# Processing Week 2022...



## indaswamp (Oct 8, 2021)

Off to a good start...Brother got a 7pt. in velvet on opening day of bow season.






One down....many more to go!


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## JLeonard (Oct 8, 2021)

Nice one to start the season.  
Jim


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Oct 8, 2021)

Nice.  I don't hunt but last year my buddy took care of me but probably not going to be able this year.  I might have to bribe 

 tallbm


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## flatbroke (Oct 8, 2021)

I look forward to the final day,  you really do a lot of meat at once.


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## SmokinAl (Oct 8, 2021)

Nice job!
Al


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## normanaj (Oct 8, 2021)

Looking forward to all the goodies that will be coming in the near future!


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## Bearcarver (Oct 8, 2021)

Good Score by the Bro!!
Like.

Bear


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## tallbm (Oct 8, 2021)

Nice start!!! It's unlikely I'll get any deer this year unless its a cull spike or something like that BUT my cousin is showing me pictures of dozens and dozens of wild hogs around his penned off corn feeder (we can use feeders in TX) and bugging me to come take as many as I want.
Other good news!! I just got my new 6.5 Creedmoor back from Savage.  I sent it in for a tight chamber.  They confirmed, reamed, polished, tested, and sent back!!!

Looks like I'm chambering multiple rounds with ease and in rapid chamber testing too! I'm going to run a day/night digital scope on it just incase I need to take pigs day or night :D

Also looking to get my new 308 ready as well. Initial handloads showed promise. I think another session or 2 at the range and I'll have about 1/2 inch groups at 100yds. 6.5 load development still needs some work though.

Man I'm so EXCITED to hunt again!!! Great post 

 indaswamp
!!! :D


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## indaswamp (Oct 9, 2021)

Well....little Nephew got his first bow kill buck yesterday evening...a little spike.






That's #2....


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## indaswamp (Oct 9, 2021)

The deer wheeled down and away from him at the shot @27 yards. So the arrow entered a little farther back and higher than anticipated. Still caught the liver and one lung. Deer only ran 60 yards. Cousin started tracking for 40 yards but only found drops because of the high shot, then blood trail ran out. Called in the tracking dog just to be safe with the kid shooting. Dog found it in short order....they were 20 yards from the deer when they stopped trailing. But, he probably did the right thing with a kid behind the bow.....
Deer was on the ground 2.5 hours before the dog found it. Coyotes had just found the deer and took a couple bites out of the hind leg and the exit wound. Not much loss though.


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## tallbm (Oct 9, 2021)

That's awesome!!! I bet he was thrilled!
Taking a deer with a bow is no easy feat and a that age it had to be super exciting for him and hopefully he gets to process too now :D


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## indaswamp (Oct 30, 2021)

Got the call @ 7p.m. tonight from my buddy..."Hey man, you want (2) 100# hogs?"

My answer- "Well Hell Yeah!"

WOOOHOOO!!!!!

Buddy- "Meet me at my house in 25 minutes. We gotta drive to the launch to pick them up."

So we did...





Hogs were MUUUUDDDDDY! Dragged through the swamp to the boat. Shot right at the end of legal light for deer. Hogs had not been dead an hour yet when we picked them up.

After a stop by the Carwash, $3.50 later they were clean from a nice power shower...





Old man my buddy knows had his niece in the deer stand with him today. The hogs came out at 5:30p.m. and she wanted to shoot them then. Grandpa said, "lets wait and see if a deer steps out. But if not, and they return, then you can shoot them." Well, deer never showed and hogs step out. She shot them both right at the base of the skull and spine. Awesome! No bullet hole in the meat...and no bone fragments to deal with!

I got them gutted then drove to the firehouse....got them packed in Louisiana snow in the bed of the truck....





...will skin and quarter out into primals with the sunrise tomorrow. It'll be 45*F here for the low so they'll be good till morning.
And THAT my friends....is a Louisiana Saturday Night!!! LOL!!!


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## indaswamp (Oct 30, 2021)

I estimate the hogs to weigh in at 75# and 110-115#. I should get two good coppas out of the larger one. All together should have about 80# of meat off both hogs. I'm thinking honey ham stix, maybe some wild hog boudin, and a big run of wild hog smoke sausage... Save about 20# or so for processing day to mix in with deer for breakfast sausage.


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## pineywoods (Oct 30, 2021)

Good score told the brother in law who hunts in an area with hogs sometimes I want one or two to grind we'll see what happens. I don't have any around my place and that's both good and bad


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## indaswamp (Oct 30, 2021)

pineywoods said:


> both good and bad


Indeed it is... 
I wish I could trap some then feed them out on grass to help get the fat right, but state law prohibits the transportation of live hogs.


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## indaswamp (Oct 30, 2021)

Oh-and these were both young sows too!


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## indaswamp (Oct 31, 2021)

Will check the fat off the hogs by frying a small piece in a skillet. If it is clean, we'll use it in the sausage. Always make cleaning go faster when you don't need to trim fat off....just large tendons and glands.


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## indaswamp (Oct 31, 2021)

Got the pigs skinned and broken down into primals and on ice. It was real nice and cool this morning...coolest of the year so far, 46*F. Great weather for breaking down pigs. Finished up around 11am and it was 55*F. I'll let them sit to cool back down overnight and debone tomorrow afternoon.


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## tallbm (Oct 31, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Got the call @ 7p.m. tonight from my buddy..."Hey man, you want (2) 100# hogs?"
> 
> My answer- "Well Hell Yeah!"
> 
> ...


That's awesome!  I'll have to plan some time to go hunt pigs at my cousin's lease  Maybe over the holidays :)


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## indaswamp (Oct 31, 2021)

tallbm said:


> That's awesome!  I'll have to plan some time to go hunt pigs at my cousin's lease  Maybe over the holidays :)


I hope you get to go... I try to fill the freezers up with wild game in the winter.


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## indaswamp (Nov 4, 2021)

After trimming and packaging, I ended up with 67# of wild hog meat. It's all been bulk packaged and in the freezer now. After the required chill time, I'll pull out the meat I have set aside for salumi....some time in December.


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## hoity toit (Nov 4, 2021)

Good start to the season...

HT


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## indaswamp (Nov 22, 2021)

Well, I have been out of town for the last 10 days; waterfowl hunting in Kansas and then stopped by the deer camp in Arkansas for the opener of rifle with my brother and Dad. We took 5 does the three days I was there. Meanwhile, my little nephew shot a nice 8pt. in Mississippi...






So that's 6 more deer for processing day.


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## indaswamp (Nov 22, 2021)

^^^that deer is a 3 year old; 16 3/4" spread, 4 7/8" bases.


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## tallbm (Nov 22, 2021)

Nice haul, I'm excited for all the hunting and success! :D


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## indaswamp (Nov 22, 2021)

tallbm said:


> Nice haul, I'm excited for all the hunting and success! :D


Thanks tallbm! The 5 does tallied 160# of meat but not all of it will be ground up. I figure 15-20# of grind per deer.....


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## tallbm (Nov 23, 2021)

Slight derail of the thread here but I just ordered 2 of these Vortex scopes.
The reviews were good when they were $300 and now they are on holiday sale for $150 each.    My brother but his eyeballs through one and liked it quite a bit and he has horrible vision so I knew they were good to go but I can't give 1st hand feedback on them.

They seem to be an Academy exclusive scope.  "Exclusives" like this are generally not a really good thing... BUT Vortex is supposed to have a fairly "legendary" warranty program so if they break down hopefully problems can be easily solved or replaced.

