Feral Pig and Moose Sausage

[IronNoggin]

So after my Bow Hunting Partner collected a Feral Pig while hunting here in BC last fall, he and I chatted a fair bit about just what to do with the thing. We decided that it would be a great idea to create a type of Polish Hunter's Sausage with a fair bit of it, and so began the search for just the right recipe. After much searching (including many sites in Polish) we decided to create one based on a Traditional "Mysliwska" (Hunter's Sausage) type, with of course a few alterations of our own.

Here's the main Guest of Honor on the hoof:

A short spell ago, my Buddy wandered over to chase steelhead with me, and drug along a hind and both front shoulders from this "guest".

I had a little moose grind left, a bit of domestic free-range pork, and some straight pork fat hanging about, so after some head-scratchin' this is the recipe we came up with:

Tad’s Mysliwska Sausage

Ingredients:

37 Pounds Wild Pig
13 Pounds Domestic Pig
13 Pounds Moose
15 Pounds Pork Fat

Total: 78 Pounds

20 Tblsp Salt
6 Tblsp Prague Cure # 1
12 Tblsp Ground Black Pepper
24 Tblsp Fresh Copped Garlic
12 Tblsp Garlic Powder
7 Tblsp Ground Juniper
28 Grams Marjoram
200 Grams Yellow Mustard Seed
100 Grams Coriander Seed

12 Cups Ice Water
375 ml (Mickey) London Dry Gin

The Feral Pig was ground Coarse (as called for in the traditional recipe), the moose and domestic pork ground medium, and the fat ground fine.

Here's a shot of the whole lot thawing out in a full-sized bathtub:

After the meat was prepped, we mixed up the cure, spices, water & gin and let sit until all was dissolved / well mixed. Then added that to the meat, sprinkled the two seed types on top and mixed Furiously until it was all well blended. Then into the Uber-Cold Fridge overnight for the various flavors to blend, and to get the meat Damn Cold for shooting the next day:

Continued...

 

[IronNoggin]

As we prepared to shoot the sausage, I was once again Very Pleased we had collected that new Cabela's One Horse Commercial Grinder this year! We would have been there for DAYS with the old machine! LOL!

Deciding on 2 foot lengths, we then shot the product into standard hog casings, coiled and hung the sausages to dry a spell:

They were then held for ~ 8 hours at 60 degrees F and were nicely dry to the touch.

Pre-Heated the Smoker to 160 degrees F for an hour or so, then the lot was stuffed inside - arranged most carefully such that none touched each other or any of the walls:

Even in my Big Box, this run damn near had her at Capacity!

Initial Smoking (Hickory Chips btw) started at 140 degrees F for 2 hours. Then gradually over many more hours the internal temperature of the sausages was brought up to 154 degrees. The Entire Neighborhood simply knew what I was up to, as the Awesome Smell wafted Everywhere!!

That process was Greatly Facilitated by the use of an "Auber" Smoker Control Unit - kind of like a Thermostat on Steroids. It has 6 programmable settings, allowing you very precise control of the heating / smoking process.

Here's a shot of it in action. The left reading is the temperature inside the smoker, and the right, the internal temperature of the meat:

Getting Closer:

When the product's internal temperature reaches your desired level, the unit shuts it all down, sounds an Alarm to let you know, and flashes the fact it has done so:

We've done a PILE of smoking over the years, and now having one of these little units, I honestly do not know how we managed without one! It is a close to Plug 'n Play as it gets!!

Continued...

 

[IronNoggin]

At this point, a fair amount of moisture had been shed, and the links had shrunk a little as a consequence.
The Incredibly Fantastic Smell damn near knocked me over when I opened the two bay doors:

The sausages were Immediately dumped into a large "Coffin" (Fish Cooler) full of ice cold water to drop the heat and halt the cooking process - something that takes ~ 15 minutes or so:

Then onto the racks to "Bloom" overnight:

These did Bloom overnight, and are now into the drying process. Held at 65 degrees F, they can dry up to 6 or 7 days. The product was designed to NOT require refrigeration so as to facilitate riding in your pack for multi-day hunts:

Awoke early this morning to check on them and the whole house smells YUMMY!

Simply HAD to have a Taste! And the verdict is: Houston! We Have A WINNER!!!
In fact, I believe this is amongst the Very Best we have ever produced!!

