How to spice up my ground wild game meat?

Doug from Federal Way, WA asked:

I hunt mule deer and have hamburger kids are not fans of - Do you know of anything I can add to spice up the flavor? Love the show and thanks!



Thanks for the question Doug and do I ever have the solution for you!!

Make hamburger jerky and the kids will grab it up so quick you won't be able to make it fast enough!! It's so easy to make. I could walk you though it step by step but it's so much easier to just watch the video. I've posted the video at the bottom of this blog post.

If you are missing any of the equipment, it's all on The Hunter's Butcher Shop:
Weston Jerky Guns
Dehydrator Netting
Weston Meat Mixers
Hi Mountain Jerky Seasoning
Bradley Smoker

If you don't have a smoker you can use a dehydrator or even your own household oven. If you're going to use an oven or dehydrator, just dissolve a little liquid smoke in a cup of water and add it to your seasoning mix to give it that great smoky flavor that the kids are going to love.

I do this every year with left over game burger and everyone loves it!! If you need more details check out our Advanced Jerky Processing DVD - it contains tons of jerky recipes and teaches you to process every jerky product on the planet!

Thanks for the question Doug and I hope the kids love the jerky!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood  

PS: Here's that video I was telling you about:

Making Snack Sticks: Dehydrator or Smoker?

Jack from Eureka, UT wrote:

I’m making snack sticks for the very first time. Should I make them in my smoker or in my dehydrator? Any other tips for a first timer? Thanks!


Jack,

Thanks for the question and certainly you will want to use your smoker. This would be the correct choice for several reasons.

First, the final internal temperature will be difficult to reach when you are running at the low temperatures in a dehydrator. You will be looking for a final internal temperature of 158F and this will be difficult to achieve if your dehydrator oven only goes to 155F.

Also, remember dehydrators are designed to remove moisture from the products that you place inside of them. Doing this to your snack sticks is going to make for a very dry product.

Fire up your smoker and run the temperature at 130-140F while smoking for about 2 hours, then turn the smoke off and increase the cabinet temperature up to 170F for 45min to an hour.

Check your temperature. If you have not achieved the 158F internal temperature you are looking for increase the temperature in the smoke house to 190 - 200F and watch your product temperature closely. The internal temperature will rise quickly at higher temperatures and you don't want to over do it and ruin the product.

After the temperature has been reached, remove the sticks immediately and begin cooling them down as quickly as possible.

Thanks for the question and good luck!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

How do I make Smoked Duck Bacon?

Bob from Lincoln Park, MI wrote in:

Brad,

I would like to see a video on making and smoking Duck Bacon. I have a Bradley Smoker, but I'm not sure if it can be used to cold smoke the Duck Bacon. Thank you for your how-to videos and the DVD's. Great job, they are very helpful.


Thanks for the question Bob and you have truly stumped me my friend! I have never heard of "Cold Smoked Duck Bacon."

I do have a segment in my Mastering Marination DVD on making restructured venison bacon that you could use and apply the same principles and techniques to waterfowl. As far as cold smoking it, you will need to apply the standard heat required with any bacon product to make the product nice and firm so it binds together and can be sliced easily.

Thanks again for the great question.

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

Making The Most Out Of Wild Turkey

Bob from Eau Claire, WI wrote:

I will be hunting for my first turkey this year. In your turkey jerky video, you say something I've been hearing a lot: That people don't like wild turkey. You also say there are 101 ways to prepare it.

Can you share some other ways you like it?


Wild turkeys are very good eating Bob! It doesn't matter if you make jerky, sausage, or marinate them; they can be great table fair! Here's my recommendation...

Check out a couple of these Love of the Hunt Butcher Block videos on processing wild turkey products:
Soy Ginger Turkey Breasts
Turkey Sausage
Turkey Jerky

If you need more information, see my Mastering Marination DVD. This DVD has segments on marinating turkey, upland game birds, waterfowl, fish and much more.

