Smoked Venison Franks

[RexLan]

I will give that a try Kirby .... a few weeks out until the next batch.

Thanks

[Thompsoncentre]

Did your dogs turn out a bit tuff? I made some today and I used approx 60 venison 40 pork and I found them a bit dry. Mind you I ate one soon as it was cooked but I was hoping for a bit more like a hot dog or smoked sausage you would buy, extremely tender

[pikeman_95]

Did you finish them in the smoker of a hot water bath?

[Thompsoncentre]

Oven, they were approx 130f when I pulled from smoker. I think I may need a food processor. Maybe emulsifying it would help? I grinned it twice and then worked it with my hands till it was pretty pasty.

[Thompsoncentre]

Almost turned out like a pepperoni

[Pic-N-Stick]

No, not tough or dry at all.  I did use a 1/8" plate twice and finished in the 165 degree bath.  The texture was not quite as smooth as a regular dog, as expected not using a food processer.

[pikeman_95]

Take a look at this link. They are using the same cellulose casings. I stop and start this video so I can see what they are doing. Notice how they add the smoke flavor and notice the steam in the cooking chamber. This is what Rytek's was saying in his book. The commercial guys have steam chambers to cook their sausages. This how they keep in the moisture and get their sausages done. This is when I started using the water batch system. I also was looking at what spices they are adding to the batch. Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzUm7UEEIY

I would suggest two changes. Go toward a even 50/50 split on your wild meat and use pork shoulder [pork butt]  and not just pork trim. A little more pork in your sausage will make them more tender and not as dry. I have tried 60/20 before and finished them in the smoker and had the same results. Dry and tough. Did you notice the texture of the hot dogs in the video. It is more like a wet paste when it is in it's raw form. I would think the have enough water to get it this way and all the modified food starch to help hold the moisture and help the sausage set up.
kc

[Pic-N-Stick]

Mine came out great with the 80/20 mix.  I did add "sausage phosphate" from Butcher and Packer, #414 to help retain the moisture.  I guess in my mind buying and adding so much pork goes against my concept of "venison franks".  That's just me, though! ;)

[pikeman_95]

when you say 80/20 mix are you talking pork butt which has lots of muscle. Or are you talking 20% pork fat. I use Costco pork shoulders which are trimmed quite well.  I use them right out of the package. I do not add anymore fat. It makes my venison go much farther. I don't care if I call them venison dogs or what they are called. I just want a good frankfurter. Do you have a ratio or rate that you would recommend for the food grade phosphates? I tried it once and I must have used too much because the dogs came out kind of slimy.

[Pic-N-Stick]

Yea, the 20% is pork trimmings, almost all fat.  The recommended rate of the sausage phosphate was 2 oz. for 25 lbs, .8 oz per 10 lbs.  The stuff from Butcher and Packer was specifically recommended by someone else on this forum, and I'm really happy with the results.

[pikeman_95]

That is probably about the same fat ratio that I end up with when I go 50/50 with the pork shoulder. I just stretch my venison a little farther. I have some of the food grade phosphates so I might try it again.
thanks for the info.
kc

[Pic-N-Stick]

Sure.  Hey, let us know how it turns out!! 8)

[Thompsoncentre]

Yes thanks guys, and I wanted to finish with water bath but I have collagen casings. So I'm a bit nervous hot bathing them. And what is sausage phosphate?

[Thompsoncentre]

I must add I used a polish seasoning for mine, but it's kind of funny now that I think of it, when I make summer sausage with the same meet ration, the meat is a lot lighter of a colour not a deep red like pepperoni and very tender. So maybe could it of been the spice mix I used?

[Pic-N-Stick]

The sausage phosphate helps retain moisture.  Go to the Butcher and Packer website and order the sausage phosphate, #414.  The time in the water bath is very short, your casings will do fine.  I bought a roaster from Wallyworld for something like 35.00.  Just make sure your water temp isn't over 170 causing fat run-out.  The temp setting on the roaster is around 375.  I used my Mavrick 733 inside one frank to keep track of the internal temp.  When the internal temp was reached, I dropped them directly into an icewater bath in the sink for about 5 minutes.  Go for it!! 8)