cost of making summer sausage

[Lloyd Smale]

I had to chuckle yesterday thinking about what summer sausage cost me. Now i dont do it the cheap way and buy seperate ingrediants. I buy a kit from a company called the meat man. Reason is its the best dammed summer sausage ive ever ate. I also make it with high temp cheese that that isnt cheap either but bottom line is i could probably have the meat shop make it just as cheap as i do and bottom line is its lots of work. Where the cost really sky rockets is giving it away. Ive got a 8 stick batch going this morning and when its done ill have done a 100 lbs of summer sausage and 50 lbs of snack sticks this year so far and looking in my frezzer i have about 20lbs of summer sauage and no snack sticks so figureing i did eat a little i still gave away well over 2/3s what i made.

Its kind of like cast bullets. You get good friends and family that will come over and brag about how good your bullets are and you feel obligated to give them away. It is also like bulllets in that that once there all done and on the shelf you kind of forget about how much they cost and how much work is involved. Im much more likely to give bullets away that are on the shelf then i am to volunteer to make some for someone.

I told my wife last night that these 8 sticks are staying here! Now if i can just get them smoked without anyone knowing it. That smoker is like a giant magnet. If i want company all i have to do is start it up and they will come!

[Dennis Eugene]

Be headed your way right soon. Say you do have an extra bib, right? :kidding: Dennis

[Beagler]

Here is the stuff I make deer/pork and high temp cheese, smoked. I have to hide the stuff from the family when they come over or I won't have any!

[Old Goat Keeper]

Beagler I ain'ts all that far from you my friend and I could use some of that sausage for snacks an such! LOL I also note that in the pic your beagle is looking straight at that sausage.

T-o-m

[Lloyd Smale]

beagler that brings up another cost thing. I had to buy a stuffer like yours and a meat mixer. I already had a grinder but the added cost of the gear again makes it like casting. Ive bought so much casting things through the years that i doubt cast bullets are near as cheap as a guy figures. sure wish i wouldl have stepped up to the 15 lb stuffer. The 5 lb unit is kind of slow. A guy has to refill it after every stick. Where do you buy your mix. Ive been using a mix from a company called the MEAT MAN. Its the best summer sausage i ever ate. Only thing i add to it is a bit of brown sugar. My buddy was over yesterday and i told him probably the best cure for lonelyness is making summer sausage. Make it and you will have all sorts of company!!

[LEADHOPPER]

Lloyd, do you have a website for the MEAT MAN. I usually use LEM seasonings but if that seasoning is as good as you say it is. I would like to try it, myself. I have noticed one thing about making sausage and jerky. No one wants to help make it, but everyone wants to help eat it.

[Bomberman]

Yes, a link for the Meat Man would be appreciated.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

My free deer meat.
1. Take a day off work
2. Test (who knows how many) rounds through the gun.
3.Tree stand
4. Cover scent
5. Camo clothes
6. Deer tag
7. Processing fee at locker
8. ETC and etc.
The deer I get are free meat, just like reloading and casting is a cost saver. kind of

[Beagler]

beagler that brings up another cost thing. I had to buy a stuffer like yours and a meat mixer. I already had a grinder but the added cost of the gear again makes it like casting. Ive bought so much casting things through the years that i doubt cast bullets are near as cheap as a guy figures. sure wish i wouldl have stepped up to the 15 lb stuffer. The 5 lb unit is kind of slow. A guy has to refill it after every stick. Where do you buy your mix. Ive been using a mix from a company called the MEAT MAN. Its the best summer sausage i ever ate. Only thing i add to it is a bit of brown sugar. My buddy was over yesterday and i told him probably the best cure for lonelyness is making summer sausage. Make it and you will have all sorts of company!!

I get most of my mixes from LEM there based out of Ohio. I have a bulk food/mennonite general store on my way to work that carries alot of the Lem line. If they dont have I order it. I tried Cabelas mixes and will never use them again. The Sausage Maker has alot of goodies to.
http://www.lemproducts.com/
http://www.sausagemaker.com/

[Beagler]

I like using Lem's Oringinal Jerky mix for making snack stick. Use the ground meat method using straight deer meat and high temp chedder cheese. Put in enough water so it flows through the stuffer nicely and stuff in 17mm collagen casings. I hang in smoker and set temp at 125-130 and about an hour later start smoking for a couple hours. I let them at 125-130 for good part of the day to dry (depending how most you want them) then to finish them bring there internal temp up to 170 to make sure it properly cooked. Let them totally cool off before you bag'em up or they will condensate in the bag.

[The10mmKid]

http://www.askthemeatman.com/

[Lloyd Smale]

http://www.askthemeatman.com/weekly_special.htm by the way i ordred enough to make a 100lbs this year and its gone and this batch was made half with the LEM mix and it in my opinion wasnt near as good. His snack stick mix is real good too. I buy the kits that have the casings with them too.

[Tazman1602]

Lloyd I agree. Cheap jerky and summer sausage is awful.

About ten years ago wife and I had a bumper deer season, 2 each. Took them to the processor because we both had 40 hour week beniffitted jobs. He asked how much hamburger we wanted, the reply we gave was NONE make it all into summer sausage and hot sticks we are too busy to do it ourselves......

When wife went to pick it up she almost died. 90lbs and $450 later.......they did make great gifts, good thing we both had good jobs.....

Art

[MT Gianni]

Tazman, the sad story is that here the same products made out of the processers beef only cost 10 cents more a lb. Just another reason to cut your own and have a grinder.

[Lloyd Smale]

I ususally only make 50lbs of summer sausage and 25 lbs of beef sticks but this year made double. We bought a half a cow off the farmer we shoot deer at for a great price. He about sold us it for what he had into raising it. So i had plenty of burger this year so the venison scraps all went to sausage. I still have probably 40lbs of scraps that i will eventually make into bratts or italian sausage.

[Twinkiethekid]

$4.75 a pound for summer sausage where I live. I'm gonna start making my own!

[Dale53]

Lloyd;
That is sure good looking summer sausage. Want to trade some for bullets? LOL

The best summer sausage I ever had was gifted to me by a friend who used to hunt in South Dakota (he was from SW Ohio, like I am). They allowed multiple deer tags (like we do now). He would have all of the deer made up into summer sausage. At the time, the cost was not bad at all. He gave me a couple of sticks. It was awesome - truly terrific. Those South Dakota deers were corn fed just like ours are around here, now. Our deer herd has gone up by the square the last few years. I live in town and often find a deer in my back yard or walking down the street in the evening or early morning.

Unfortunately, I have gotten too old and feeble to hunt anymore. I miss the venison as does my wife. I used to keep the freezer full. Oh well, I had my day in the field. No complaints, whatsoever. I'm just glad I can still shoot!

Dale53