# Newbie Questions ? Venison Summer Sausage/Snack Sticks



## je1000 (Dec 23, 2011)

Alright guys first off I'm very new to this, Im trying to look at all these great posts on this website to gather pieces of information to maybe piece together all the "basics" that go into the process of making SS and Snack Sticks and the more i browse around the more confused i get. Is there anyone that could give me info from start to finish on how to make either one. I have lots of deer meat including burger sausage and i have some pork sausage. Ive already bought fibrous casings and i plan on smoking these. Thanks


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## SmokinAl (Dec 23, 2011)

Welcome to SMF! You should go over to roll call & introduce yourself so we can all give you a proper SMF welcome.

There are a lot of sausage guru's on here & I'm sure one will be along shortly to help you out.


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## cruedog (Dec 23, 2011)

First off, I hope you have an electric smoker because you need to keep pretty low temps. (start at 120-130 and work your way up to 165 at the most).

Its almost impossible to do that with propane or charcoal/wood fireboxes.

Go to the SausageMaker.com, they have great direction on the grinding, stuffing, smoking of Venison SS or Sticks!

Hope this helps!!


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## je1000 (Dec 23, 2011)

Smokin Al - Ill be sure to get right over there, i thinks this is a great forum with great people

Crue Dog - i do have an electric smoker, thanks for that info and ill go to that site and see what they got going on.


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## je1000 (Dec 23, 2011)

Ive got the basic do's and dont's as far as smoking temp, casings, but what about meat ratio ( what kind  to what kind and ratio ) and also about curing i don't understand all of that. Thanks


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## mballi3011 (Dec 24, 2011)

First ff wlcome SMF there JE. Now you can go to a Gander mtn, Carbelas, or anything like that ad they should have snack stick kits that will give you the whole run down on making snack sticks. You can also look into the wiki section for making snack sticks in here to.


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## solaryellow (Dec 24, 2011)

JE1000 said:


> Ive got the basic do's and dont's as far as smoking temp, casings, but what about meat ratio ( what kind  to what kind and ratio ) and also about curing i don't understand all of that. Thanks




That is really up to you. I have done all beef, beef and pork, pork, chicken and bacon, venison and pork, venison, beef and pork, etc. Just make sure you are using something with some fat content to it.


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## je1000 (Dec 24, 2011)

mballi3011 thanks I've seen these at bass pro and didn't really know if it would do what i wanted unless i got the original box, because i wanna do jalapeño and cheese SS or Snack Sticks 

Solaryellow thanks for that info, would you recommend ground sausage or hamburger and would the fat content in either of those be enough  ?


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## solaryellow (Dec 24, 2011)

Ground butt would be my first recommendation but ground burger (at least 80/20) in a 70/30 ratio would work. Add some powdered cultured butter milk or soy protein concentrate to bind the moisture. As for your cure question, add 1 tsp of cure #1 for every 5 lbs of meat. You can either mix it all and let it sit before stuffing or stuff it and let it sit overnight before smoking. If not, add sodium erythorbate as a cure accelerator.


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## coffee_junkie (Dec 28, 2011)

JE1000 said:


> mballi3011 thanks I've seen these at bass pro and didn't really know if it would do what i wanted unless i got the original box, because i wanna do jalapeño and cheese SS or Snack Sticks
> 
> Solaryellow thanks for that info, would you recommend ground sausage or hamburger and would the fat content in either of those be enough  ?


Do you have a grinder and a stuffer? Or are you planning on using pre-ground meat. You will need to know the fat content of both so you can control the content of the final product.

I would recommend starting with a kit. I use these http://www.hicountry.com/spices-sandwich-snack-sausage.html. You can add Jalapeno and High temperature cheese to your liking to these kits. But these are a good way to learn about cure, seasonings, and cooking.

Cruedog, I have a gas smoker (GOSM) that I use exclusively for smoking sausage. No problems here.


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## coffee_junkie (Dec 28, 2011)

cruedog said:


> First off, I hope you have an electric smoker because you need to keep pretty low temps. (start at 120-130 and work your way up to 165 at the most).
> 
> Its almost impossible to do that with propane or charcoal/wood fireboxes.
> 
> ...


Cruedog-welcome to the forums and thank you for your input thus far. I would like to ask you to head on over to roll call and introduce yourself there. The guys and gals on the forum are kinda into formal introductions.

Thanks!


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## big casino (Dec 28, 2011)

My feelings are if your finding online information confusing then but a book, my favorite is "great sausage recipes and meat curing" 4th edition by Rytek Kutas.

there is also a book called "Charcuterie" that I don't know the name of the author, but I hear it's real good for the beginner....

there are alot of people here who know how to make great sausage safely, that can answer your questions, but a good reference book for on hand information is always good to have, for when you don't have time to find an answer online

hope this helps


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## exromenyer (Dec 28, 2011)

I'm in the same boat as you.  I have a Brinkmann Smoker with side fire box however I don't have issues regulating the temperature.  I've smoked a lot of pork butts and maintained good temps although you have to watch it often.  As for the Snack Sticks I just made some up tonight, about 3.5 lbs since my venison pkg of burger was 1.75 I added 1.75 of pork butt.  I used the Hi Mountain Original Kit and plan on smoking them tomorrow on the smoker so we'll see how it comes out.  From what I have read, if you keep it to the middle or farther end of the fire box you can regulate easier.  On a side note, The Sausage Maker is AWESOME and have the BEST PRICE on vacuum seal bags as well.  You can buy the pint and quart bags in a 100 count for $30 or buy food saver and get 40 for $30..... I've used them for YEARS and had a butcher when I lived in NY that used them on the meat he processed.. GREAT BAGS.....


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