Finally, I've purchased way more high dollar better quality & brand scopes than this and I in no way think this is some kind of amazing holy grail of a scope.  It's simply just a good deal for a no frills scope that allows you to see bullet holes in a target at 100yds (often hard to do), has BDC type marks, a no questions asked warranty, and is from a much more reputable brand known for getting people out of the lowest end brands and into something a little more mid range+ in quality.

I'll be saving these scopes for my next rifles.  I'll likely put one of the two on my 6.5 Creedmoor which is running a digital day night scope because I had no respectable night vision hog hunting optic and wanted one when I bought the 6.5 so just paired them up as they were bought at the same time. 
That day/night scope is likely not going to be on that rifle for long so having a ready to go 4-16magnification x 42mm scope puts me in a good spot for a respectable swap should I need to reach out like the caliber can :)

Here's the dea!








						Vortex Eagle 4-16x42 Riflescope | Academy
					

Trust the Vortex Eagle 4-16x42 Riflescope for a reliable riflescope. This riflescope features an aircraft grade aluminum construction with hard anodized fini...




					www.academy.com
				









Ok done derailing the thread, feel free to let me know if I need to delete this but it seemed appropriate with all of your amazing hunting atm 

 indaswamp
   :)


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## indaswamp (Nov 23, 2021)

Thanks for the heads up on the vortex scope. My cousin uses them on his kids guns. Great scope for the price point.


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## tallbm (Nov 23, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Thanks for the heads up on the vortex scope. My cousin uses them on his kids guns. Great scope for the price point.


Yep I agree.

Also having a 12x magnification or higher becomes mandatory for me as I work up loads so I can see the holes in paper at 100yds.  Trying to see 5.56/223 holes at 100yds to know where you are hitting is such a pain and I don't have a personal range so I have to wait until time is called to check/replace targets to see those holes.  I have a pair of cheapo fixed 20X binocs which work wonders compared to my crappy spotting scope but those smaller holes are still a pain.
Better scope glass than my cheapo 20x binocs allows me to see the holes and work up my loads way faster and way easier :D


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## tallbm (Nov 26, 2021)

tallbm said:


> Slight derail of the thread here but I just ordered 2 of these Vortex scopes.
> The reviews were good when they were $300 and now they are on holiday sale for $150 each.    My brother but his eyeballs through one and liked it quite a bit and he has horrible vision so I knew they were good to go but I can't give 1st hand feedback on them.
> 
> They seem to be an Academy exclusive scope.  "Exclusives" like this are generally not a really good thing... BUT Vortex is supposed to have a fairly "legendary" warranty program so if they break down hopefully problems can be easily solved or replaced.
> ...




 indaswamp
 got those scopes in and put my eyeballs through them.... Oh man I'm super excited!!!  Again I've had much nicer and better scopes with more bells and whistles,  but WOW for the price point I wish I had bought 4!!!  Even though I don't have enough rifles in need of optics to use up 2 much less 4 of these hahaha.  

I just wanted to report back since my last post on the topic now that I've handled them. :)


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## indaswamp (Nov 27, 2021)

Another one down...that makes 9 deer so far.





Cousin went back up to the deer camp yesterday morning, shot a cull buck yesterday afternoon. Buck has a basic 8 on one side, but a funky pedicle on the left side. Deer weighed 160#...probably a 3.5 year old deer guessing...


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## tallbm (Nov 27, 2021)

Nice!!! 
Good to get that cull buck out, he'll eat nicely :)


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## indaswamp (Nov 29, 2021)

Got a call from my cousin..."Hey, Uncle Ronny shot 2 hogs this evening, you want them?"

Me-"Hell Yeah!"

I was told 150# sow and a piglet....She's more like 180#






She's a fat ole girl too! Cleaned her up at the carwash, gutted, packed with ice and will skin and quarter tomorrow. 38*F for the low tonight....they will be fine until morning. Cousin is on shift at the firehouse so we will be deboning tomorrow as well. The guys want the piglet whole for the pellet smoker so I will be giving it to them. Piglet is about 30#. Should get about 60-70# of meat off the sow for processing day.


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## indaswamp (Nov 30, 2021)

Uncle Ronnie lives in the country. Has a corn feeder 75 yards from his back door for pigs. Got a street light on the corner of the driveway by the barn. Shot the hogs 45 minutes after sundown. And he shot both hogs in the head. It is legal to shoot feral hogs at night year round here in Louisiana.


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## indaswamp (Nov 30, 2021)

Got the big sow on ice....that pig had a 1 1/4" thick cap of fat on the back....one of the fattest wild hogs I have cleaned. The belly is about 1 1/4-1 1/2" thick so I may try and make some wild hog belly bacon. Never made it and this would be the perfect sow to try it.


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## Omnivore (Nov 30, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Got the big sow on ice....that pig had a 1 1/4" thick cap of fat on the back....one of the fattest wild hogs I have cleaned. The belly is about 1 1/4-1 1/2" thick so I may try and make some wild hog belly bacon. Never made it and this would be the perfect sow to try it.


As someone who lives no where near wild hogs, is the flavor a lot different than regular domestic pork? You are so lucky that you get to harvest so much wild food close to home.


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## indaswamp (Nov 30, 2021)

Omnivore said:


> As someone who lives no where near wild hogs, is the flavor a lot different than regular domestic pork? You are so lucky that you get to harvest so much wild food close to home.


All depends on what the pig has been eating. We had a bumper crop of acorns this fall so I'm sure this sow has been feeding on them...well that and eating corn out of a corn feeder for the past 2-3 months. Best time to harvest wild hogs for good flavor is fall into early spring. It's when the pigs start on grubs and insects late spring into summer that the flavor can be a little off....

I always slice a small piece of fat off the back and fry it in a pan so I can smell it...if it is strong then I won't use it in the sausage, preferring to remove the fat and save the lean. If the fat is good, we just debone it all and use it.


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## indaswamp (Nov 30, 2021)

The flavor is 'porkier'....like the old school taste in a hog when they use to let domestic pigs free range in the woods on the farm. A little stronger porkiness than a pastuered hog. The commercial hogs nowadays....the meat is light in color and very bland in flavor.


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## indaswamp (Nov 30, 2021)

About the only wild hog I won't take is a big boar over about 100-120#... Those can get really strong and the fat is always off....


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## tallbm (Nov 30, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Got a call from my cousin..."Hey, Uncle Ronny shot 2 hogs this evening, you want them?"
> 
> Me-"Hell Yeah!"
> 
> ...





indaswamp said:


> Uncle Ronnie lives in the country. Has a corn feeder 75 yards from his back door for pigs. Got a street light on the corner of the driveway by the barn. Shot the hogs 45 minutes after sundown. And he shot both hogs in the head. It is legal to shoot feral hogs at night year round here in Louisiana.



Man that is awesome!! I love them around 180lbs, makes it worth the effort and it's a good 60 pound haul of meat or so when said and done.  Crazy how much of a pig is head, hide, and bone.

Here in TX, feral hogs are considered a pest so we can hunt them day/night and with basically anything (spears, knives, firearms, archery, your car, etc.).  Also we can pop'em with FMJ's as well.  I wouldn't recommend that, even if taking head/neck shots.  Now go to anything cheap that mushrooms, breaks up, up or goes frangible and do head neck shots and no issue.
I'd love to see a Barnes Varmint Grenade bullet put in the eye/ear or base of the skull on a hog. Those types of bullets can be soooo inexpensive and I only shoot pigs in the head/neck anyhow so I don't have to track a wounded hog and so they drop right there :)

I've got  1 more range trip to sight in my new loads for my new 6.5CM and .308, after which they will be ready to rock and roll and I can go night time on some hogs with the 6.5CM with my day/night scope :D

Found an acceptable price on Barnes 127gr LRX for the 6.5CM so will load those up to be my non-lead deer hunting option.  I prefer to go lead free and I have this fantasy that I can go hunt anywhere with those rounds since they are lead free.  It doesn't hurt that they are super accurate and expand like crazy too :D

Grats on the extra meat!




