Michigan State University Extension
Preserving Food Safely - 01600615
10/13/97
Ingredients for making homemade sausage are readily available in most areas from retail stores and locker plants. The recipes can be used for deer, elk, antelope, moose or other wild meat which has been trimmed of fat. Meat from domestic sources can be used as well but some reduction in the amount of fat in the recipes is needed if the beef, pork or lamb contains fat.
Any lean meat from any part of the carcass can be used for sausage. Most often meat from the back and hind legs is saved for roasts and steaks and boneless, fat-free lean from other areas of the carcass utilized for sausage. It is recommended that the lean be removed from the carcass and made into sausage as soon as possible (the day after the kill is best) to prevent unnecessary bacterial growth. Meat which has been frozen and thawed can also be used.
Freeze clean, edible trimmings immediately after they are removed from the carcass. The trimmings can be ground and fat added when they are thawed. Regardless of whether fresh lean trimmings or thawed lean trimmings are used, speed in sausage preparation is a must to prevent bacterial growth. Bacterial growth on game meat causes soured meat which is unacceptable as a sausage ingredient.
The quality of the sausage produced is often proportional to the length of time fresh trimmings stand before they are used. Game meat trimmings should be removed from the carcass free of fat, hair, bloodshot and dirt. They should be chilled at 30 degrees Fahrenheit and made into sausage or frozen immediately.