# venison bacon



## minn.bill (Jan 26, 2008)

Did another 25lb batch of venison bacon this wknd.turned out awsome .love this stuff. its from curleys sausage kitchen ,man i like his seasonings


----------



## mossymo (Jan 26, 2008)

minn.bill
Congrats on another fine job !!! 
Between venison, buffalo and elk  and also with family and friends wanting this stuff I know I am making over 200 lbs. a year now. I have already made 125 lbs. since deer season ended and I usually make more in the summer than winter. My 2 year old and 4 year old niece and nephew eat it like it is candy !!!


----------



## kookie (Jan 26, 2008)

Looks mighty tasty. I can't say I have ever had a ground bacon before. 

Kookie


----------



## miwildbill (Jan 26, 2008)

looks good. i have enough grind in the freezer to do another 25lbs but havent had the time yet. smoking fatties today and chicken tomorrow. still have to do some cheesy summer sausage too. 

anybody ever add any spices to give the bacon a little heat?


----------



## mj-air23 (Jan 26, 2008)

Venison Bacon looks right on the money Bill! I made 25 lbs. a couple weeks ago and I am going through it like candy. I have grind and seasonings for another 25 lbs. myself and plan on making another batch in the near future. Simple to make, not real time consuming and tastes oh sooo good! I am going to try and sprinkle coarse ground pepper on the bottom of the pan before forming the loave and then sprinkle it on top also. I did try and add 1/8 cup of black pepper when I made my first batch but did not notice much heat...I may go with a 1/4 cup next time. I think I read that Mossymo sprays his bacon towards the end of smoking with a mop of apple juice and Captain Morgan. I have not tried this with any of mine yet, but I am curious if it adds any extra flavor...Maybe Mossy can give us some insights. Awesome job!


----------



## mossymo (Jan 26, 2008)

I am not sure if it adds much for taste.....? But the apple juice has to keep it from drying some and you just can not go wrong with Captain Morgan !!!


----------



## mj-air23 (Jan 26, 2008)

Mossy,

Do you use the flavor booster from Curley's and do you notice any difference in the flavor of the meat? I used 2 oz. when I made mine but since I have not tried the bacon without any booster I have no way to compare.


----------



## mossymo (Jan 26, 2008)

We purchase the taste booster in bulk and use it in all sausage recipes. It does strengthen the taste and the price of it is relatively inexpensive. We try and order as much as we can afford to keep the shipping charges down.


----------



## minn.bill (Jan 27, 2008)

hey guys,and gals, i have not tried the flaver booster yet.but have orderd some now.cant wait to try it with the snack stix and summer sausagei'll make next. i did this time however cover one loaf top and bottom fairly heavy with course ground black pepper.and thats what itried for breakfast this morn.i was very surpriesd that i really didnt notice it .it must really take a lotof pepper to stand out.didnt really matter though the bacon is so good on its own any way.


----------



## chriss (Nov 23, 2010)

I have a question with what mix ratio you use.  Do you go with the 15# Venison and 10# Pork or #13 Venison and 12# Pork.  I am also assuming you mix with Pork Butt and not Pork Fat.  I plan on trying this just after thanksgiving and don't want to mess it up.

Thanks


----------



## tjohnson (Nov 23, 2010)

chriss,

most venison bacon or beef bacon recipes call for 60% pork to 40% venison or beef.  Personally, I like a little more fat content, so I add about 10% pork trim to the mix.  It's a little lean for me without adding extra fat, but that's my preference.

Todd


----------



## chriss (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for the response.  I got my two different ratios from Curleys site that was mentioned above and the recipe which is here.

http://stores.homestead.com/TCurley/images/store_version2/Venison Bacon Recipe.pdf

So you are saying you do 60% Pork and 40% Venison and then you add an additional 10% Pork Fat Trim?  Sorry to be redundant but just want to make sure I know what I am doing as this will be the first time I am grinding and mixing Pork with my Venison.  Also don't want to sound stupid when I go to butch to order the Pork Trim.  Rather have people chuckle reading my comments here then butcher laugh while I am with him. 

Thanks again


----------



## tjohnson (Nov 23, 2010)

I trim some of the fat cap off my pork shoulders when I make pulled pork and save it in the freezer for sausage.

If a recipe calls for 25# of meat, I like to use 20# for a little more spice/flavor, and the 10% pork trim in addition the 60% pork.  So, my 20# batch = 8# Venison or Beef, 12# Pork + 1.2# Pork Trim.  This is just the combination that works good for me.  Others may have different opinions.

My first batch of venison bacon was 5#, just to see if I liked it or not.  I really liked the ratios and mix, so I made 20# soon after.  Lots of recipes are trial and error, but you have to start somewhere.

Todd


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 23, 2010)

I have made that from Curley's too---At about 50/50.

Try going a little more "Pork Heavy", like 60% / 40%, like Todd said.

Not sure about cutting the amount of meat back, because there is cure in those pre-mixes for a certain amount of meat.

Might be better to use the right amount of meat with the pre-mix, and then add extra seasonings?

Bear

On Edit: If the seasoning and cure "Pre-Mix" comes to you in separate packets (one big pack of seasonings & one little pack of cure), then you could do exactly like Todd said earlier. You could use the whole packet of seasoning, and cut back the amount of cure that you use from that packet.

Just be sure to use the right amount of cure. If you cut the meat back to using 80% of the meat, make sure you use exactly 80% of the cure in the included package.


----------



## skdvr (Nov 23, 2010)

Here comes a dumb question....

So after you package it and freeze it, do you thaw and pan fry, or thaw and eat cold like sticks?

Never heard of venison bacon, and I think I may have to give this a try.

Phil


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 23, 2010)

skdvr said:


> Here comes a dumb question....
> 
> So after you package it and freeze it, do you thaw and pan fry, or thaw and eat cold like sticks?
> 
> ...


Not a dumb question:

It depends on how you smoke/cooked it. 

I take mine to at least 160˚ internal temp.

Then you can eat the slices cold, or fry it very lightly (the way I like it best).

You can even Nuke it for 15 or 20 seconds, just to warm it up a bit.

Either way, everybody loves it!

If you use Curley's mix, it'll look exactly like Minn. Bill's, and I see he sliced his up exactly the way I like it.

Bear


----------



## skdvr (Nov 23, 2010)

Bearcarver said:


> skdvr said:
> 
> 
> > Here comes a dumb question....
> ...


Thanks Bear!

I am going to have to give this a shot.  It looks awesome!

I just bought a smoker yesterday, and I am looking forward to using it on Venison after the season is over, so I am just out looking for other ideas aside from my normal summer sausage and snack sticks.

Phil


----------

