# My first Venison Sticks



## uncle eddie (Mar 6, 2021)

I am new to sausage making and must thank 

 Winterrider
 and 

 crazymoon
  for answering my questions about equipment and such.  I ended up buying an el-cheapo attachment to our Kitchen Aid blender to grind the meat (this will be replaced ASAP) and a Hakka 3 Liter Stuffer (this was awesome).  I started out with a 5 pound batch of 50/50 venison/pork-butt sticks. 

FYI - The Kitchen Aid grinder was just fine on the first grind but was "very" not-good on the second grind.  Pic's follow:

50-50 venison/pork butt - ready for first grind







first grind was a cinch.  It took 5 minutes tops.






Seasonings from OwensBBQ.com - This is original...but I added some chipotle to spice it up a bit.






2 Cups water added and done with 2nd grind






5 pounds fit easily in the Hakka stuffer






I saw this on YouTube...fry up a little of what is left to test the flavor.  These were delicious!






Ready for drying.  Some casings could have been stuffed a little better but most were spot on.






Smoked, cooked and done,  Chilled in the freezer (no ice water bath).






Money shot!






By the time I got about 1/2 way through, I had a routine.  Prior to that it was trial and error.   I am very happy with my first batch of sticks.  It would have been easier if I had a second person when stuffing the casing, but it wasn't bad by myself.


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## pc farmer (Mar 6, 2021)

Looks great


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## indaswamp (Mar 6, 2021)

Very Nice Uncle Eddie! Welcome to the wonderful world of sausage making! You'll be making stuff better than you can buy now!! It is a lot to take in as far as tips and tricks of the trade....take you time and ask away....we've all been there. I'll help ya if I can.



uncle eddie said:


> FYI - The Kitchen Aid grinder was just fine on the first grind but was "very" not-good on the second grind.


One tip I will give you on second grind... don't grind too small on first grind. I use a 10mm or a 12mm plate. You just want a uniform size for the cure and to evenly distribute the fat through the mix. If you refrigerate overnight after mixing the seasoning and the cure #1 in, the meat will firm up and stick together. This makes second grind much much easier! Also, keep a bowl of water next to the grinder. with two fingers, dip in water and lubricate the grinder throat with your wet fingers. It won't take much water....I used less than 1/2 cup for 120# of sausage I made this week...
Keep the throat wet and the coarse grind just slides into the grinder throat and won't stick. I squeeze the coarse grind into a tube as I push it down the throat of the grinder. make it a little smaller than the size of the throat and it should just slide down as the grinder pulls the meat with the auger. I rarely need to use the plunger pusher. You'll get the hang of it in no time! Sticks look great too!!!!!!!!


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## pineywoods (Mar 6, 2021)

Congrats it looks great


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Mar 6, 2021)

Ya had some great guidance from them guys for sure!  Nice batch of sticks, they look tasty!


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## Brokenhandle (Mar 6, 2021)

Looks great! And congrats on the carousel ride! Definitely a learning curve to get started but you're well on your way already, and I'm not much more than a beginner myself.  

Ryan


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Mar 7, 2021)

Wow those look good.  Does the venison flavor still come through?


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## chopsaw (Mar 7, 2021)

Looks great Ed ! The original stick from Owens is a good one . 
My tip for the second grind is skip it . Lol . That looks like a quality grinder head you bought . 
Nice work .


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## uncle eddie (Mar 7, 2021)

pc farmer said:


> Looks great





indaswamp said:


> One tip I will give you on second grind... don't grind too small on first grind. I use a 10mm or a 12mm plate. You just want a uniform size for the cure and to evenly distribute the fat through the mix. If you refrigerate overnight after mixing the seasoning and the cure #1 in, the meat will firm up and stick together. This makes second grind much much easier!





 indaswamp
   Thanks for the tip!



pineywoods said:


> Congrats it looks great





WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Ya had some great guidance from them guys for sure!  Nice batch of sticks, they look tasty!





Brokenhandle said:


> Looks great! And congrats on the carousel ride! Definitely a learning curve to get started but you're well on your way already, and I'm not much more than a beginner myself.





BrianGSDTexoma said:


> Wow those look good.  Does the venison flavor still come through?





 BrianGSDTexoma
 - not very much.

Thanks for the like guys!


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## TNJAKE (Mar 7, 2021)

Looks really good Eddie. Nice job bud


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## uncle eddie (Mar 7, 2021)

Thanks 

 chopsaw
  & 

 TNJAKE


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## sandyut (Mar 7, 2021)

Oh Yes you did!!!  Eddie those look amazing!!  Man I'd love to chow down on many with a cold one!  very nice work!


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## uncle eddie (Mar 7, 2021)

sandyut said:


> Oh Yes you did!!!  Eddie those look amazing!!  Man I'd love to chow down on many with a cold one!  very nice work!



Thanks 

 sandyut


FWIW - I shrunk-wrapped the sticks this morning and 5 lbs to start yielded 3.6 lbs of sticks...


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## SmokinAl (Mar 7, 2021)

Good looking sticks Eddie!
Nicely done!
Al


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## Winterrider (Mar 7, 2021)

You did a great job Eddie. I usually only grind once also as 

 chopsaw
  mentioned.
Congrats on the carousel ride. . .


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## smokerjim (Mar 7, 2021)

They look excellent


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## Norwester55 (Mar 7, 2021)

Looks good! I've got my 1st batch of sticks in the smoker right now.  My biggest disappointment so far is that I under guesstimated how much I could get
in my Smoking-It #1. I only did 3 lbs and 6 would have fit. At least I know now.


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## tallbm (Mar 7, 2021)

uncle eddie said:


> I am new to sausage making and must thank
> 
> Winterrider
> and
> ...



Welcome to the world of sausage and stick making!!!
I hear ya, having a dedicated grinder is as important as having that dedicated stuffer.  It is good that you have the 3L (7pound I think) Hakka that can easily stuff 5 pounds since a 5 pound stuffer really only hold about 4 pounds haha.
Also, yeah a 2nd person on stuffing day is mandatory for me.  I usually stuff a minimum of 20 pounds in 1 go so need that extra set of hands to work my bigger stuffer while I work the casings :)

Just a tip, it is best to do a fry patty test before you stuff into casings. This way if it is too bland you can add more seasoning or if it is too salty you can hopefully add more ground meat.
With recipes and various off the shelf seasonings you never know how it is going to taste until you test it. Trust me it sucks to stuff 5-10 pounds of something and have it come out disanointing after all that effort. Especially when a simple fry test after mixing would have caught the problem.

FYI, if you can get some really lean meat you can now do ground meat formed jerky too!!! :D
Keep it up and I look forward to your next sausage adventure :)


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## crazymoon (Mar 15, 2021)

UE, I just saw this post and I think you did an awesome job for your first shot at sticks!!!!!


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