Less than happy with my efforts at grinding my own sausage

[godogs57]

Santa brought me a nice grinder for Christmas as I’ve been wanting to grind my own deer sausage. Didn’t get around to grinding until early February. Wanted to grind a small batch, taste test, adjust from there.

Took a nice doe after New Years and cut her up in chunks appropriate size to grind. Batch #1: 5# of deer meat, 3.5# pork fat given to me by my deer processor buddy, frozen. Ground beautifully, mixed in Leggs #10. Nine pounds of product…put in enough Leggs for 15#. So far so good.

Next day sausage biscuits for breakfast. You had to know it was sausage while you were eating it….the flavor was so faint you would have never guessed it if you didn’t already know. Almost twice the rate and no taste? Dang.

Tried a second package this past Sunday morning before church. Almost inedible. No flavor and it had a funky flavor indicating the pork fat had gone south on me. Five weeks or so after it was ground and the fat was already bad? It was vacuum sealed and frozen!

Alright experts…what did I do wrong with respect to flavor and longevity?

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction in advance.

 

[mrs. hornet22]

Santa brought me a nice grinder for Christmas as I’ve been wanting to grind my own deer sausage. Didn’t get around to grinding until early February. Wanted to grind a small batch, taste test, adjust from there.

Took a nice doe after New Years and cut her up in chunks appropriate size to grind. Batch #1: 5# of deer meat, 3.5# pork fat given to me by my deer processor buddy, frozen. Ground beautifully, mixed in Leggs #10. Nine pounds of product…put in enough Leggs for 15#. So far so good.

Next day sausage biscuits for breakfast. You had to know it was sausage while you were eating it….the flavor was so faint you would have never guessed it if you didn’t already know. Almost twice the rate and no taste? Dang.

Tried a second package this past Sunday morning before church. Almost inedible. No flavor and it had a funky flavor indicating the pork fat had gone south on me. Five weeks or so after it was ground and the fat was already bad? It was vacuum sealed and frozen!

Alright experts…what did I do wrong with respect to flavor and longevity?

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction in advance.

We made the mistake of grinding some deer with pork fat. Same happened to us.

 

[hawkeye123]

Dunno bout the bad fat, never have got any , but I always add a bunch of sage to Leggs No 10 and red pepper , always have cayenne dried from summer garden and sage growing on deck

 

[earlthegoat2]

I just used Leggs for the first time and it turned out great.

I made 30 total lbs (20 lbs venison and a 9 lb pork butt) and used one pack of Leggs good for 25 lbs meat and then used half of another pack since I like things a bit saucy.

So I used about 38 lbs worth of seasoning for 30 lbs of meat.

It came out great. Ever so slightly too much spice but still highly enjoyable. The pork I used could have only enhanced things in my mind.

 

[specialk]

never used pork fat, always caught butts on sale...

 

[NE GA Pappy]

Pork sausage won't last long , even in the freezer. About 5 or 6 months and it begins to get that funk taste. I wonder how long your friend had it in the freezer, and was it wild pork or domestic.

 

[Railroader]

My sausage guy always uses beef fat/trimmings for filler, and it keeps just fine frozen in freezer paper. Several months anyway between seasons...

I once asked him if he'd make mine with pork butts, and he said he would, but it keeps better with beef...

I never made any, but my guy does it for a living, and I figgered I'd pass it along.

 

[NCHillbilly]

never used pork fat, always caught butts on sale...

If I'm gonna buy pork butt meat, I'll make straight pork sausage instead of mixing it with deer. It's already the ideal fat/lean percentage for sausage. I've never had issues using pork fat and Leggs #10 with deer meat. I do add red pepper flakes to Leggs. To be honest, though, I prefer to make my breakfast sausage from pork butts, and make deer sausage/pork fat into Italian sausage or brats.

 

[godogs57]

Think I’ll try a butt next time and add some red pepper next time. The pork fat was fresh and frozen when my deer processor gave it to me.

 

[slow motion]

Venison, Pork butt, Leggs, and a big healthy dose of fine ground cayenne pepper, not flakes, for me.

 

[little rascal]

Fat doesn't take cure, fat doesn't keep long in the freeze. I,,, you,,, can't or don't put as much fat in the grind as the stores do. My deer sausage looks like lean burgers when cooked. My pork sausage almost looks like lean burgers when cooked. The sausage in the stores always look white not red. They tell you 80/20,, 73/27 etc. Reverse that, more fat less lean is what they mean.

 

[ucfireman]

I only made pork, used a boneless butt and a pork loin.
Used about a little more than what was called for, of Leggs 10 and was very lean.
Had about 7-8 lbs of meat and used seasoning for 10lbs.
Flavor was ok but could have used more seasoning.
Never tried to do deer but plan to.

 

[MattLemmon]

I’ve mixed pork fat and venison. And wild hog meat/fat with venison with no issues froze for nearly a year vac sealed. You mixed yours 60/40, which is a lot of fat. The highest I’ll go is 75/25…so maybe that had something to do with it. I mix #10 at 1.2 what the package calls for and I do that by weighing the seasoning contents and ratio it out. Mixing takes a while with 10lbs of meat to get it distributed. Every time my sausage tastes off I mixed the ratio wrong. Also, I usually make a patty and fry it up just after mixing to make sure it’s right. That way I can add more seasoning if I need to before freezing. Good luck.

 

[antharper]

I use a pound of fresh pork fat per 4 pounds of deer and it turns out great . Usually 1 pack of leggs for 20 pounds of meat .

 

[slow motion]

I use a pound of fresh pork fat per 4 pounds of deer and it turns out great . Usually 1 pack of leggs for 20 pounds of meat .

You use the spicy leggs seasoning don't you?

 

[NCHillbilly]

I only made pork, used a boneless butt and a pork loin.
Used about a little more than what was called for, of Leggs 10 and was very lean.
Had about 7-8 lbs of meat and used seasoning for 10lbs.
Flavor was ok but could have used more seasoning.
Never tried to do deer but plan to.

Pork loin isn't very good for sausage-no fat. Butt is usually perfect ratio of fat to lean.

 

[slow motion]

Pork loin isn't very good for sausage-no fat. Butt is usually perfect ratio of fat to lean.

Tried the pork loin with venison and I agree. Pork butt and deer still needs a little oil in the pan to get started but it works for us. YMMV

 

[NCHillbilly]

Tried the pork loin with venison and I agree. Pork butt and deer still needs a little oil in the pan to get started but it works for us. YMMV

I just use deer and straight pork backfat.

 

[Knotmuch]

1) 1 pack of Leggs #10 per 20lbs of meat.
2) I don't use deer for sausage, only butts not trimmed. Maybe add some beef fat if needed.
3) After cutting meat off the bone and into size to fit grinder, weigh, add seasoning.
4) Mix well and refrigerate over night.
5) First grind through the larger hole plate, second grind through smaller plate.
6) Vacuum seal in 1lb bags.

Tip - Add water along and along while grinding.

 

[sportsman94]

It sounds like you may have added the seasoning after you had it ground. If that’s the case, I wonder if the mixing was the problem. You may find a couple packs that blow your socks off if that happened. I always add seasoning to meat chunks, then run it through the grinder twice. I mix by hand after the first and second grind. I use a pack of seasoning to about 20 pounds of meat and to me it is plenty flavorful. I’m with NCHillbilly, I don’t love venison for breakfast sausage. Seems like no matter what it turns out drier than I want it. Breakfast sausage should be pork as far as I’m concerned and venison goes into other sausages. Don’t give up though