The only real issue I've ever experienced with wild turkeys is that they tend to get dry, so baking them in the traditional "Butterball" fashion doesn't work well. You have to improvise a little to get a good product. Marinating is a great method for preparing wild turkeys and Hi Mountain Seasonings have a great injectable marinade just for turkeys.

If you're going to bake the breast, I always use a Reynolds Oven Bag to help hold in the moisture as much as possible during smoking or baking. You can purchase these bags at any grocery store.

Be sure to watch those videos I recommended and I'm sure you will come up with some great ideas when you bag your bird this spring!

Good luck!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

Making Summer Sausage

Michael from Reno, NV wrote in:

Brad,

I have watched two of your online videos and have read the directions for the Hi Mountain Jalapeno Summer Sausage seasoning mix. It is asking for pork to be added. What cut would your suggest? I will be using beef roast to mix with the pork.

Also is the non fat dry milk just for the wild game?

I also will be following your directions for the smoking instead of the one that came with the sausage kit.

Thanks,
Michael


Michael,

If you will be using a beef roast, will it be chuck or round?

If you are using chuck, I would suggest using pork butt for the pork section of your meat block. If you are using a section from the round, which has much less fat content than a chuck, I would use a pork product that contains a little more fat.

The mix you are looking for is about an 80/20 blend of lean to fat for the overall mix. Chuck will be in the correct area to start with, as will pork butt, so that's why I suggested mixing those two together.

If you use round, you may need to use some fresh side pork to mix with your round to get the fat content correct. On the overall mix, you are looking at 2lbs of pork for every 8lbs of beef. This will give you a good blend for Summer Sausage.

I would add the additional non-fat dry milk at the rate of one cup for every 10lbs of meat. This will help keep the product firm during cooking.

When you get into the final stages of smoking, be sure to close the damper on your smoker and even add a pan of water in the smoker to help keep the humidity level high. This will keep your product from drying out. Cook to an internal temperature of 156F.

Good luck and have fun!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

Adding Seasoning to Your Pre-Packaged Mix

Gary from Little Valley, NY asked:

About how much cayenne pepper would you recommend to add to your 10 lb kielbasa sausage mix? I would like something mild.


Gary,

The first thing I would recommend is to start a good recipe book and keep track of every step of the process - especially when adding additional ingredients to your products. What tends to happen is you find the perfect amount for your taste buds and then forget how much you added!

I would start with one tablespoon for 10lbs of meat and work your way up or down from there. Always remember, the pre-packaged seasonings you purchase are simply a base flavor profile of the product you are trying to make. They are not designed to fit everyone's particular taste so modifying the recipe is exactly what you want to do. Just be sure to keep track of what you add so you can increase it or decrease it on the next batch.

Thanks for the question and be sure to let us know how it comes out!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

Beginning Processing

Darrel from Alvin, Texas asked:
 
I am a new hunter at 52 years old and want to process my own game - So far just whitetail and hog. Please help!


Darrel,

Thanks for the question. When answering questions I generally try to refrain from talking about specific products and selling items to people - but in this case I have no choice.

The best thing to do is purchase the Deer and Big Game Processing DVD, available for purchase by clicking here. I created this DVD for this exact reason. This DVD will take you step by step, with exact detail and extreme close ups on the proper field dressing techniques of a trophy animal and a meat animal. It then covers step by step the proper skinning of a meat animal, as well as preparing a trophy animal for a taxidermy mount. It covers proper aging of the carcass and then spends a great deal of time de-boning and sectioning all the primary muscles from each quarter of the animal and explaining the various cuts available from each section of meat. It also covers basic grinding and packaging.

This DVD is a must for every hunter no matter if you've been processing deer your entire life or just starting. I promise there are tips and techniques in this DVD for every hunter. If you really want to get head over heals into it, look at the Advanced Game Processing Library that has all 4 titles in it. Elk, Sausage, Jerky and the Deer Processing DVD.

Take my advice here, a little knowledge can go a long, long way when it comes to game processing. It's not rocket science but a few basic tips and techniques can really make your job much easier and more enjoyable.

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood