Making Sausage Help Please

georgiadawgs44 · Oct 30, 2022

I am planning on making 25 lbs of sausage this week. I’ve deer meat from my daughters buck she killed opening morning. I’ve got a pack of Leggs #10 that I bought recently but I’ve also got a pack of Leggs No 25 that I’ve had for a long time. Like years. 1st question. Do y’all recommend the #10?
Second question. I’ve got a whole pork belly that I am planning on thawing out and mixing with the venison. I was a little concerned about thawing it, mixing it with the venison and then freezing again. Thoughts!
3 rd question. I was thinking about 15 lbs of venison with 10 lbs of pork belly. What’s y’all’s thoughts about that ratio?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MOTS · Oct 30, 2022

Use the 10 and toss the older 25. The #10 is their best seller. Old seasoning can ruin the whole batch.

MattLemmon · Oct 30, 2022

No issues with thawing and refreezing in my experience. I usually have the beef fat I add in froze 1st and very often have the pork/venison froze once before I mix.

I usually make sausage @ 20% fat. Pork belly is 30-35% fat (3-3.5lbs), so you may be a little lean for my liking but should still work.

slow motion · Oct 30, 2022

Just made a bunch today. Certainly no expert but this works for me. I don't weigh anything. Just kinda guess. Chunk up a fatty pork shoulder and I try to go 4 to 1 venison to pork. Leggs #4 Then add a good portion of ground red pepper. I like my sausage spicy. Also make a dinner sausage too. Casings or make a fatty. Pork and venison ratio the same but different spices. Seem to add different stuff each time for that though. No set recipe.

dang · Oct 30, 2022

10, all day!

4HAND · Oct 30, 2022

I've only made one batch about a month ago. It turned out delicious.
Leggs #10.
Fatty slices of Boston Butt previously frozen. Probably 75% venison.
Chunked venison & pork & mixed together. Seasoned & refrigerated for 2 days, then ground it up.
Learned the tips from GON.

4HAND · Oct 30, 2022

I will definitely be making batches on a regular basis from now on.

hawkeye123 · Oct 30, 2022

All bout what I do also..75% deer meat to 20-25% pork fat..Leggs no. 10 & I always add sage..like my sausage heavy on the sage..got some growing on back deck just for deer sausage..also add cayanne & a bit of sugar or maple syrup sometimes..always thaw out & refreeze fat no issues at all, been doing that since a friend who used to be a butcher told me that was an old wives tale bout refeezing meat

georgiadawgs44 · Oct 30, 2022

You guys are awesome! Thank y’all!

antharper · Oct 30, 2022

This crew will never steer you wrong ! The #10 was always my favorite also , but the last couple batches I used the hot ! I guess it’s #10 also , perfect for my liking

K80Shooter · Oct 31, 2022

If you want really good sausage flavor use one bag of Leggs #10 to about 20lbs of meat.

Paymaster · Oct 31, 2022

Great discussion. I've never tried making my own sausage.

sportsman94 · Oct 31, 2022

The one pack to about 20 pounds of meat is perfect. I made 20 pounds of link sausage last week and 17 pounds of bulk today. I like a fattier sausage and have no problem taking it to 25-30% fat even though I generally don’t weigh it out. I really need to kill a couple more pigs and get to making some more

C.Killmaster · Oct 31, 2022

Cut all the meat and pork into chunks and season it, then refrigerate overnight. After that you can grind it together, just try to maintain an even mix of pork to venison as you feed it through the grinder. You'll get the most even distribution of seasoning this way. Mixing ground meat without a meat mixer is a real pain.

georgiadawgs44 · Nov 2, 2022

C.Killmaster said:
Cut all the meat and pork into chunks and season it, then refrigerate overnight. After that you can grind it together, just try to maintain an even mix of pork to venison as you feed it through the grinder. You'll get the most even distribution of seasoning this way. Mixing ground meat without a meat mixer is a real pain.

Yes sir it is! I was elbow deep in it!

georgiadawgs44 · Nov 2, 2022

Thanks for all y’all’s help! I finally got it done last night. I used 15 lbs of venison and 10 lbs of pork belly. That ratio was perfect for me. I pulled about 8 lbs out after I had seasoned it and added some cayenne for some spicy.

So I ground everything and mixed the pork and venison as evenly as I could. Then I weighed each bowl so they matched and split the seasoning in half. I mixed it with my hands then ran it all back through the grinder.

It turned out really good! It’s pretty lean but not dry at all and has a really good flavor. Thanks again for all the help!!!

PS. My wife gonna be mad when she finds out I burned up her Kitchen Aid mixer last night grinding all that meat.