What are Y'all mixing into your caribou to create breakfast sausage? I tried some pork shoulder (4/1 ratio) and your basic seasoning. We didn't really like it. We are looking for a mildly sweet breakfast sausage. Any ideas? BTW, ground, not links.
Question on caribou breakfast sausage
- Thread starter shayno
- Start date
Ben XCR
New member
Did you not like the taste because of the seasoning? Or was it more the mix with the pork shoulder?
iofthetaiga
Well-known member
We always used Leggs #10 and good, local, organic pork shoulder somewhere in the 4/1 to 3/1 range. Don't think I'd call that seasoning "mildly sweet" tho. To me it was savory, and very mildly spicy. Not sure what I would use if I was looking for a sweet profile. Probably going to involve a fair bit of some form of sugar, and maybe apple, etc.
I would say ours was too "italian" tasting. Good for spaghetti, not for breakfast. Maybe part of the problem was shoulder was to lean? I'll check out that savoy, it really does not need to be sweet I guess. Just something that works better in scrambles and burritos.
Ben XCR
New member
There's tons of mixes and recipes out there and it all really comes down to your own preference obviously. I always recommend doing small, 5lb or so, batches of multiple different mixes/recipes until you hit on your top 2-3. Plus it's fun to experiment I think and then you don't end up with a bunch of stuff you're not super stoked about.
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I go 25-30% fat for sausage. Local pig, fat only usually. Seems like a lot but much cooks out
Tricky to get the salt/spice right…. Commercial mixes assume you’re using all pork butt- but I use 99.5% lean wild game mixed at ratio with 99.5%pure pork fat…my epithany is to spice for the poundage of red meat only plus a little… maybe the spice doesn’t take to pure fat or it cooks out. Anyway, mix and taste, adjust, try another patty till you get the flavor you seek
Keep very very cold while bringing/mixing/stuffing! Very important for texture. I use trays, in and out and back in freezer to keep firm between steps
Tricky to get the salt/spice right…. Commercial mixes assume you’re using all pork butt- but I use 99.5% lean wild game mixed at ratio with 99.5%pure pork fat…my epithany is to spice for the poundage of red meat only plus a little… maybe the spice doesn’t take to pure fat or it cooks out. Anyway, mix and taste, adjust, try another patty till you get the flavor you seek
Keep very very cold while bringing/mixing/stuffing! Very important for texture. I use trays, in and out and back in freezer to keep firm between steps
South Coast Stu
Member
If you like it sweet I would recommend this:
4:1 with pork shoulder is what we run. I like my breakfast sausage a little hot:
4:1 with pork shoulder is what we run. I like my breakfast sausage a little hot:
dahlenburg
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I had the same experience when I had some caribou made into "breakfast sausage" once. It made a good meat loaf or lasagna but it was not something I wanted to eat for breakfast. I have since started making my own sausage and while I have not used bear meat yet I have used deer and caribou and it is what works for me. The below recipe gives a hint of maple flavor and does not over power the meat flavor at all like I was expecting when I read the recipe. I even used sugar free maple syrup and was impressed by how good it came out.
Having the 20-25% fat as mentioned above is also needed in my opinion. I use pork shoulder as well but use more of a 3:1 or even a 2:1 ratio if its a fairly lean shoulder. It is hard to judge how much fat is in a shoulder so my fat percentage is probably never the same. Adding just pork fat would be fine but for the breakfast sausage I like adding the shoulder because it adds more volume than just adding fat so there is more yield.
Maple breakfast sausage:
1Lb ground meat (20 to 25% fat by weight)
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large pinch ground nutmeg
1 large pinch ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
Having the 20-25% fat as mentioned above is also needed in my opinion. I use pork shoulder as well but use more of a 3:1 or even a 2:1 ratio if its a fairly lean shoulder. It is hard to judge how much fat is in a shoulder so my fat percentage is probably never the same. Adding just pork fat would be fine but for the breakfast sausage I like adding the shoulder because it adds more volume than just adding fat so there is more yield.
Maple breakfast sausage:
1Lb ground meat (20 to 25% fat by weight)
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large pinch ground nutmeg
1 large pinch ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
bottom_dweller
Active member
We use maple syrup and fennel in our deer breakfast sausage
