venison bratwurst

Making venison bratwurst at the homestead today. Using last years venison and last years pork trimmings. I hope I am blessed with a deer soon because we are almost out of venison. We used to use the hand crank grinder, but when you are making 10 pounds or more of sausage at a sitting it really makes sense to use the electric version.

Recipe:
6 pounds venison
4 pounds fatty pork trimmings
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1.5 cups soy protein (as a binder)
4 Tbs. pickling salt
1+ Tbs Mace
1+ Tbs White Pepper
1+ Tbs Nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
hog casings

The most comprehensive book for beginning sausage making is the one written by Rytek Kutas, "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing."

Went out stump sitting and watching for deer last night. Didn't see any deer, but saw a beautiful great horned owl. Saw a flock of about 20 geese too. They start to fly over the Palouse at about this time of year. They can be called into decoys as they pass overhead between the river valley and the wheat fields.

chewing tobacco recipe

Ever wonder how to make your own chewing tobacco? Well, maybe not, but here's how anyway.

1. Dry and cure your tobacco. This process can range from moderately difficult to extremely complex. For my purposes I a. harvest the leaves, b. tie into bundles, c. hang in the sun for three weeks, d. hang inside for another month. I would suggest looking for further reading on this subject.

2. Strip off the tobacco from the stems and put in a food processor. Give it a few quick spins to shred it to your desired cut. (Long, short, snuff)

3. Take 2 cups of apple juice and simmer them in a stainless saucepan. Reduce by half until thickening and tacky.

4. Stir in a tablespoon or two of blackstrap molasses.

5. Promptly stir in tobacco and turn off heat.

6. Stir until all tobacco is coated and tacky.

7. Bag, or better yet place in an oak cask to cure further.

Homemade cheese press

Rather than buy a $200 cheese press, I made a simple one for less than $20. At the moment it is kind of rough cut as I have not been able to find my file and other tools to make it pretty. Materials:
2X6 board
12 inch carriage bolts, nuts, washers
Length of dowling
Cheese mold

Cut your 2X6 into lengths that will fit your cheese mold. On my small molds I can put 2 side by side. Drill holes for your carriage bolts. On the bottom piece I used a wide bit to drill a recess for the bottom of the carriage bolt so it doesn't stick out and the board sits flat. Cut your dowling to the correct length. Rough cut a "follower" (the circular piece used to press the cheese evenly). as you tighten the bolts, it will apply pressure to the cheese and squeeze out the whey. I plan on tidying up the whole thing, but it works efficiently at the moment.