How to Make Venison Sausage by Bill Palmroth copied from Backwoodsman Magazine "Make sausage, beef, or venison ", read the small ads appearing regularl y in the classified advertising sections of various outdoor magazines. Further on, the reader is ask ed to send $2 or $3 for the instructions and recipes. Such ads have been running in my favorite outdoor magazines for eons, wh ich leads me to believe that there must be a lot of sausage lovers around the co untry who actually send for the sausage-making instructions and recipes. Being a sausage lover myself and sensing that your refrigerator may be overstocked with venison, I'll share with you what I know about making venison sausage without a sking for any of your hard-earned dollars. Venison can be used successfully in making many types of sausage, but I strongly recommend that venison fat not be used in the sausage. Fat gives the sa usage an off-flavor, does not keep well, and ia tallowy when eaten cold. Pork fa t is best for ground processed meats because it adds flavor and juice to the mea t, keeps well, and is not tallowy when cold. The amount of fat you add to your s ausage can vary with taste. To prepeare a basic meat mix, do as follows: Basic Ground Meat Mix 5 lbs. lean venison 1 lb. pork back fat 2-4 tbs. salt Grind the meat and fat thoroughly, mix in the salt and add one of the se asoning recipes that follow. Keep the mixture cold. The following seasoning recipes are for the above quantities of meat. Th ere are just a few suggested seasoning combinations and spices may be modified t o suit your personal taste. Add seasonings to the basis meat mix and knead like bread until thoroughly mixed. Ke ep cold at all times. Salami Seasoning 2 tbs. sugar 1 tbs. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. ground cloves 1 tbs. fine - ground pepper 2 tsp. garlic powder 3/4 cup dry milk (mix to a thin paste) Sausage Seasoning 2 tbs. sugar 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1.5 tbs. ground chili powder 1 tbs. garlic powder 1.5 tsp ground celery seed 3/4 cup dry milk (mix to a thin paste) Weiner Seasoning 1.5 tsp. ground white pepper 1.25 tsp. ground coriander 1.5 tsp. mustard powder Pepperoni Seasoning 2 tbs. sugar 1 tsp. ground cumin 1.25 tsp. leaf oregano 1 tsp. thyme 1 tbs. cracked pepper 1 tbs. fine ground pepper 3 tbs. chilli powder 1 tsp. whole anise 3/4 cup dry milk (mix to a thin paste) There are several methods you can use to stuff and cook your meat mixes. You may either purchase casings or use cans to shape the sausage. Dried casings may be ordered from almost any butcher. They come in both large and small sizes . If you use casings, you will need to make them pliable by soaking them in a so lution of one pint warm water, one tbs. of vinegar, and one tsp. of salt for thr ee hours. Rinse casings thoroughly before stuffing, then cook using one of the f ollowing methods: Oven Method of Cooking Place filled cans or stuffed casings on rack in baking pan and bake at 3 25 deg. f. for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cool, package andstore. Smokehouse Method of Cooking Hang in portable smoker- do not allow sausages to touch each other. Smok e at 160 deg.F. for about 8 hours. Test for doneness (internal temperatuer shoul d be about 165 F ). Remove from smoker, refrigerate or wrap and freeze. Personally, I prefer the smoking method over the oven method, because sm oke cooking tends to develop more delicate and tantalizing flavors in the sausag e. Keep in mind, however, that the finished product is governed entirely by the type of wood used for creating the smoke. Dry hardwoods are necessary for creati ng the smoke if a palatable flavor is to be developed-woods such as hickory, map le, and alder. This kind of homemade sausage contains no preservatives, so it cannot be treated like store-bought products. It must be frozen if it is to be kept for a n extended period of time. It should keep for up to 6 months in the freezer if s uffiently wrapped. If you have never tasted deer or elk-meat sausage, there is a pleasant s uprise in store for you.