By Craig Wall

Paying a meat processor for a batch of summer sausage can get expensive. Here is a delicious recipe for smoked wild game summer sausage that you can do at home on your own.

Ingredients

-        6lbs ground bear meat

-        6 lbs ground venison

-        3lbs bacon cut into 1” pieces

-        2 cups chopped jalapenos

-        1 packet Hi Mountain seasoning

-        1 packet Hi Mountain cure

 

 

1. Combine bear, venison, bacon, seasoning and cure in a large container. Mix well until seasoning and cure are evenly distributed and dissolved.
2. Run mixture through a grinder to mix thoroughly and grind bacon.
3. Add jalapenos to the meat and mix until the jalapenos are evenly distributed.
4. Use sausage stuffer to fill casings. Pack casings as tight as possible to avoid air bubbles. (Note: casings must be soaked in warm water 1 hour prior to filling)
5. Refrigerate the sausages overnight.
6. Heat smoker to 140 degrees and smoke the filled casings for 1 hour. You can use the wood of your preference in the smoker, for this recipe we used Hickory wood chips.
7. Raise the temperature of the smoker to 180 degrees. Smoke sausages until the reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.  This may take between 4 and 6 hours depending on smoker.
8. Once the sausages have reached 160 degrees. Remove them from the smoker and dunk them in a bath of ice water immediately. Dry off the casings with a towel, then allow the sausages to dry overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
9. Slice the Wild Game Summer Sausage and enjoy on its own or with cheese and crackers.