Smoked Wild Hog Summer Sausage

Step 1

Place the game meat, pork belly, steak and all of the other ingredients except for the Fermento, water, cheese, jalapeños and casings in a large bowl.

Step 2

Mix all of the ingredients in the bowl completely. You can use your hands or a spoon, just be sure to mix them thoroughly.

Step 3

If you notice the temperature having gone up at all during the mixing process, just put it back into the refrigerator for an hour or so. Everything needs to stay as cold as possible throughout the whole process.

Step 4

Using the 1/4-inch plate on your grinder, grind the meat mixture into a bowl. I placed my bowl into a larger bowl with ice at the bottom to ensure my meat stayed cold.

Step 5

Add in your cheese and jalapeños to the ground meat and mix it together thoroughly by hand.

Step 6

Change out your 1/4” grinder plate for your 3/16” grinder plate and pass your mixture through the grinder again.

Step 7

Stir the Fermento into the water, and then mix it into your meat by hand.

Step 8

Pat your mixture down into your bowl. Make sure to get any trapped air out. Cover the top of your mixture with plastic wrap, making sure that there isn’t any air underneath, and place into your refrigerator for 48 hours.

Step 9

Make a small one or two ounce patty of the mixture and sauté it in a pan to taste the mixture. If you need to adjust your seasonings, this is your last chance.

Step 10

Stuff your casings tightly with your meat mixture and tie the ends off with butchers string.

Step 11

Preheat your smoker to 180 degrees and place your cased meat directly onto the rack, or hang them from the top if you have a vertical smoker.

Step 12

Let smoke until your internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and then remove.

Step 13

Place your summer sausage sticks directly into an ice bath for 20 minutes to stop the cooking process.

Step 14

Remove from the ice bath and place them in your refrigerator for several hours to finish cooling down.

Step 15

Peel back the casing before eating.