Omnivore said:


> As someone who lives no where near wild hogs, is the flavor a lot different than regular domestic pork? You are so lucky that you get to harvest so much wild food close to home.



Inda has it explained well. 
I feel like wild flavor is outstanding.  It tasted like a different kind of pork meat.  The best way for me to explain it is that wild hog meat is like chicken dark meat and farm raised pork is like chicken white meat. 
Soo much flavor difference to me.

I've only ever hunted them in late Fall - late Winter in North TX, Central TX, and NE TX.  They have all tasted fantastic and haven't been very nasty.  All nasty smells and such washes off and is definitely gone when the hide comes off.   Everything from 300lbs+ down to 60lbs has been good to me.  When in doubt get rid of the fat, clean the unwanted tissue off the meat,  and grind the meat for sausage :)


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## indaswamp (Dec 1, 2021)

Ended up with 10.35# of pork bellies off that big wild sow. The bellies were about 1 1/4-1 1/2" thick.......so....I'm gonna make cold smoked bacon out of them! Got them in the cure right now! Will pull them off the cure Dec.15th.


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## jcam222 (Dec 1, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> The flavor is 'porkier'....like the old school taste in a hog when they use to let domestic pigs free range in the woods on the farm. A little stronger porkiness than a pastuered hog. The commercial hogs nowadays....the meat is light in color and very bland in flavor.


Awesome thread! I always enjoy following your hunting harvest thread. I’ll bet the hogs are great if they are eating clean. They have bred the pork taste and darker red meat right out commercial pigs in an attempt to compete with chicken breast. It’s that old. “the other white meat” campaign. That’s why I like getting ahold of some of the heritage breeds like Duroc or Berkshire when I can.


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## indaswamp (Dec 1, 2021)

jcam222 said:


> Awesome thread! I always enjoy following your hunting harvest thread. I’ll bet the hogs are great if they are eating clean. They have bred the pork taste and darker red meat right out commercial pigs in an attempt to compete with chicken breast. It’s that old. “the other white meat” campaign. That’s why I like getting ahold of some of the heritage breeds like Duroc or Berkshire when I can.


Look at how dark the shoulder meat is on this hog...


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## tallbm (Dec 1, 2021)

Man that is awesome for both the bacon and the shoulder meat.

Yeah that wild pork is sooo good.  Love the dark pork meat!


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## Omnivore (Dec 2, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> The flavor is 'porkier'....like the old school taste in a hog when they use to let domestic pigs free range in the woods on the farm. A little stronger porkiness than a pastuered hog. The commercial hogs nowadays....the meat is light in color and very bland in flavor.





tallbm said:


> Man that is awesome!! I love them around 180lbs, makes it worth the effort and it's a good 60 pound haul of meat or so when said and done.  Crazy how much of a pig is head, hide, and bone.
> 
> Here in TX, feral hogs are considered a pest so we can hunt them day/night and with basically anything (spears, knives, firearms, archery, your car, etc.).  Also we can pop'em with FMJ's as well.  I wouldn't recommend that, even if taking head/neck shots.  Now go to anything cheap that mushrooms, breaks up, up or goes frangible and do head neck shots and no issue.
> I'd love to see a Barnes Varmint Grenade bullet put in the eye/ear or base of the skull on a hog. Those types of bullets can be soooo inexpensive and I only shoot pigs in the head/neck anyhow so I don't have to track a wounded hog and so they drop right there :)
> ...



Thanks for the insight guys! Totally agree that domestic pork if far from what it should be. I bought a half a heritage hog and it was delicious but spendy. I struck out on elk hunting this year so I think I need to raise some pigs in order to fill the freezer! Lot of Kune Kune piglets for sale out here that are great on pasture but apparently almost too fatty. I have some research to do. Or maybe i just need to head down to the South and go hog hunting lol


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## tallbm (Dec 2, 2021)

Omnivore said:


> Thanks for the insight guys! Totally agree that domestic pork if far from what it should be. I bought a half a heritage hog and it was delicious but spendy. I struck out on elk hunting this year so I think I need to raise some pigs in order to fill the freezer! Lot of Kune Kune piglets for sale out here that are great on pasture but apparently almost too fatty. I have some research to do. Or maybe i just need to head down to the South and go hog hunting lol


If you grow a super fatty pig be sure to save all that fat for sausage making with your venison.  Pork fat + venison sausages is how I do it :D


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## indaswamp (Dec 4, 2021)

I got 84# of deboned meat and fat off that big sow....she was heavier than I thought. Over 200# for sure. That's 145# of wild hog in the freezer this fall, along with 160# of deer meat...


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## daveomak (Dec 4, 2021)

CAR WASH !!!!!   what a great idea and way to clean up game.....  All the critters I've shot were about a 4 hour hike from my truck....


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## indaswamp (Dec 6, 2021)

Another doe added to the tally for processing day. That makes 10 so far.


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## pineywoods (Dec 6, 2021)

I'm looking forward to the pics you have a nice set up


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## indaswamp (Dec 7, 2021)

Uncle got a nice 8pt. this morning.. 185#, 15 3/4" spread.





  That's 11 deer...


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## tallbm (Dec 8, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Uncle got a nice 8pt. this morning.. 185#, 15 3/4" spread.
> View attachment 518509
> 
> That's 11 deer...


Nice, congrats to your uncle!  Man 183# way heavier than the little bodied does and spikes I take haha


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## pineywoods (Dec 8, 2021)

Your group is doing well this year looks like there's gonna be some quality eating in the freezers.
I sat out on the porch watching 2 eight pointers eating corn at the feeder late yesterday afternoon. While I was looking at them they both took off running which I thought was odd till I looked up and got a glimpse of a big buck coming out of the woods and heading across a field to another feeder. Not sure exactly how many points but he's a big boy. Big enough to scare those eights at about 100 yards away lol. We can run feeders over here to as long as they are out x amount of time before the season starts but mine run year around so I've forgotten how long before season they have to be running. Oh our general gun season isn't open right now but opens this coming Saturday. The feeder the 8's were at is 35-40 yards from our back door then wife loves watching the deer feed and if she isn't working she is usually out there morning and afternoon when the feeder goes off and the deer usually are at the feeders shortly after they go off. We've got 10 or 12 that hit that feeder a lot and I don't generally shoot them but when they get to be 8's or bigger I may as well because if I don't one of the neighbors will as soon as they roam their property.
Brother in law has only killed one hog so far and him and his brother made sausage out of it. Think he's taken 4 deer so far.


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## indaswamp (Dec 17, 2021)

My Uncle got 59# of meat off that buck. He is in for processing day so more help is a great thing! Gonna do a bigger run of deer/beef grind this year, Dad and Uncle both want some along what I'll be doing for myself. Probably 150# of just ground deer/beef.

Also-I picked up another great contact at another local grocer. can get chuck, brisket, and ribeye trim fat for a great price...


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## tallbm (Dec 17, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> My Uncle got 59# of meat off that buck. He is in for processing day so more help is a great thing! Gonna do a bigger run of deer/beef grind this year, Dad and Uncle both want some along what I'll be doing for myself. Probably 150# of just ground deer/beef.
> 
> Also-I picked up another great contact at another local grocer. can get chuck, brisket, and ribeye trim fat for a great price...


Nice!


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## Brokenhandle (Dec 17, 2021)

Gonna be a busy day again for ya when you process them. I'm about done with my 3 deer, wife helped some with back legs the rest is just me but got about 70 lbs of burger ground so far...which is good, we were out! 

