Most of what is called “gamey” is just the result of poor care between the shot and the freezer. If butchers treated meat they way many hunters do everyone would think beef is gamey. That meat might be rendered edible by various marinades and overwhelming spices, but does that really make it wholesome? My wife and I have probably taken nearly 100 Missouri deer, most close to the peak of the rut, and I’ve handled all of them myself from the shot to the plate. Not one has been the least bit gamey. Yes, some game animals can get funky depending on their diet. A teal that’s been eating snails and such will not taste as good as one that’s been on grain. And some species get off-tastes during the breeding season. But I’ve seen enough to know that many hunters don’t do what’s needed to get that meat to the plate in fine condition.

My venison/pork summer sausage recipe includes, in descending order of volume:

Fermento, salt, corn syrup solids, powdered dextrose, spices, cure

After the coarse grind I let it cure in the fridge a couple of days to let the Fermento do it’s thing… then fine grind, stuff & smoke.

I’m considering switching from Fermento to Encapsulated Citric Acid for the tang, to let me skip the 2 day cure, and adding some smoked meat stabilizer (out of stock! boo!) and sure gel, but I have questions:

• If I drop Fermento and the fridge cure, do I still need the corn syrup solids?
• Does EPS have a shelf life? I have some that’s been vacuum sealed for just over 7 years.
• Do corn syrup solids have a shelf life? I have some that’s been vacuum sealed for probably a decade. Yeah, I know. Newly retired and recovering from “hobby interruptus”.

twilliams

Thanks TW.

I came up with another question. My current recipe includes 25oz of water. The summer sausage recipe here (which includes sure-gel) calls for 64oz - quite a difference. I presume that is to “feed” some liquid to the sure-gel so it gets to do it’s binding thing without drying things out. Am I on the right track?

By the way, with a little poking around it turns out ECA has a 2 year shelf life. I presume that is mostly due to the physical integrity of the encapsulation, which is needed for it’s to delay its magic until the right time.

diver1965 I was certainly generalizing. As someone who obviously understands the subject and treats meat with the care it deserves, you probably are as aware as me that many of our hunting brothers and sisters deviate from good carcass care, and it shows. Apologies if my comment implied you practice poor field care. It’s just a hot-button issue with me (KillerNoms.com/DIYVenison).

I love the unique flavor of Antelope in sagebrush country, but I know some folks find it off-putting. Some waterfowl are not highly prized on the plate. Bears on fish is reportedly pretty nasty. So there are certainly times wholesome meat may need some help to be appreciated by less adventurous eaters. Aside from the usual suspects, heavy spices, sweeteners, etc… I like the idea of using a volume of domestic meat to overwhelm the wild meat. Like Joe Hell said… Pork!