Venison Sausage - Jalapeno Cheddar Snack Sticks

4.93 from 13 votes

Venison Sausage - Jalapeno Cheddar Snack Sticks

These jalapeno cheddar snacks sticks have just the right amount of spice to really wake up your taste buds. Making homemade venison sausage never tasted so good!

Prep Time1

Cook Time6

Total Time7

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 340kcal

Author: Fox Valley Foodie

Ingredients

7 lb Venison (can substitute or combine with other meats)
3 lbs Pork Fat
1 ½ cups Water
2 cups Non Fat Milk Powder
2 oz Dried Jalapenos (about 1 cup)
⅔ cup Sugar
⅓ cup Worcestershire Sauce
5 teaspoons Black Pepper
2 ½ teaspoons Dry Mustard
2 ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Celery Seed
5 tablespoon Salt
0.5 oz Pink Cure (Prague Powder #1 among other names)
1 ½ lbs High Temp Cheddar Cheese
1.2 oz Encapsulated Citric Acid.
19 mm Smoke Collagen Casing

Instructions

Grind venison and fat together through a ⅜" grinding plate.
Combine water, non-fat milk powder, jalapeno flakes, sugar, Worcestershire, black pepper, dry mustard, garlic powder, celery seed, salt, and pink cure. Mix to combine then pour over meat and combine further.
Run mixture through the ⅜" grinding plate a second time, then place in the refrigerator overnight to allow flavors to meld.
Preheat smoker to 130 degrees and add desired wood.
Add high temp cheese and encapsulated citric acid to the sausage mixture and combine thoroughly.
Load venison sausage mixture into sausage stuffer and tightly fill into 19 mm casings.
Hang sausage in the smoker, or lay flat on racks if needed, ensuring sausage is not touching to allow for even cooking.
Smoke sausage at 130 degrees for one hour then increase the temperature to 140 degrees and cook for another hour. Proceed to increase the temperature hourly at twenty degree increments until the smoker reaches 180 degrees.
Sausages are done when they reach 152 degrees, ~7 hours, cooking time will vary.
Remove snack sticks from smoker and place in ice cold water to stop cooking and set fat. Once cooled, the sticks can be cut and stored.

Notes

*If you are in a hurry, you do not have to place sausage mixture in the refrigerator overnight prior to smoking, however, it is recommended for best flavor.

**If you lay the venison sausage flat on racks, periodically rotate the racks to ensure even cooking.

***Dried jalapenos can be hard to find in stores. They can easily be ordered on Amazon.

IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE you will love my venison meatballs recipe too!

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