Ryan


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## tallbm (Dec 17, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> Gonna be a busy day again for ya when you process them. I'm about done with my 3 deer, wife helped some with back legs the rest is just me but got about 70 lbs of burger ground so far...which is good, we were out!
> 
> Ryan


Nice and congrats!


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## indaswamp (Dec 17, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> Gonna be a busy day again for ya when you process them. I'm about done with my 3 deer, wife helped some with back legs the rest is just me but got about 70 lbs of burger ground so far...which is good, we were out!
> 
> Ryan


Nice! I still have about 12# of deer/beef grind from last season. That should last me until processing day. Hope to put about 100# of deer/beef grind in the freezer this season.


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## Brokenhandle (Dec 17, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Nice! I still have about 12# of deer/beef grind from last season. That should last me until processing day. Hope to put about 100# of deer/beef grind in the freezer this season.


We always share our meat with daughter and SIL also. Loins and tenders are all packaged, do alot of jerky from roasts. Wanna do some pastrami and dried venison too in near future! Maybe someday will get better processing facilities... can't remember if it's you or 

 tallbm
  has the cooler with rail system but that would be nice. I do have a car hoist which works great to use for skinning and quartering but shop is full and my Mustang is on it! Lol.

Ryan


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## indaswamp (Dec 17, 2021)

Not me with the rail system....but that sure would be nice to have...

I do have a pretty sweet place to do our processing though. big double door cooler, commercial freezer, lots of counter space and an ice machine.


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## tallbm (Dec 18, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> We always share our meat with daughter and SIL also. Loins and tenders are all packaged, do alot of jerky from roasts. Wanna do some pastrami and dried venison too in near future! Maybe someday will get better processing facilities... can't remember if it's you or
> 
> tallbm
> has the cooler with rail system but that would be nice. I do have a car hoist which works great to use for skinning and quartering but shop is full and my Mustang is on it! Lol.
> ...


I wish I had cooler with a rail system.  Deer place I last hunted had it.  It's freakin awesome for holdin the deer and then breaking them down for the ice coolers :)


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## Brokenhandle (Dec 18, 2021)

tallbm said:


> I wish I had cooler with a rail system.  Deer place I last hunted had it.  It's freakin awesome for holdin the deer and then breaking them down for the ice coolers :)


That must be where I remember seeing it.

Ryan


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## daveomak (Dec 18, 2021)

For those that don't know ...  food for thought ...

Processing slaughtered meats ..    hanging and aging time.
Fig. 1.1. Effect of rigor mortis. Times for onset and resolution of rigor  
...........................Time to onset of rigor .............Time for resolution of rigor
Cattle ......................12 - 24 hours ................................2 - 10 days
Pigs ..........................6 - 12 hours ...................................1 - 2 days
Lamb...................... 7 - 8 hours ......................................1 day
Turkey ....................½ - 2 hours.................................... 6 - 24 hours
Chicken................. ½ - 1 hours .......................................4 - 6 hours
Rabbit ..................12 - 20 hours .....................................2 - 7 days
Venison ...............24 - 36 hours ....................................6 - 14 days
Looking at the above data, it becomes conclusive that the aging process is more important for animals which are older at the slaughter time (cattle, venison). Warm meat of a freshly slaughtered animal exhibits the highest quality and juiciness.
Unfortunately, there is a very narrow window of opportunity for processing it. The slaughter house and the meat plant must be located within the same building to be effective. Meat that we buy in a supermarket has already been aged by a packing house.
If an animal carcass is cooled too rapidly (below 50° F, 10° C) before the onset of the rigor (within 10 hours), the muscles may contract which results in tough meat when cooked. This is known as “cold shortening.” To prevent this the carcass is kept at room temperature for some hours to accelerate rigor and then aged at between 30-41° F, (-1 - 5° C).

Marianski, Stanley. Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages (Kindle Locations 51-83). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.


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## indaswamp (Dec 18, 2021)

Thanks for posting that 

 daveomak
 . My doe has been iced going on 13 days...going to break it down today while I smoke goose tasso and chicken leg quarters...

Not cold enough here to hang, and I don't have a walk-in, so best I can do is in scent free trash bags on ice. I drain the water off often so the ice never touches the meat.


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## indaswamp (Dec 20, 2021)

Good thing I started cold smoking the wild hog bacon saturday night...the temperature is going to be back in the 80's on Christmas Day!!


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## indaswamp (Jan 4, 2022)

Well...I have returned from the deer camp. Add another 3 deer to the tally. That's 15 deer as of now. The kids each shot a doe and one of the kids shot a nice little 8 point. The does weighed 120-140lbs. and the little buck was about the same size. This was the kids first buck, he has had buck fever pretty bad and was shook up so bad he could not shoot the first three opportunities he had at bucks. But he got it done on this little 8 pt.

I'll post pics. when I get them.


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## tallbm (Jan 6, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Well...I have returned from the deer camp. Add another 3 deer to the tally. That's 15 deer as of now. The kids each shot a doe and one of the kids shot a nice little 8 point. The does weighed 120-140lbs. and the little buck was about the same size. This was the kids first buck, he has had buck fever pretty bad and was shook up so bad he could not shoot the first three opportunities he had at bucks. But he got it done on this little 8 pt.
> 
> I'll post pics. when I get them.



Hahaha that is great to hear!  Especially about the kid getting over the buck fever to finally take that 8pt!

The more he does it the better he'll get with it. I'm sure if they get him on a bunch of hogs repeatedly it will greatly help with the buck fever :)


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## BC Buck (Jan 8, 2022)

daveomak said:


> For those that don't know ...  food for thought ...
> 
> Processing slaughtered meats ..    hanging and aging time.
> Fig. 1.1. Effect of rigor mortis. Times for onset and resolution of rigor
> ...


I'm embarrassed to tell this but work schedule and high temps where the factor on how long are deer hung. Could not understand why a year old deer chewed like rubber band and 8 year old was delightful. Once started paying attention to ageing process was night and day difference. This is good info to bookmark. Thanks.


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## indaswamp (Jan 21, 2022)

Well...Cousin went to the deer camp Thursday morning. Shot a big doe Thursday afternoon. Got on stand this morning and shot this funky buck...






That makes 17 or 18 deer this season so far for processing day.


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## indaswamp (Jan 21, 2022)

Another buck down....






This was the running mate to the 7pt. my brother shot during early bow season in October.


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## Nodak21 (Jan 21, 2022)

Your not going to have any seed for next year if you keep mowing them down  just kidding and nice shooting. A couple of the bucks sure have some funky racks. Lots of fighters with broken tines it looks like too. Good job lots of good eating


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## indaswamp (Jan 21, 2022)

Nodak21 said:


> Your not going to have any seed for next year if you keep mowing them down  just kidding and nice shooting. A couple of the bucks sure have some funky racks. Lots of fighters with broken tines it looks like too. Good job lots of good eating


Thanks. My cousin is going out with a bang laying them down. Yeah, lot of funky broke racks. The timber companies have been doing a lot of pine cutting around us, and our cutovers are growing up so we are holding more deer than last season. I miscounted the deer tally...my cousin had killed another funky rack buck on at a different club. So with this buck and the 4 my buddy killed on crop tags in Georgia, we have 20 deer for processing day...so far.


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## pineywoods (Jan 21, 2022)

Funky rack but still good eating. Looks like it's going to be a busy processing day for you and your crew


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## indaswamp (Jan 21, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> Funky rack but still good eating. Looks like it's going to be a busy processing day for you and your crew


Thanks pineywoods. Definitely gonna be another long day for processing. Probably gonna be over 700# total this season.


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## tallbm (Jan 21, 2022)

Getting rid of the gnarly horned deer I see :D


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## indaswamp (Jan 21, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Getting rid of the gnarly horned deer I see :D


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## indaswamp (Jan 23, 2022)

Well, today I will be helping my cousin debone the 3 deer he took over the last few days. Cold day so will be prefect for it. He is on shift at the firehouse so we plan on putting a deer Mississippi pot roast on all day while we are busy with the deer. We'll nail down a definite date for processing day 2022 but it's looking like it'll be February 12th.


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## indaswamp (Jan 25, 2022)

Just bought 175# of pork butts on sale for $1.39/#....really good looking butts from a high end grocer that had a good sale. Called my cousin to see how much pork he needed and went ahead and got his too while I was there. Got enough pork for a big 120# run of 50/50 wild hog/ commercial hog smoke sausage. Gonna use up some of the 140# of wild hog meat I have on hand. Will smoke that after processing day.


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## pineywoods (Jan 25, 2022)

Gonna be a heck of a processing day I'm looking forward to the pics


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## indaswamp (Jan 30, 2022)

Add two more does to the tally. Nephew shot a big doe, and my Uncle that is a new member in the club shot a big doe as well so that's 22 deer for processing day.


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## tallbm (Jan 30, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Add two more does to the tally. Nephew shot a big doe, and my Uncle that is a new member in the club shot a big doe as well so that's 22 deer for processing day.


14 deer is the most I ever did and was enough for me haha.  I'm glad you have a number of hands to help out.  It's usually just me except on stuffing day.  I need someone with some strength to run my 22lb stuffer while I feed castings. Other than that it's usually just me hahaha


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## indaswamp (Feb 2, 2022)

Big Day is Feb. 12th....and boy are we gonna be BUSY!!! LOL!!!


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## indaswamp (Feb 4, 2022)

So...I talked to my buddy. In addition to the 4 deer he got at the turf farm in Georgia, he now has 3 wild hogs. So all in we got 26 deer and 6 wild hogs for processing day this year!


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## pineywoods (Feb 4, 2022)

Gonna be a lot of work and a lot of meat


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> Gonna be a lot of work and a lot of meat


Yep. Add another 3 wild hogs to the tally. Buddy just called me, got 3 in the trap right now....caught last night. He is going dispatch them when he gets off work around 5pm. Then he is bringing them to me. I don't know the size or what. I'll probably gut them, pack with ice overnight and skin & quarter tomorrow morning. 37*F for the low tonight so they will be fine. I'm not even going to freeze the meat. Will keep on ice to add in the big sausage run after processing day....


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

26 deer & 9 wild hogs.....


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

tallbm
...
I know...right!?!? We had a jam up season this year as a club. Gonna be busy, busy, busy.....I got all the meat pulled out of the freezers today to thaw...


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## BC Buck (Feb 9, 2022)

How big of packages do you have meat froze in. I did 20lb packages and takes to long to defrost making me nerviest about spoilage. Next year 10lb max. Here in Missouri it can be any ware from 0 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year.


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

BC Buck said:


> How big of packages do you have meat froze in. I did 20lb packages and takes to long to defrost making me nerviest about spoilage. Next year 10lb max. Here in Missouri it can be any ware from 0 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year.


20# packs, but only 2-3" thick so they will thaw fast. Put them in cold water Thursday night and it will be thawed by Saturday morning...and the water will be in the 30's by the time they are soft. No issues at all.


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## pineywoods (Feb 9, 2022)

You and your crew just keep adding on keep that up and you'll have to go to Processing Days not Day


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> You and your crew just keep adding on keep that up and you'll have to go to Processing Days not Day


It's already DAYS when you count smoking the sausages!!! LOL!!


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

Make it two little hogs...about 50-60# each.






After a trip to the car wash, got them field dressed, packed on ice until tomorrow.





The big one that was in the trap on the camera got away. Jimmied the door somehow. They think it did not close all the way and hung up on a stick and the big sow was able to get her nose in there and pry it open.


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## indaswamp (Feb 9, 2022)

Getting ready....45# pork trim back fat and 24# beef trim fat.





Got 250# of smoke sausage seasoning mixed up, 100# fresh sausage, 75# breakfast sausage, 25# smoke jalapeno and cheese. Also bought 3 hanks of 32-35mm hog casing.


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## pineywoods (Feb 10, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Make it two little hogs...about 50-60# each.
> View attachment 525330
> 
> After a trip to the car wash, got them field dressed, packed on ice until tomorrow.
> ...



I must have missed that picture. Smoking time counts as processing time?? I thought it just counted as beer drinking time


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## indaswamp (Feb 10, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> I must have missed that picture. Smoking time counts as processing time?? I thought it just counted as beer drinking time


My buddies friend has one of those cell phone cameras on the trap. Checks it every morning to see if there are any hogs in the trap. There were 3 in there when he looked this morning.

If smoking counts as processing....this will be a 4-5 day deal! LOL!


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## pineywoods (Feb 10, 2022)

Oh ok I thought you meant you had posted a pic of them in the trap.
Hopefully you get some help with those smoking days that's a lot to move around for one person


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## indaswamp (Feb 10, 2022)

1 day meat sale today. Picked up last minute butts for my uncle @ $0.99/#...(3) double packs.


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## indaswamp (Feb 10, 2022)

Little pigs are skinned and split in half, on ice. Will debone tonight at the firehouse. Should get 30-35# total off both hogs. Fat smells very clean, as it usually is with piglets. I am going to suggest we use this meat in with the fresh sausage.


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## tallbm (Feb 10, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Little pigs are skinned and split in half, on ice. Will debone tonight at the firehouse. Should get 30-35# total off both hogs. Fat smells very clean, as it usually is with piglets. I am going to suggest we use this meat in with the fresh sausage.


Them little pigs are soooo tasty!


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## BC Buck (Feb 10, 2022)

Jealous, we have no pigs in my neck of the woods. Sothern MO they are cussed.


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## indaswamp (Feb 10, 2022)

Looks like we will get everything done on the venison Saturday. And hope to get first coarse grind on the wild hog/domestic hog smoke sausage so we can salt. cure and season to rest in the fridge. Probably gonna take Sunday off and final grind/stuff the smoke sausage Monday. Smoke Tuesday and Wednesday...


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## tallbm (Feb 11, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Looks like we will get everything done on the venison Saturday. And hope to get first coarse grind on the wild hog/domestic hog smoke sausage so we can salt. cure and season to rest in the fridge. Probably gonna take Sunday off and final grind/stuff the smoke sausage Monday. Smoke Tuesday and Wednesday...


Can't wait to see the end products! :D


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## indaswamp (Feb 11, 2022)

Well...I brought all my meat, equipment and supplies to the building today. We trimmed all the beef rump roast that my uncle picked up on sale for $2.99/#.






Set up the grinders and my electric stuffer. And I mixed up another 100# of smoke sausage seasoning for my buddy.





Probably have to do 3 smoke days. we are at 290# smoke sausage right now. Got the fat in the cooler on the top shelf so it should be 32-33*F by morning. Bright and early 0600....it's gonna be a grind (pun intended). LOL!!!


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## pineywoods (Feb 11, 2022)

Looking forward to the pics. Pace yourself it's gonna be a long day


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## indaswamp (Feb 11, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> Pace yourself it's gonna be a long day


DAYS!!!! LOL!!!!


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## HowlingDog (Feb 12, 2022)

Checking in to see if you are OK....  You must be exhausted and it is only the first day!!!  Can't wait to see pics of everything!


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## indaswamp (Feb 12, 2022)

HowlingDog said:


> Checking in to see if you are OK....  You must be exhausted and it is only the first day!!!  Can't wait to see pics of everything!


