MEAT EATER ELK RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Prep. Soak casings in a big bowl of water for at least an hour or overnight before stuffing. If they are packed in salt, run cold water inside to rinse before soaking.
• Grind. Combine the dry seasonings and mix with the diced venison cubes and diced pork fat cubes in a large bowl. Make some room in the freezer and place the meat inside to chill. The meat and fat must be very, very cold before grinding. Let chill for 30 minutes or longer, but don’t allow to freeze solid.
• Use the large die attachment to grind the meat and fat. Return the mixture to the large bowl. Grind again, this time using the small die attachment.
• Stir in the cold milk to make the bind. Mix with a large spoon or use your hands. You want the bind to stick together in a large ball and not crumble; the texture should feel tacky. When finished, place the mixture in the fridge to stay cold while you clean up the meat grinder and set up the sausage stuffer.
• Stuff. Pull the casings out of the water and squeeze out any excess liquids. You still want the outside to be a little wet because it helps it slide better. Feed all of the casing over the stuffer’s tube, leaving a few inches off the end. Tie the end in a knot.
• Feed the meat into the sausage stuffer. Keep feeding it through at a consistent pace as it extrudes the meat into the casing. Don’t overstuff. As the stuffer continues to extrude meat you can start to coil the sausage.
• Form links by pinching at equal distances (about 7 inches) and twisting several times. Turn each link in alternating directions (or tie with butcher’s string). Do this throughout the entire casing. Refrigerate or freeze immediately afterward.
• *You can use a classic sausage ratio of 30% fat by doing 3 1/2 pounds of venison and 1 1/2 pounds of pork fatback. If you want to cut in pork trim, use 3 pounds of venison, 1 pound of pork trim, and 1 pound of fatback.

Steps:

• In a large pot, add the water and all the ingredients for the brine, and heat over medium-high heat. Bring the mix to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool.
• After the brine has cooled, gently drop the meat into the pot to brine in a cool place for 24 to 48 hours. If you have a garage that maintains a temperature of 35 to 45°F, you can place the pot there. You can also remove a shelf in your refrigerator to accommodate the pot.
• After the meat has brined for a day or two, it is ready to either sous vide or smoke on a pellet grill.
• Sous Vide
• Pull the roast from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels.
• Place the roast in a large vacuum seal bag with 2 tablespoons of butter, remove all the air, and seal it with a vacuum sealer. You can also place the roast in a large zip-close bag with the 2 tablespoons of butter and seal it after removing as much air as possible. Be sure to double bag the zip-close bag in case of a leak.
• Place the sealed bag in a water bath, set the sous vide to 130°F, and cook for 12 hours.
• Oven, Barbecue, or Pellet Smoker
• Pull the roast from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels.
• Heat the oven, barbecue, or pellet smoker to 350°F.
• While cooking the roast with one of these methods, you will want to catch and reserve any liquid or fat that cooks out of the meat. To do this, place a metal drying rack over a large 9-by-13 lipped cooking tray, and fill it half way up with the leftover brine. The pan of brine will catch all the juices that cook out of the meat. It is necessary to add the brine to the tray before it is placed in the heat so that the drippings don’t dry out at the bottom of the tray in the heat.
• Cook the roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 125°F. The cook time will vary depending on the size of your roast.