I make brats and italian sausage every year about a week after deer season. This year I made 50 pounds of each and about 25 pounds of summer sausage and snack sticks. The best tip I have is to go heavy on the pork, and trim all the fat possible off the game meat (to eliminate gamey flavor). The rule of thumb that I use that drives everyone else at the butcher table crazy is "if I wouldn't want it in a steak then don't put it in the grinder". Deer butchering is a family affair ( in-laws) and they do things different than me. They don't make sauaage so they try for as many roasts and steaks as possible while I go for as much sausage meat as I can get. I think that is why they are not so fussy about what goes into the grinder. I buy pork butts ( it actually comes from the top of the front shoulder) because it has a decent amount of fat and is usually cheap, like in the .99 cent per pound range if you wait for a sale. I like to shoot for around 60/40 game meat to pork ratio. There are lots of people that prefer less pork, and if it was just me eating the final product I would use more game but I often serve this stuff to people that aren't accustomed to game meat. The other big reason to use enough pork is for the moisture, if you go too heavy on the game the final product is dry and the texture is off. I use hog casings from L&M Products for the brats and italian, and I used the 12"x1.5" fibrous casings for the summer sauage. This last year was my first year for snack sticks, I used the small collagen casings and filled them with the same summer sausage mix. I don't think I will make snack sticks again, the casing is pretty expensive and it took forever to stuff the casings. I think the snack stick meat would be better off as jerky ( don't put pork into ground meat jerky). I coarse grind the meat, mix by hand, sprinkle with seasoning and water and mix by hand again very well then run through the grinder with a fine plate. This past year I used a Cabelas 1 hp grinder with the sausage stuffing tube attachements that I borrowed from a co -worker because my grinder shot craps. I have an antique horizontal sausage stuffer/ lard press that I used to use when my grinder worked. I think you would be well served with a grinder and stuffing tubes, the foot pedal control is a huge plus and I would suggest buying the highest HP grinder you can justify. I liked the Cabelas grinder but I only used it for one session so I have idea of longevity, only that it worked well while I had it. Just like anything there is a learning curve, like knowing how full to fill the casing so that you can still twist links without bursting the casing ( when you break one empty that link and make brat burger patties/bulk sausage) but it is fun and one more way to enjoy the harvest and the craft of the hunter. I am unpacking from a recent move (just bought a house!), when I find recipes I will post them if you are interested. Good luck and enjoy.