I am exhausted. 712# of product today. Got 185# wild hog/domestic hog smoke sausage coarse grind, seasoning, salt, cure, STPP mixed and in the fridge to cure. Will do final grind thru 6mm plate Monday. Along with 200# venison and Wild hog for my buddy. He did not call me until Friday morning with how much he's got so I did not have a fat order for him. Will have to pick up fat for him Monday. His Dad is on hospice and he's taking time off work to be with him and take care of him so it is understandable. I told him that he did not have to stay at processing day today; if he needs to leave-go! We had a lot on our plate anyways with all we did.

All in the total for this year is 912#. Pics. when I can....I'm not long for bed.


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## pineywoods (Feb 13, 2022)

That is a lot of work for Day 1 I don't blame you for hitting the sack hope you get some sleep


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## indaswamp (Feb 13, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> That is a lot of work for Day 1 I don't blame you for hitting the sack hope you get some sleep


I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and I just realized I forgot to add cure #1 to the big batch of wild hog/ domestic pork smoke sausage coarse grind. Will have to do that later today. All the meat is in 5 totes so I will have to pull them out individually, weigh, mix up cure, and mix. Late in the day yesterday my brain was not firing on all cylinders.....


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## indaswamp (Feb 13, 2022)

Cousin put 4 venison sirloin roasts in 2 crock pots at 6am when he arrived at the station Saturday morning, along with some black eyed peas in another crock pot. Let that go all day. checked on it at lunch, then added the potatoes and carrots around 3pm. Good thing too because the firehouse had a house fire drop on them right in the middle of processing day. Both my cousin and an off duty fireman that works a different shift dropped everything and left to go take care of it. Vehicle caught fire under the carport cover...wind blew the direction of the second car, caught it on fire. Fire wrapped around the eves and got into the attic. The guys caught it and put it out before it made it to above the kitchen. Made one hell of a save....might have saved the house from a total loss.

That meal made everybody happy...


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## indaswamp (Feb 13, 2022)

YEAH! Vacmaster pro360 seal kit arrived today, will have new seals for packaging all this smoke sausage!! WOOHOO!! Thank you Lisa!


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## indaswamp (Feb 13, 2022)

Pics...

called an audible at the end of the day when we were done with all our venison. Had 260# of wild hog. domestic pork, and pork fat. Decided to make a run of wild hog/ domestic pork breakfast sausage. Here I am mixing up more Breakfast sausage seasoning...





Milk powder being mixed with water to form a paste for even distribution...





First coil of venison/ wild hog fresh sausage of the day..





And links...





Mixing the 260# all pork to distribute evenly...that's two 150qt. ice chests...both half full.





portioning out the meat for making the breakfast sausage...


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## pineywoods (Feb 13, 2022)

Food looks and sounds great. Isn't that usually the way try to do something and the tones start but when your bored stiff they stay silent


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## indaswamp (Feb 13, 2022)

The 260# all pork grind:
30% wild hog
40% Lean pork
30% fat


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## HowlingDog (Feb 13, 2022)

Everything looks great and you have an amazing set up.  Wish I was closer to help, and try what I am sure is delicious sausage!!


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 13, 2022)

Here’s a novel idea for you 

 indaswamp
 for storing all that sausage.


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## indaswamp (Feb 13, 2022)

I have to pick up 20# of pork back fat in the morning, then do first grind on my buddies meat. Hope to finish stuffing  it all tomorrow.
32# Ven./ wild hog jalapeno & cheese smoke sausage
100# Ven. / wild hog ground meat
80# Ven. / wild hog regular cajun smoke sausage
20# Ven. / wild hog cajun breakfast sausage


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 13, 2022)

Takes me back to my Minnesota childhood making tubs upon tubs of potato sausage. Just seeing those casings in that giant bowl of water brings back so many memories. It looks like you’ve done this a few dozen times, maybe even a gazillion times.


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

Well...all the stuff is cased. over 300# of smoke sausage. I will be smoking over the next 3 days. More pics. soon...


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

Smoke Day #1 today...





Borrowed my buddies trailer to move the sausages from the kitchen to the smokehouse at my house. Saved my back from loading them in my truck!


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

Oh- forgot to tell y'all this.....
So my Uncle that is recently retired shot two deer this season. He has a lot of stew meat,more than he needs. My cousin ground up some stew meat thru a 10mm plate on processing day and my Uncle said,"I'm doing that when I get home with some of my stew meat!" Well, he found a source for both pork and beef fat at a butcher shop local to him... *$0.10/#!!!!* 

That's 10 times less than what I was paying! This will make processing day expenses better!!


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 15, 2022)

When you use a trailer and a pickup to transport the sausages you made to your smokehouse, 1) you made a lot of sausages, 2) you have a big smokehouse, 3) you really like sausages. 

 indaswamp
 I’ve really enjoyed following this story. Keep posting.


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> When you use a trailer and a pickup to transport the sausages you made to your smokehouse, 1) you made a lot of sausages, 2) you have a big smokehouse, 3) you really like sausages.
> 
> indaswamp
> I’ve really enjoyed following this story. Keep posting.


Well Sven, thought I do love sausages, this sausage is not all mine. It will be split up between 7-8 people...all members of our deer club. 26 deer and 10 wild hogs total for the season. A good year.


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## Nefarious (Feb 15, 2022)

I am on total awe, the magnitude of this project is incomprehensible, and you do it at your house.  Seems you need a kitchen building closer to the smokehouse.


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

Nefarious said:


> and you do it at your house.


No... I have access to a commercial kitchen. No way I could pull this magnitude of meats off at my house.


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

This is the largest volume of product we have ever done. As we were going along Saturday, I was keeping a mental note kind of tallying up totals....I thought we were around 800#. When we put pen to paper, the total was 954#.....
My body is feeling it today, lemme tell ya!!! LOL!!!


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

few more pics...

~1kilo meat balls ready to be slammed into the stuffer...






the double door fridge we used for the meat totes...





The freezer we chilled the meat and fat for the grinder...





Some of the days product...


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

First 100# of wild/domestic hog smoke sausage done today...


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## indaswamp (Feb 15, 2022)

Perfect tight bind. No fat out. Great sausage. 200# to go...


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## BC Buck (Feb 16, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Well...all the stuff is cased. over 300# of smoke sausage. I will be smoking over the next 3 days. More pics. soon...


What kind of stuffer do you guys use with that much sausage made?


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

BC Buck said:


> What kind of stuffer do you guys use with that much sausage made?


LEM 30# motorized stuffer. I filled up the hopper to the top 32 times........


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## slavikborisov (Feb 16, 2022)

Man what a blast that would be!! Lots of hardwork but im sure well worth the quality, taste, and just knowing you made it.


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 16, 2022)

indaswamp
 I am told our local mountains are swarming with destructive wild hogs and they want to open an open season on hunting them. I hike up there all the time and I have never seen one in the wild anywhere. I've never seen them down in our valley, either. Turkeys are everywhere and so are deer but I've never seen a hog. I don't know much about them but they must be difficult to hunt, is my assumption. My question is how to they taste compared to domestic hogs. Do they have a gamey taste? Are they more fat or lean? Are they more prone to parasites? Thanks.


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> indaswamp
> I am told our local mountains are swarming with destructive wild hogs and they want to open an open season on hunting them. I hike up there all the time and I have never seen one in the wild anywhere. I've never seen them down in our valley, either.


You may not have seen the hogs, but if they are there, you will see evidence of it from their droppings and rooting up the dirt. May even find wallows. Hogs for the most part are nocturnal but will move about during the day some.



> Turkeys are everywhere and so are deer but I've never seen a hog. I don't know much about them but they must be difficult to hunt, is my assumption.


Not very good eyesight, but very very good sense of smell. You can stalk a group of hogs with the wind in your favor and get close enough for a shot. from a stand is incidental unless you have a corn feeder out.



