Annual Sausage Making Day

For the past two years my husband's family has enjoyed getting together to make sausage out of the deer meat from their hunting victories of the season.  It's always hard to find time to get everyone to come together, but this past Saturday they set the date and made some sausage. 

Here are some pictures of our second annual sausage making day:

Step 1:  Cutting the meat into large chunks.  {It's deer meat mixed with pork.}

Step 2:  Grinding the meat.



Step 3:  Soak the casings {pig intestines}, place the casings on the sausage maker thing, turn the handle and out comes the sausage.

Step 4:  Pinch off the desired length for one sausage link and tie it with string.

Step 5:  Hang the tied sausage links on a stick and place them in the smokehouse.  {My husband built the smokehouse last year just for this annual sausage making day.}



Step 6:  Light a few pieces of wood on fire, blow air on them to make them burn quicker, place the burnt smoking wood in the smokehouse.  Let the sausage "smoke" and dry for about two hours.

Step 7:  While waiting for the sausage to dry, let the kids play and sing "Happy Birthday" to Popo!

Brazos never liked being in a playpen until now. 
I guess he just needed a buddy.

I can see Baby #2's future activity already - being pushed around by Brazos!

 



He picked up some gloves because he saw his
daddy wearing gloves.  He was ready to help.

Happy Birthday, Popo!

Step 8:  After the sausage is smoked and dried, package the sausage.

Pair the links and wrap in seran wrap.

Wrapped in freezer paper, labeled, and ready for the freezer!

Wrapped pan sausage.



We'll be eating deer sausage, pan sausage, and deer steak for a long time!