Fermenting question

[donr]

This weekend I am going to try my hand at fermenting meat for making both summer sausage & UMAi Pepperoni.
The instructions that came with the UMAi bags say not to use pre-ground meat because it won't ferment correctly. Has anyone heard of this before?

I have some frozen ground venison I was going to mix 50/50 with some fatty beef. Will this ferment?
Do I need to grind the beef fresh while mixing in the already ground venison?

Thanks
Don

 

[pc farmer]

I have used ground meat that I have ground MYSELF, fermented just fine. I wouldn't use store bought ground meats.

 

[tropics]

This weekend I am going to try my hand at fermenting meat for making both summer sausage & UMAi Pepperoni.
The instructions that came with the UMAi bags say not to use pre-ground meat because it won't ferment correctly. Has anyone heard of this before?

I have some frozen ground venison I was going to mix 50/50 with some fatty beef. Will this ferment?
Do I need to grind the beef fresh while mixing in the already ground venison?

Thanks
Don

Don I am not an expert but the pre-ground maybe to fine of a grind.The meat should be the largest plate you have.
Richie

 

[jimmyinsd]

I wonder if some of the chemicals or processes they use in a grocery store to keep it looking fresher longer have a negative affect on your efforts?

 

[donr]

I have a Kitchen Aid, so the large plate is still relatively small.
For the SS, I will grind some chuck roasts and mix in the venison 50/50 when I add the spices.
For the UMAi pepperoni, I will just go all freshly ground beef.

Sound like a plan?

 

[tropics]

I have a Kitchen Aid, so the large plate is still relatively small.
For the SS, I will grind some chuck roasts and mix in the venison 50/50 when I add the spices.
For the UMAi pepperoni, I will just go all freshly ground beef.

Sound like a plan?

KA Large plate will work grind once only
Richie

 

[crazymoon]

DR,Is the summer sausage a Umai product? I know Umai wants you to use a 10 mm plate/3/8 for a large grind as they claim it has a better drying time. I have made lots of SS (not Umai ) with last years ground venison (3/16 plate) with excellent results. I add pork butt( 20-25%) to my SS instead of beef and my venison is already an 4:1 venny/pork butt ratio.

 

[donr]

SS is not UMAi. Just fermented & smoked.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

You can use good quality pre ground for Umai with great success.

 

[crazymoon]

SS is not UMAi. Just fermented & smoked.

DR, You will be good to go w/your burger,just get a good fat ratio of around 4:1. I also add fermento to my SS for some tang and smoke using the temp step process. Have fun !

 

[donr]

So, my weekend didn't go as planned. Go figure.
I just pulled out the venison a buddy gave me that I am going to mix with beef for summer sausage.
But 2 of the bags are labeled as "Bear".
I have to check with him tomorrow to see if that is possibly what's in them.
Can I use 100% bear meat for Summer Sausage? If so, I will.
Do I need to mix in fat?
If so, what kind?

 

[crazymoon]

DR, Make sure there is NO fat on the bear meat and IMHO a 30-35% fatty pork butt ratio would give you a good mix.Try not to use the leaner cuts in the pork butt but go for the fat marbled pieces.

 

[donr]

So it turns out there is no chance it's bear meat. Slightly dissappointed.

 

[tallbm]

If you ever get bear also understand that they carry parasites like wild/feral hogs do so I personally would stick to cooking bear meat to 165F IT or do a ton of research to see if you could UMAI it. I personally wouldn't gamble :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

My only thing I was going to chime in with here is if you do end up trying a bear sausage; one make sure to save me some..two..yah, you need to do 165f.

Bears can carry trichonosis..but here is the fun fact. The MAJORITY of trichonosis in the USA is caused by eating Bear Meat. Think of how few people have that chance to get an idea of how rife with the buggers it is. I've seen people do Bear Ham; notably Steve Rinella. But he emphasizes not only did he have it tested, he brought it up to 165f+. In one episode of his show 'Meat Eater' he actually ate undercooked bear with most of his crew, they had full blown Trichonosis as a result.

Having only eaten bear a handful of times at various vendor events and they explained a bit about the meat it self; you definitely want to trim all fat from bear meat. Most of the year, Bears eat what they can get. Alaska is fortunate in that in a small window, bears pretty much -graze- constantly on blueberries, the fat is sweet, and faintly like blueberries. Other ways it apparently tastes horrid.

If you end up using store ground beef in the Umai, let me know how it turns out; that's what all my sausage has been made with as I lack a good grinder. <I got some stupid 20 dollar hand cranked one over a decade ago when me and my dad wanted to try it as a hobby.>

 

[Bearcarver]

So, my weekend didn't go as planned. Go figure.
I just pulled out the venison a buddy gave me that I am going to mix with beef for summer sausage.
But 2 of the bags are labeled as "Bear".
I have to check with him tomorrow to see if that is possibly what's in them.
Can I use 100% bear meat for Summer Sausage? If so, I will.
Do I need to mix in fat?
If so, what kind?

Are you sure it didn't say "Bear" because those bags were for the Bear???
Just checking!

Bear

 

[crazymoon]

So it turns out there is no chance it's bear meat. Slightly dissappointed.

DR, I believe the venny SS will be better !

 

[HalfSmoked]

Hey the master is back in town glad to see you nepas.

I find this thread interesting because I have not yet done any ss or umi bags.
Looking forward to seeing photos of a finish product.

Warren

 

[nanuk]

after researching trich and dry curing/fermenting, I think if you follow the timelines USDA has published, trich can be dealt with with the process and doesn't require cooking or freezing.


ETA: this is for pork only. I have not read where dry curing is effective with wild game.

 

[daveomak]

nanuk, morning...... Where can that be found ?? Can you post a link ???