Black Bear Link Cheddar Sausage

 

      The newest meat processing/smoking project for this winter is once again thanks to Barb's recent successful bear hunt.  So far, we have enjoyed bear burger, backstrap, and steaks.  Bear meat has quite a bit of internal, natural fat so it should lend itself well to smoking.  For this recipe I decided to concentrate on the processing of the ground meat into sausage with seasonings and packaging.  That leaves the cooking to whatever method desired according to your recipe.  

3 pounds bear burger

1-2 pounds bacon, diced small

2 Tbsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp sweet paprika

2 Tbsp fennel seeds, toasted

1 Tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed

2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup binder, such as dry powdered milk

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup red wine 

cheddar cheese 

3-4 feet hog casings, I used collagen casings for this, no soaking required

      Place burger into large bowl.   Add the seasonings/binder to the meat mixing well, being sure to coat all pieces.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

      When ready, grind all of the meat mixture through the grinder.  Add the bacon bits, cheese, cold water, and wine to the sausage grind and mix well, grind again.  Set the bowl of ground meat into the refrigerator for 1 hour.  I did mine overnight.  

      Setup your hog casings on the stuffer tube and start stuffing the ground sausage into the casings.  When done, measure the size of the links that you want and pinch/twist every other link in the opposite direction to ensure consistency.  Using a small pin, prick the sausage to help release air.  

      I did pre-smoke these on the wood pit at 150F till browned but not cooked to 165F. I used pecan chips over lump charcoal.  This firms up the skins, starts the cooking process, adds some smoke, but does not fully cook.  They stay together in the freezer when done this way.  Refrigerate or freeze when done.  This allows for cooking for your desired meal at a later date.  You can broil, bake, smoke, grill, or even fry these.  

      

      We did have a few issues with the process.  Creating and stuffing works smoothly, but our creation of links needs work.  I usually stuff the entire length and then crimp by twisting.  I used collagen casings this time.  Several links broke when twisting them (hence the irregular sizes) so I'm going to research further to see if I want to use hog rings and pliers next time.  Maybe I'm overstuffing them.  Final tally:  5 packs of bear sausage links, 

"There are two things nobody should ever have to watch being made, sausage and laws''

Mark Twain