Advanced Sausage Making

fly2cast

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Have been doing some reading lately about processing meat. I have four deer and one moose to eat this year. So I started reading about sausage making. One of the things I don't like about venison sausage is that it tends to be dry. I am finding out a lot of the reason why is because the recipes I use don't use binders and other ingredients to hold together the meat, fat and water.

So now this weekend I will be making sausage with my neighbor and would like to try using a binder but I have no idea where to buy them other than the internet. Is there any place in Bismarck where I can get some of these ingredients such as soy protein concentrate?
 


Whisky

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I believe those binders are mostly used in products that get fully smoked/cooked. I used powdered milk in some ring bologna and kielbasa, but i can't say it helped or not as i didn't have a comparison. But in general I knew it was going to be drier then a fresh sausage. That's just the way they are.... You may want to look into powdered milk as an option vs the the soy protein. i cant tell you what the differences would be.

But, if you want a juicer sausage, don't hot smoke it. Cold smoke it, keep it raw, and cook as needed. No binders would be needed for that. Second, you need a good ratio of fat to venison. I promise you if you use 60/40 venison/pork butt on a fresh ring sausage you won't have dry sausage unless you over cook it.
 

eseamands

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Capital City Restaurant Supply is a good start. Butcher Block in Mandan usually has a good selection of meat processing items/mixes as well. We usually use Bjorn's Seasoning (Honey garlic) for our ring style sausage and tried their summer sausage mix to supplement our homemade summer sausage mix. We were pleasantly surprised. For the moose meat that I got, I actually just fine ground a bunch of it up and have been using it for a beef substitute. moosegroup.jpgmybuck.jpgmaggie buck.jpg
 

fly2cast

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I believe those binders are mostly used in products that get fully smoked/cooked. I used powdered milk in some ring bologna and kielbasa, but i can't say it helped or not as i didn't have a comparison. But in general I knew it was going to be drier then a fresh sausage. That's just the way they are.... You may want to look into powdered milk as an option vs the the soy protein. i cant tell you what the differences would be.

But, if you want a juicer sausage, don't hot smoke it. Cold smoke it, keep it raw, and cook as needed. No binders would be needed for that. Second, you need a good ratio of fat to venison. I promise you if you use 60/40 venison/pork butt on a fresh ring sausage you won't have dry sausage unless you over cook it.

My recipe for venison sausage does call for 60 pork/40 venison and I don't smoke it. It's pretty good but I think it would benefit from something that would hold in the moisture/fat better. If I have been reading correctly, this is what a binder would do.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, I have to say, aging venison really had made a difference in taste and quality. This year, I quartered up my deer and hung in the garage for at least 10 days, some was 14 days. The meat looks way more appetizing and it does taste better. Plus I think it's easier to clean. For the backstraps, I cleaned them off, dried them off with paper towels and put into a ziplock bag in the fridge for 20+ days. Wow, what a difference.
 

Whisky

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You must be over cooking it then? I don't know. If you're using 60% pork and it's still dry....

I boil my raw ring sausage for around 15 minutes and then do a quick brown in butter on low heat. Once the casing starts popping and you start loosing juices you are screwed.

Try some powdered milk and report back. I would be curious if that helps or not in your situation.
 


nxtgeneration

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I've heard of using powdered milk before. We use a 50/50 mix of venison/pork butt so we've never needed a binder.
 

fly2cast

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Yes, moose is awesome. I actually think it's better than beef and the people that have tried it agree. I did make burger out of about half of the moose but I tried to keep as much steaks and roasts as possible.
 

guywhofishes

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I don't mind the sausage a tad lean/dry

that much more reason for mustards, ketchups, egg yolks, yadda (I'm a "dipper")

beats a greasy brat all day long - YUCK
 

Glass

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I believe those binders are mostly used in products that get fully smoked/cooked. I used powdered milk in some ring bologna and kielbasa, but i can't say it helped or not as i didn't have a comparison. But in general I knew it was going to be drier then a fresh sausage. That's just the way they are.... You may want to look into powdered milk as an option vs the the soy protein. i cant tell you what the differences would be.

But, if you want a juicer sausage, don't hot smoke it. Cold smoke it, keep it raw, and cook as needed. No binders would be needed for that. Second, you need a good ratio of fat to venison. I promise you if you use 60/40 venison/pork butt on a fresh ring sausage you won't have dry sausage unless you over cook it.

Agree with you 100%. I have always used the 60 venison/40 pork mix and never have dry sausage unless it gets overcooked on the grill. I find that 45 minutes of hot smoke is perfect. The only thing I would add is making sure to vacuum seal all the meat. I have never used binders and havent had any dry meat issues for slim jims and summer sausage.
 

pointer

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What type of pork are you using, a pork loin is way leaner than a shoulder, the first time we made our own sausage I went lean, was a mistake, fat is flavor, since then have been quite happy with our own. Exception was the ring bologna one year, and was talked into a binder by the recipe, too finely ground and powdery for my taste. Wish we could get the old version of the wishek ring bologna, that was by far the best, new stuff is good but still not there
 


pluckem

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Ill agree with the others that you must be getting it too hot in either the smoking process or final cooking process. I know everyone's preference and tastes are different but 60 pork/40 venison should not be even close to dry. I prefer that ratio switched around and never have a problem or thought a binder was needed.

If your smoker has temp control issues or hot and cold spots, try finishing your smoking process in a hot water bath. When the internal temp is at 135-140F take the sausage out and put it in a bath of 155F water. Let it sit in it until the sausage gets to 155F and then throw the sausage in an ice bath. This will ensure the required internal temp is reached without getting parts of the sausage to high in temp. It will also help stop shrinking and wrinkles in the casing.

Then when you do the final cooking/heating make sure your don't overcook it. Go lower and slower on the grill or avoid rolling boil if cooking in water. Just let it simmer.

If the sausage is leaking fluids/grease while on the grill or if your water in the pan gets the white film, your cooking out the fat you added. The texture of the sausage will be noticeably different at that point
 
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MossyMO

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