> My question is how to they taste compared to domestic hogs. Do they have a gamey taste? Are they more fat or lean? Are they more prone to parasites? Thanks.


Taste is subjective, but it all depends on what the hog has been eating. fall and early spring are best when they are feeding on mast crops and new green shoots and tubers. If you get one that has been eating carrion or a lot of grubs, the meat can be off. I check the fat on every hog I process by frying a small piece in a pan. If it is musty-you will know it. As far as gamey, no. They are more 'porky' if that makes sense...like the old world pork. The meat is very dark like a mangalista. They are more lean. Half or more of the fat of a domestic hog. Yes, they are prone to parasites. Care must be taken when handling. I have posted a lot of info on Trichnae parasites and wild hog meat. Follow the USDA pasteurization tables for killing trich in pork meat. I usually lengthen the time X3 or 4...just for insurance on even temp. thru out the smokehouse when I smoke wild hog sausages.


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

When we make wild hog smoke sausage, we always add the wild hog at 40% and pork butt at 40%. Plus 20% domestic pork fat trim.


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

Smoke day #2 done....another 100# wild/domestic hog smoke sausage...


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 16, 2022)

indaswamp
 Thanks for the hog info. I’ve always wondered about all that but I don‘t know anyone who hunts, or maybe I just don’t know they hunt.


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

Here is the official product break down:

80# wild/domestic hog sage breakfast sausage
200# wild/domestic hog Cajun smoke saussge
35# deer/pork Sage Breakfast sausage
165# deer/beef burger grind
65# deer/wild hog fresh sausage
15# 100% deer chili grind
160# Deer/pork grind
14# 100% Deer grind
____________________________
734# for the deer club

For my buddy:
82# deer/wild hog Cajun smoke sausage
38# deer/wild hog Jalapeno and Cheese smoke sausage
100# deer/wild hog grind in 1# meat bags
____________________________
220#

734#
+220#
___________
954# finished product.


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## Nefarious (Feb 16, 2022)

What about for you?


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

For me:
100# venison/beef grind
10# wild/domestic hog sage breakfast sausage
10# deer/ pork sage breakfast sausage
15# deer wild hog Cajun fresh sausage
14# 100% deer grind
plus
45# wild/domestic hog Cajun smoke sausage
_________________________
196# product

I put in 127# of wild hog meat for the breakfast and smoke sausage but shared it with everybody....


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

We used 65# pork fat and 25# beef fat.....


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## Nefarious (Feb 16, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> For me:
> 100# venison/beef grind
> 10# wild/domestic hog sage breakfast sausage
> 10# deer/ pork sage breakfast sausage
> ...


One word, WOW


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## indaswamp (Feb 16, 2022)

Nefarious said:


> One word, WOW


I never buy beef ground meat! LOL!! That will last me a year.


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## BC Buck (Feb 17, 2022)

What are  you using for seasoning in  35# deer/pork Sage Breakfast sausage .


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

BC Buck said:


> What are  you using for seasoning in  35# deer/pork Sage Breakfast sausage .


https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/cajun-breakfast-sausage-family-recipe.284823/


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## BC Buck (Feb 17, 2022)

Thanks for sharing the family's tradition.


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

The slice on the smoke sausage...






I fried some up for supper last night so here is a cut longways...





really good bind. Zero fat out.


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

about 30% fat in the smoke sausage...


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

Used Hickory and Cherry wood chunks. Here is the color shot...


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## tallbm (Feb 17, 2022)

Man that sausage looks great!  Nice work, I'm sure you will be glad when it is all completely done and you can just pull food out of the freezer and prep to eat it :D


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Man that sausage looks great!  Nice work, I'm sure you will be glad when it is all completely done and you can just pull food out of the freezer and prep to eat it :D


Thanks tallbm. Now to package 300# of sausages!! LOL!!

I'll tell ya....the bind on this sausage is incredible-best I have ever done. Happy mistake or dumb luck I don't know. What I did different this time is dissolve the phosphate (STPP) in warm water then chill with ice. Mixed that into the coarse grind with the salt, cure #1, and seasonings. Then put the grind in totes. Let that sit 2 days, then did fine grind and mixed in the milk. I hydrated the milk powder with a blender for even distribution, then mixed it in. Stuffed the links, put them in bags and on ice for 2 days, then smoke. This might be one of the best batches I have ever made.


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## Brokenhandle (Feb 17, 2022)

Looks delicious! 

Ryan


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

Thanks 

 Brokenhandle
 !


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## tallbm (Feb 17, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Thanks tallbm. Now to package 300# of sausages!! LOL!!
> 
> I'll tell ya....the bind on this sausage is incredible-best I have ever done. Happy mistake or dumb luck I don't know. What I did different this time is dissolve the phosphate (STPP) in warm water then chill with ice. Mixed that into the coarse grind with the salt, cure #1, and seasonings. Then put the grind in totes. Let that sit 2 days, then did fine grind and mixed in the milk. I hydrated the milk powder with a blender for even distribution, then mixed it in. Stuffed the links, put them in bags and on ice for 2 days, then smoke. This might be one of the best batches I have ever made.


My guess is the 4 days sitting with salt before stuffing.  Salt will make proteins want to bind.
Think back to when you have made a burger and you mixed all the seasonings and salt into it and then after a little bit of time you form patties and grill.
The patties come out very dense. This is the result of the salt sitting in the meat and the meat being worked together (mixing). 
You do the same process but you don't add the salt and you sprinkle the salt on the patties just before throwing on the grill and you get the loose great burgers you are expecting!

I read a whole article on this once and I'll be damned if they didn't nail it. Being armed with that knowledge I have never created another thick dense hockey puck of a patty on the grill.
So I'm thinking your process caused more of a dense bind.

No telling but just my little educated guess on some things I've seen before :)


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## indaswamp (Feb 17, 2022)

tallbm said:


> My guess is the 4 days sitting with salt before stuffing.  Salt will make proteins want to bind.
> Think back to when you have made a burger and you mixed all the seasonings and salt into it and then after a little bit of time you form patties and grill.
> The patties come out very dense. This is the result of the salt sitting in the meat and the meat being worked together (mixing).
> You do the same process but you don't add the salt and you sprinkle the salt on the patties just before throwing on the grill and you get the loose great burgers you are expecting!
> ...


I have let salt sit on sausage meat paste for 4 days before, but have never had a bind this good. 

Oh-I also always add the fluid from the thawed bag of meat when making fresh or smoked sausages. That is part of the salt soluble proteins you need for a great bind...don't throw it away....


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 17, 2022)

This just gets better and better. Thanks for posting the pictures.


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## Fueling Around (Feb 17, 2022)

Maybe this thought comes from one of your other recipes.
Did remixing to add the missed cure make a better bind?
I got lost a few 100# ago


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## Sven Svensson (Feb 17, 2022)

Looking at your photos, again, I appreciate you are not over-saturating your photos like so many other’s do.


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## indaswamp (Feb 18, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> Maybe this thought comes from one of your other recipes.
> Did remixing to add the missed cure make a better bind?
> I got lost a few 100# ago


That could be it Fueling Around... the salt sitting on it for a day had to pull out some proteins and when I added the cure and remixed, I developed them even more. Then that coarse grind went thru second grind thru 6mm plate denaturing the proteins even more. With the phosphates in there grabbing on to them tightly....and trapping water too. This sausage is moist and has a GREAT bind!


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## indaswamp (Feb 18, 2022)

Sven Svensson said:


> Looking at your photos, again, I appreciate you are not over-saturating your photos like so many other’s do.


