The men make sausage !

By the time Boxing day hit we were ready for a bit of a project. Haidi and Nick brought some pork scraps from the pig they butchered and I had 8 lbs of venison that we mixed. Nick and I learned lots. We didn't have the optimum plate for the front of the grinder. Ours was too fine. Next time we'll make sure that we have coarse plates on hand.

I had fun mixing spices from two different recipes. We also cubed half of the pork into 1/4" cubes to add texture. We got a great workout grinding the meat especially the venison.

The sausage press was pretty slick. You just load the mixed product into the 6 liter container and put your casings over the funnel tip and then crank down the press. That was pretty fun! We did have some blowouts with the casings before we figured out how full to fill them..

The Venison came from the field behind our house. After watching mule deer walk though our yard in healthy numbers for the last four years, I kind of got the hunting itch. There's a bit of a hunter gatherer instinct in a lot of men - maybe it even gets stronger after you have kids.. Anyway, I got all my paperwork in order and a friend lent me an Excalibur crossbow and so began my dusk ritual of staking out the back four acres. This deer was harvested December one and it hung for one week. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice and tips on hunting

and preparing the meat and sausage.