How To Make Deer Sausage

This is our basic recipe and method of making deer sausage.

We usually make 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of deer sausage each deer season. 

We make our deer sausage in batches of 100 lbs.
We use an 80/20 ratio of deer to pork so we have 80 lbs. of deer and 20 lbs. of pork. We use only 80/20 pork trim, which is roughly 73% lean pork.

We coarse grind  the deer/pork mixture first (we use a 1/2 inch hole diameter grinder plate for this).

Then we add the a 4 oz. Bag of Speed Cure (Sodium Nitrite) to
 10 lbs. of ice cold water [20 cups] and mix thoroughly .

We then add the Witts Sausage Seasoning to this mix of water and Sodium Nitrite and mix  thoroughly. [We use a Rival Hand Mixer to stir.]

You can purchase our 25 lb. Deer Sausage Kit below for ONLY $24.97.  Includes everything you need to make 25 lbs. of deer sausage - except the deer meat!

We then pour our water seasoning mix over the coarse ground deer/pork mix.
Then we thoroughly mix and stir the meat, seasoning, and water.  We have good tap water in Jackson, MO, so we just take water from the tap, put in clean milk jugs, and let set 24 hours for the chlorine to dissipate.  You could also use distilled water or spring water.  Make sure the water is as cold as possible - eg. let the water set in the refrigerator at least 4 or 5 hours to get it as cold as possible or add ice - making sure of the total weight of the water is still the correct amount.

This deer in the hopper has been ground once through 1/2 inch hole plate and mixed with the water/deer seasoning mix as described above. Here we are fine grinding this mix.  Fine grind is just like ground beef you get at the grocery store.  This is normally ground with a grinder plate with 1/8 inch diameter holes.

We then stuff the raw deer sausage  in "3 lb." fibrous casings (2½ inches in diameter by 20 inches long) and set in the cooler (or refrigerator - with the temperature as close to 38° F as possible).

The next morning we hang  the casings in the smokehouse (by the string loops on the end of the casings on bacon hooks) (we use real hickory sawdust to produce the smoke), until the internal temperature of the sausage is 152 ° F.

Below is our smoking schedule.

Click here to see a picture of a Link of Our Deer Sausage ready to eat
Made using Our "Recipe" on this page!

Here is our Smokehouse process schedule for deer sausage:

1. After the sausage product has been seasoned, stuffed and cured overnight, we hang the sausage product in the smokehouse, carefully positioning the sausages so that they are  not touching one another. 
   

2. If you have a meat thermometer, push the probe into the center of one of the sausages, set the temperature alarm at 152° F.  
   See Our Meat Thermometer.
   

3. Begin by setting the temperature to 130° F for the first two hours; open  the smoker damper wide open until the sausages internal temperature reaches 90 degrees.
   
4. For the next two hours, close the damper to the 1/2 (half) open position and raise the smokehouse temperature to 140° F. Now you can apply your sawdust to begin the smoke, longer is optional if you prefer a heavy smoke.
   
5. For the next two hours, raise the smokehouse temperature to 150 degrees and keep the damper half open and keep replenishing the sawdust to keep the smoke going.
   
6. Now raise the smokehouse temperature to 165 to 170° F, close the damper to 2/3 closed and keep the sawdust smoking until the sausages reach an internal temperature of 150° F. 
   
7. Remove the sausages from the Smokehouse and let them cool down overnight at room temperature. The next day the deer sausage is "ready to eat"!

That's a very quick summary of our recipe and how we make our deer sausage.

We use F.W. Witts Sausage Seasoning mix for our Deer Sausage. We sell it packaged for 25, 50 and 100 lb. batches of deer/beef sausage. You can order this seasoning yourself on our Deer Sausage Seasonings page.

We also sell clear Fibrous Deer Sausage Casings.  You can order these casings on our Casings page.

In sausage making or meat processing, temperature is very important both in making sure the meat is properly chilled and in cooking or smoking the sausage to its optimum temperature.

We highly recommend the using a quality Meat Thermometer.  Click here to view our Meat Thermometer.  Available for ONLY $8.97 - Shipped FREE in the U.S.!

Right Click Here and "Save Target As" to download our QuickTime
30 Second Video of How We Stuff Deer Sausage
This is a 9 mb file, so it will take 10 minutes to download with a standard Dial-Up modem.
If you have a high speed connect, just left click the link above to watch the Video Clip!

If you do not have the QuickTime Plug-In on your computer, (most computers do)
you can download it from Apple from the link below:
Apple QuickTime Download

We have a FREE PDF article on How to Make Deer Sausage Safely. 
To view it, just click here.

If you would rather download the FREE PDF "How to Make Deer Sausage Safely" article and save it to your computer, just right click here, and choose "Save Target As"

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.
If don't have it already on your computer,
you can download from the Adobe website by clicking here.

If you are looking for a good butcher/boning knife, you can order one exactly like the knife we have been using here at Jackson Frozen Food Locker for over 29 years.

Smoked Deer/Beef Sausage Kit for 25 Lbs. of Meat

You don't have to be a Professional Meatcutter to make Great Sausages
because this kit contains EVERYTHING you need to make it yourself  - just add meat!
Make your own Smoked Deer/Beef Sausage for ONLY $1.40/lb! (plus the cost of the meat).
(Compare this to the $14.97/lb. you pay at the store to buy Smoked Beef Sausage!)

Kit Includes:

Witts Smoked Deer/Beef Seasoning for 25 lbs. of Meat

 10 Clear Fibrous Casings

  String to tie casings

 Package of  Sodium Nitrite (Quick Cure) for 25 Lbs. of Meat

Printed Directions EXCLUSIVELY from "Ask The Meatman"

ONLY $24.97

Place your order for Witts Smoked Deer/Beef Sausage Seasoning Kit for 25 lbs.
of meat by clicking the "Add To Cart" Button below.

We also have Smoked Deer/Beef Sausage Kits for 50 lbs. and 100 lbs. of Meat.  SAVE Even More!

Are you planning on making your own deer sausage this year?
Then check out the following pages to learn more!
How To Make Deer Sausage
Deer Sausage Seasonings
Deer Sausage Casings
Forschner Boning Knives for De-boning Your Deer
Deer Cutting Diagrams