 is sodium metabisulphite, which has long been the home winemaker's preservative and sanitiser of choice.

IMHO, these (in appropriately tiny quantities) would be helping to preserve and enhance the flavourings in the mix. The ascorbate, citrate and sulphite might even be partly about enhancing the storage properties of the seasoning mix.

Where it gets potentially more controversial is with E450 and E451. These are phosphates, and their purpose is to make it easier for you to make a "better" sausage. Better in that they stabilise the emulsion within the sticky forcemeat paste, thus allowing the sausage to better retain water. The result is a 'juicier' sausage, or from a manufacturer's point of view, one with a higher water content (and water is a very cheap ingredient!)
From a home sausagemaker's perspective, it makes it easier, (I think less temperature critical) to get a good 'bind'.
Whether this is a 'good thing' comes down to what the individual is aiming for.

I'm not trying to replicate commercial sausages.
But its important to remember that "E numbers" are food technology that has been approved (as safe) for use throughout Europe.
The problem comes when they are not 'approved of' (ie wanted) by the customer who is nevertheless seeking the very benefits that they bring...
Its a tricky one.