This is the Largest batch (77 coils @ over 80 pounds!) we've ever run in all the years working with this stuff. And as much as we may have Whined while doing so, the end result is WELL Worth the effort put in!!

Have a pig hunt lined up in Wyoming this summer, and certainly now HOPING to connect on a few! If I don't I then am going to be putting a LOT of Pressure on my Hunting Partner to dig a couple out of the woods here in BC. LOL!

Cheers!
Nog

 

[Derby]

Man that looks good..... Is there still that Pig up at Poetts Nook..heard it was not making friends up there...

 

[IronNoggin]

Man that looks good..... Is there still that Pig up at Poetts Nook..heard it was not making friends up there...

First I've heard about it Buddy?!
Please pm the intel to me. Have Gun, Will Travel

And, I could use a little more of these Superb Sausages - sounds like a Prime Candidate!!

Cheers,
Nog

 

[sammyslabber]

Maybe Jackel could facilitate some Hawaiian - stowaways

 

[Dogbreath]

Glad to hear you're killing those things they sure are Bad News in other places.

 

[Derby]

First I've heard about it Buddy?!
Please pm the intel to me. Have Gun, Will Travel

And, I could use a little more of these Superb Sausages - sounds like a Prime Candidate!!

Cheers,
Nog

I believe he was there a year ago.... FD should know if he is still around..

 

[Derby]

First I've heard about it Buddy?!
Please pm the intel to me. Have Gun, Will Travel

And, I could use a little more of these Superb Sausages - sounds like a Prime Candidate!!

Cheers,
Nog

I believe he was there a year ago.... FD should know if he is still around..

 

[Dave S]

Man, you have some lucky neighbors!!

 

[fishinforever]

Nice! Hopefully do something like that myself one day. Mouth watering, great work.

 

[sammyslabber]

Yep,another Nog show stopper...charcuterie at its finest!!

 

[Wiseguy]

Are you feeding the whole neighbourhood? Send some my way, go good with my Latte...

 

[IronNoggin]

...charcuterie at its finest!!

Actually had to look that up to determine what you were saying Sammy!

Now that I know... Thanks!

Are you feeding the whole neighbourhood? Send some my way, go good with my Latte...

Good sense of Humor I see!
This batch was split up in 4 directions: 1/2 went to the Pig Killer, 1/4 to my Sausage Conspirator, a few to the Gal that came up with the Juniper on an instant's notice, and the measly few leftovers for me. Sorry to say my end is simply insufficient to share...
Drop a Pig sometime, and shoot me a pm. I'm sure we can work something out...

Cheers,
Nog

 

[getbent]

Right on Matt, having made a whack of sausage from some of your other recipes, I can imagine this is just as good.
Guess one would need to adjust the fat ratio as well as the game if using domestic pork instead of feral or wild pig??
Charcuterie is right, fantastic art to perfect!!

Cheers

 

[Hookin'up]

Matt,
Looks simply mouth watering, told you that you would love the Auber, makes the old way so antiquated eh?
how was it for temp swings? should have kept them to a minimum
the summer pig hunt sound exciting, I hope the pictorial report follows that one too.
Tim

 

[IronNoggin]

Looks simply mouth watering, told you that you would love the Auber, makes the old way so antiquated eh?
how was it for temp swings?

Best thing since Sliced Bread!! Many thanks for offering that advise when you did!!

Although designed to run a Bradley, I was pleasantly Surprised to discover the programmable function.
My smoker is a fair bit larger than any Bradley I've seen, so I was somewhat nervous it might not work out for one this size.
After a good handful of runs, I can now offer that I had no need to worry.
Temperature steadily climbs to what is set, and when reaching that now, varies by no more than 2 degrees either side.
The internal product temperature is Bang On.
No more "Guessing".
In fact I fell asleep during this run. That unit shut the entire thing down, and let me know it was doing so.
Won't be without another one

the summer pig hunt sound exciting, I hope the pictorial report follows that one too.

IF I survive! LOL!
Biggest Gathering of The Clan in Three Decades!
Hundreds of the Same Blood wandering to a focal point.
Pig hunt is an add-on... If I'm still able at the time....

Cheers,
Nog

 

[Kildonan]

Beauty job, Nog and a fun read. You and Wolf both take this to a new level that most of us will never get close to.