Questions about processing deer at home

[BTLowry]

I have a few questions about cutting up your own deer. I have MC's recipes that I plan to use.

1) When I boned out my deer I tried to get as much fat, silverskin, membrane etc off of the meat. The muscles in the lower legs are several layers that each have a tendon/ silverskin attached. How much of that do you send on through the grinder? If I have to trim every bit of that stuff out I will just feed the coyotes a few more pounds.

2)Where do you get your high temp cheese and dried jalapenos? Will local processors sell you this stuff?

3)Where can you buy sodium erythorbate ? Is this something that you can find on the spice isle of the grocery store or will I have to order it?

4) What size grinder are you you using?

Thanks,
Brian

[mesquitecountry]

1. I trim off what I can see. If it's in the muscle I let it go.

2. You can cheese from LEM google lem and you'll find their website. You can substitute fresh for dry if you cant find them Go in at 2-1. google dried jalapeno flakes and you'll be able to find them. or if you have a large HEB near you with a cooking connections counter you can find them under the Adams spice brand. They're in glass bottles.

3. Once again. LEM can get that for you as well. It isnt absolutely necessary but gives your sausage that good cured color.

4. I have a 5 horse butcher boy. It's really all in what you plan to use it for. Mine is extremely over kill. A good 1/2 hp is all most people need. A 1 horsepower is a great buy if you plan on doing this for a while.

[eradicator]

I also trim what I can see and the rest goes through the grinder. I have a 1 hp grinder and have never had any problems with extra "tissue" gumming it up or anything. I get high melt cheddar from a local butcher shop(some have it, some don't) and I use pickled jalapeno slices from my garden. I just finished processing one yesterday and can't wait to make some sausage. Good luck!

[BTLowry]

Thanks Travis, just wondering really if you could buy stuff locally or if I was gonna have to order and wait

I will be trimming some more of the "tendon" out of some of the meat. Some of it was so hard I thought it was a bone splinter at first.

Planning on picking up a 3/4HP grinder. Just a FYI for some of the people looking to buy a grinder. There are 2 styles of heads for these grinders. There is a "Hobart" style that most of the attachments (ie cuber, jerky slicer, etc) will interchange with, and then there is the other style. If you are planning on getting extra attachments later this might be something to consider

Travis thanks for all of the help you have provided to the members of this site reguarding cooking and sausage making. I am sure I will be asking more questions whan it comes time to smoke some sausage and summer sausage

[mesquitecountry]

No prob BT. I hate it when people eat substandard sausage.

[BTLowry]

More questions for you Travis
1) Can I use a cheap brisket in place of chuck for your recipes that call for beef? Is chuck generally cheaper?

2) If I can get a wild hog can I use it in place of pork butt? I guess I am asking if it will have enough fat or how do you tell if it does.(I can see marbling in red meat but the only fat I see in pork is on the outside, I know it is naturally more greasy)

[mesquitecountry]

BT,

1) Generally briskets have more surface hard fat that does not bind quite as well. If you're going to use briskets i'd buy whole untrimmed briskets and trim them to a 1/2" on top and cut off the large piece of hard fat on the bottom between the deckle and the flat flush with the surface. However, the lean on the brisket has more bind and makes for an excellent cut. I prefer it over chuck any day.

On the meat market as a whole briskets are slightly cheaper than chucks on the average. During the summer briskets can sore higher and vice versa. Generally you can catch briskets on sale for cheap. You hardly catch untrimmed chucks on sale. The majority of your chuck meat goes directly to either ground chuck or for chuck roast, mock tenders, flat iron's etc. Be careful on chucks not to use alot of shank. It has a lot of connective tissue.

2) Yes you can. Generally this is what I use. I just put in pork butt because it comes out fat analytically the same as fresh 100-150# wild hogs. I prefer to use wild hogs. Butt's and picnics are analytically the same also. Butt's are more widely available so that is why I used it on the sheet.

[huntN4phood]

Travis, my question is I took wild boar and fallow deer to my local processor and had him turn it into italian sausage. I tried it tonight and it was too salty. Any recommendations?

[BTLowry]

hunt you might want to post on the ask Travis thread, he might see it faster.


I don't know what to do about the salty sausage

[mesquitecountry]

Salty sausage is tough. Once it's to salty it's to salty.

I wouldnt recommend dry cooking it. cook it in water that will dissipate some. cooking it on a grill or in a pan will cause it to shrink more leaving more salt flavor.

[huntN4phood]

I appreciate the info. Merry Xmas