Had a successful weekend hunting thanks to the cold weather that came through this past weekend. I harvested a nice 5 1/2 year old buck that I’ve affectionally named Chicken foot due to his unusual rack. I have pictures from last year just after he broke off that side either in a fight with another buck or some other accident. Processed him Sunday morning and dropped off the head and cape to be mounted.

So my youngest daughter and I got up a little after 0300 this morning to get ready and head out to our hunting lease. We were in the blind right at 0500 ready to catch a few zzz before sunrise. About 6 we heard a deer blowing, pretty sure not at us. I’m fairly certain I know the deer and she blows at everything, next time I see her in the daylight she’s taking a ride home in the back of my truck. Just before 7 I noticed a deer had come into view, we watched for a little bit and Shorty decided she couldn’t pass it up. She made a perfect shot, the deer ran maybe 50 yards and crashed. Not the giant I was hoping for but a trophy none the less for my baby. And the venison will be extra delicious knowing my baby girl is the one who harvested it for our family!

My first turkey, he’s not the biggest fella but it doesn’t matter it was an awesome hunt with a great friend.

I was born and raised in Louisiana and have tried the Excalibur Boudin seasoning and it turned out great. I’m not a huge fan of liver so I only used a pound and I pureed it and added about 8 cups of cooked rice to it. I cooked to butts in the seasoning in my crawfish pot outside until the bone fell out then mixed that with the rice and a little of the juice and stuffed into 32/35 mm hog casings. I’ve also used that seasoning to make a cured/smoked sausage as well as fresh sausage and it has been great every time I’ve used it.

I’m retired Air Force, went overseas and worked as a contractor for a little while after I retired. I took a few years off after having my second spinal fusion to just heal and relax. I work at a small family owned business in sales now and really enjoy what I do.

Used the Cajun sausage seasoning and it turned out great, I only made 10 lbs of it but that is plenty.

Something else to keep in mind, if you have the ability to control the level of vacuum on your machine it is a good idea to turn it down to about halfway. The reason being is I have found if I vacuum pack Fresh sausages on the maximum level they will flatten as they thaw out. Another way to combat that problem would be to just cut open the bag when you pull them out of the freezer, but I never remember to do that so I don’t use the max vacuum when I package them.

I cooked some brats I made a week or so ago for a snack. My wife and girls went out shopping and told me to fend for myself. I cooked some chicken Sunday for dinner but forgot to take pics.

willie6378 I want to say it was around 17-18 pounds of Pork Butt, around 7 pounds of cooked rice the a couple pounds of green onions, bell peppers and celery and white onions when I made it as actual Boudin. When I made it as a Fresh and Smoked sausage I made 10 lbs of each and adjusted the seasoning for that batch size.

Departing Contestant Gonna brag a little bit … She’s in three different choirs but also has a 5-2 Muay Thai Kickboxing record and a championship belt, trains Jiu Jitsu and MMA. She has already been accepted into a couple different Universities and wants to be a Psychologist. Needless to say I’m extremely proud of her.

I agree with Tex, you don’t really want to get protein extraction when making a Fresh sausage. Whenever I make Fresh sausage I mix just enough to mix the seasoning thoroughly throughout the meat and then I stop mixing.

Big Buck back strap, well half of one. Injected with the Cajun Soluble seasoning, and sprinkled a little of the sweet basil, oregano and rosemary shaker and finally a few sprinkles of the Ultimate steak and roast shaker. Cooked to an internal temp of 135 and then let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Turned out delicious, it was the first time I’ve used that injection but I will definitely be buying more from Walton’s!

beldend Part of what the ice bath does is “set” the casings to the meat so yes that would’ve helped.

Got my mount back last week,

twilliams Meat will only take so much smoke, that’s one reason why I said I wouldn’t smoke Snack sticks for that long, after a certain point it isn’t adding anything else to them. What smoker do you have, I’d imagine that the manufacturer has tested the recipes and validated that they work. I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know everything and I’d probably try it just to see how it turns out. I’m always open to learn something new, I’ve been smoking meat for 30 years but still trying to perfect my process.

North If you are making a snack stick or summer sausage you definitely want to use the Cure that comes with the seasoning. If you decide to use encapsulated citric acid (ECA) you still NEED to use the Sure Cure. If you don’t use the ECA then yes, hold at least 12 hours before smoking, and make sure you stuff your casings after you are done mixing. Don’t wait until the next day or it is going to be extremely hard to stuff casings. If you use the ECA I wouldn’t recommend holding it any longer than it takes you to stuff your casings, maybe an hour or two at the most.

Departing Contestant Will do, she’s been with me a few times. The best part is she wants to go, I’m not forcing her. She’s 17 and wants to go hunting with dad and I couldn’t be happier to take her.

Johnboy13 Yes you can hang them in the smoker, I don’t know if they are as robust as hog casings but they should be strong enough to hang. As far as what length works best I can’t answer that question as I usually use smoked collagen and coil them on a rack in my smoker whenever I make them. Good luck

PapaSop thank you sir, and I count myself extremely lucky. Her and her sister are what I call bonus kids, I married their mom when they were 7 and 9 and they’ve been my baby girls ever since!

I say get the biggest one within your budget range, especially if you are considering going semi pro in the future. At least the 30 lb as that’s what you’ll need to make 25 lb batches (usually ends up around 28ish lbs with water, seasoning and cheese).