I have WAY too many things going through my head on processing day to even think about taking pictures. I'm directing traffic and trying to stay ahead of everyone with the next steps all the while stuffing sausages with my stuffer and making links. That's pretty much where I am for the whole day...staying on top of everything and making sure everything is done correctly. So I rely on the pictures the guys take and ask them to send them to me. The guys that have been doing this with me for the past 6 years pretty much know the steps...But I double check.
Oh-and I mix up spices when we add stuff on...like the wild/domestic hog sage breakfast sausage we did.


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## pineywoods (Feb 18, 2022)

Are you done smoking it all? What do you have left to do? Might have to change the title from Processing Day to Processing Week


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## indaswamp (Feb 18, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> Are you done smoking it all? What do you have left to do? Might have to change the title from Processing Day to Processing Week


All we have left to do is package smoke sausages today and tomorrow. I have new seals for my vacmaster pro360 thanks to Lisa, so it should go fairly quickly. And I would have changed the title already.....but I can't edit posts! LOL!!


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## indaswamp (Feb 18, 2022)

OK...when I pulled the sausage off the smoke yesterday, I noticed that the jalapeno and cheese sausage that I hung right near the door had not cooked all the way. I had the door cracked open for low temp smoking, and we had a hell of a SW wind yesterday gusting to 30-35 MPH. It was blowing right into the open door and cooling the sausages in the front. I did not want to chance it and decided this morning to just go ahead and double smoke the J&C sausage. Did not take all that long with only 38# and I was packaging sausages anyways so I had the inkbird monitor on the packaging table to keep an eye on them. I was concerned that I might melt out the cheese double smoking, but that was not the case at all and they turned out GREAT!

Double smoked...






slice (and taste test) after quenching in ice water for about 20 minutes...





I knocked out about 100# packaged today. Will finish the rest tomorrow.


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## Fueling Around (Feb 18, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> That could be it Fueling Around... the salt sitting on it for a day had to pull out some proteins and when I added the cure and remixed, I developed them even more. Then that coarse grind went thru second grind thru 6mm plate denaturing the proteins even more. With the phosphates in there grabbing on to them tightly....and trapping water too. This sausage is moist and has a GREAT bind!


Well, we know that overworking meat makes a tough chewy meatball or meatloaf. 
They tend to be lower fat and no phosphates (did you use milk powder)  than your sausage plus well-cooked into submission. 
I don't know if it was the second grind or the second day nitrite.  I suspect the second day grind.



indaswamp said:


> OK...when I pulled the sausage off the smoke yesterday, I noticed that the jalapeno and cheese sausage that I hung right near the door had not cooked all the way.
> ...


How did you hold them overnight before the second cook/smoke?


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## indaswamp (Feb 18, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> How did you hold them overnight before the second cook/smoke?


Back on ice. Quenched in an ice water bath for rapid cool down.


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## BXMurphy (Feb 19, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Got the call @ 7p.m. tonight from my buddy..."Hey man, you want (2) 100# hogs?"
> 
> My answer- "Well Hell Yeah!"
> 
> ...



Hey, man... thanks for sharing some Louisiana hunting. It's far removed from me in Massachusetts and very fascinating. I know zero hunters but love hearing of the excitement. So cool.

Murph


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## BXMurphy (Feb 19, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Here in TX, feral hogs are considered a pest so we can hunt them day/night and with basically anything (spears, knives, firearms, archery, your car, etc.).



"Hunt them with ... your car, etc"

HA! I almost died! That was great! Thanks for that laugh, tallbm!!

Hunt them with your car, etc... HAHA! Classic! DAMN, I loves me some Texas!


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## daveomak (Feb 19, 2022)

Inda, morning...   I'm following this epic adventure...  Thanks for sharing..  If Washington State gets any more blue, you got room for 1 more neighbor ???


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## indaswamp (Feb 19, 2022)

Just finished up packaging all the smoke sausages.





300# (less 45# from the half full one) of smoke sausage in 3 ice chests


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## corybrown50 (Feb 22, 2022)

WOW!!! I've been so impressed by all of this. I'm slowly upgrading my set up for processing, but just WOW!! You inspired me to go ahead and upgrade my stuffer to a 25# electric after upgrading my grinder and a chamber vac last year......My wife says "Thank you" hehehehe. Great job! I usually process about 6-10 deer a year, keeping my grind for a "grind party", but this is more than next level. So many great ideas and execution.


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## indaswamp (Feb 23, 2022)

Just bought a 2" stuffer horn for stuffing the 1# meat bags faster...
Stainless Steel Tube Horn Funnel for Meat Grinder (#12) 

Also bought 3 more colors of tape for product in bags...yellow, orange, and black.....color coding is a big plus!!
T.R.U. UPVC-24BS Yellow Poly Bag Sealing Tape: 3/8 in. x 180 yds. (Pack of 1)


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## BC Buck (Feb 23, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Just bought a 2" stuffer horn for stuffing the 1# meat bags faster...
> Stainless Steel Tube Horn Funnel for Meat Grinder (#12)
> 
> Also bought 3 more colors of tape for product in bags...yellow, orange, and black.....color coding is a big plus!!
> T.R.U. UPVC-24BS Yellow Poly Bag Sealing Tape: 3/8 in. x 180 yds. (Pack of 1)


Been thinking about getting one of those 2" stiffing horns for my #22. Would like to talk to someone who has used one to see how much faster it works directly off the grinder during second grind.


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## pineywoods (Feb 23, 2022)

BC Buck said:


> Been thinking about getting one of those 2" stiffing horns for my #22. Would like to talk to someone who has used one to see how much faster it works directly off the grinder during second grind.


 
It works faster for sure I have one and have used it with my #32 grinder. I have not processed enough to use it in the last several years. 

For a few years we'd use different bags for different grinds and different animals. We mostly ground venison and pork.


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## tallbm (Feb 23, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Just bought a 2" stuffer horn for stuffing the 1# meat bags faster...
> Stainless Steel Tube Horn Funnel for Meat Grinder (#12)
> 
> Also bought 3 more colors of tape for product in bags...yellow, orange, and black.....color coding is a big plus!!
> T.R.U. UPVC-24BS Yellow Poly Bag Sealing Tape: 3/8 in. x 180 yds. (Pack of 1)



Yeah 

 indaswamp
 you inspired me to get clear/white poly bags I found on the cheap at Ebay and then I bought this variety pack of tape so I could be like you with the bagging and avoid having to buy different bag colors/patterns:

That seems like a lot for colored poly bag tape but buying 1,000 different colored bags (3x for 3 different color bags) for the same price or more was more expensive.  I scored like 2,000 clear poly bags for like $32 a while back so it was a no brainer decision for me :D

Now I just need to get back into hunting and filling bags :D


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## indaswamp (Feb 23, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Yeah
> 
> indaswamp
> you inspired me to get clear/white poly bags I found on the cheap at Ebay and then I bought this variety pack of tape so I could be like you with the bagging and avoid having to buy different bag colors/patterns:


I'm going to buy that multi pack for next season....cheaper to go that route. Thanks for the link.


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## tallbm (Feb 23, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> I'm going to buy that multi pack for next season....cheaper to go that route. Thanks for the link.


Glad to help!  
Once I saw the variety pack for that cost and individual tapes for like $8+ I knew it was a no brainer as well.  Glad I could help ya out with it :)


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## indaswamp (Feb 28, 2022)

Thought you guys might like to see to mount of the buck my nephew shot this season...





The euro mounts- first buck he ever killed is not he right, his second on the left.


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## pineywoods (Feb 28, 2022)

Very nice a big boy for sure


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## tallbm (Feb 28, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Thought you guys might like to see to mount of the buck my nephew shot this season...
> View attachment 527300
> 
> The euro mounts- first buck he ever killed is not he right, his second on the left.


I love it!!!  I bet he is excited about it :)


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