Wild Game Processing Cheat Sheet
The numbers that matter, on one page. USDA-safe. Weigh everything — never eyeball cure.
These numbers are the short version. The app is the whole thing.
DeepWoodz Smokehouse is a growing library of wild game recipes — snack sticks, summer sausage, brats, jerky, bacon, bologna, hot dogs, fermented salami — each one with full directions, the smoke schedule and the pull temp. Put in how much meat you actually have and every ingredient rescales to your batch, down to the gram, with the cure locked safe. No more scouring the internet.
Free on iPhone and AndroidFree on iPhone and Android — deepwoodz.co
Grind plate
| Brats, ground sausage, kielbasa, ring bologna, venison bacon | 1/4" |
| Snack sticks, summer sausage | 1/8" |
| Bologna, hot dogs | 3/8" then 1/8" |
| Fermented salami | 3/8" then 3/16" |
One pass for everything but the emulsified and dry-cured. Meat and fat at 32–34°F or the fat smears instead of cutting.
Tang: ECA or Fermento
| Encapsulated citric acid (ECA) | 0.75% |
| Fermento | 3% |
| Starter culture (T-SPX) | 0.02% |
- Pick one. ECA or Fermento, never both.
- ECA goes in last — fold it in by hand. Never grind it, and don’t overmix: a broken capsule releases early and turns the batch crumbly and sour.
- ECA means same day. Stuff and smoke it, no overnight rest and no bloom. It releases its acid at 135–140°F.
- Fermento is dairy-based and milder — mix it in with the other dry seasonings, and the overnight rest is fine.
- Starter culture is a different job: live bacteria for a real fermented sausage, used with Cure #2.
Casing size
| Snack sticks | 19–21 mm |
| Hot dogs | 24–26 mm |
| Brats, kielbasa | 32–35 mm |
| Ring bologna | 38–42 mm |
| Summer sausage | 2.5–3" fibrous |
| Bologna | 4.5" fibrous |
How many feet your batch needs: casing calculator.
Salt per lb — your brand
At 2% salt, the everyday rate. Same batch, same salt — different spoon.
| Morton kosher | 2 tsp |
| Diamond Crystal | 3¼ tsp |
| Canning & pickling | 1½ tsp |
| Redmond kosher | 1½ tsp |
All four = 9.1 g per lb. Weigh it and the brand stops mattering.
Salt by weight
| 1.5% — ground sausage, snack sticks, jerky | 6.8 g / lb |
| 2.0% — brats, bologna, hot dogs, bacon | 9.1 g / lb |
| 2.5% — summer sausage, fermented | 11.3 g / lb |
A tablespoon of Morton weighs 14.4 g; Diamond Crystal 8.4 g. Nearly double, spoon for spoon.
Cure #1 (per weight)
| Rate | 0.25% · 156 ppm |
| 1 lb | 1.1 g |
| 5 lb | 5.7 g (~1 tsp) |
| 10 lb | 11.3 g |
| 25 lb | 28.35 g (1 oz) |
| 1 kg | 2.5 g |
| 2 kg | 5 g |
| 5 kg | 12.5 g |
| 10 kg | 25 g |
Cure #1 vs #2
- Cure #1 → smoked/cooked, eaten soon: summer sausage, snack sticks, hot dogs, bacon, jerky, ham
- Cure #2 → long dry-cured/fermented: salami, dry-cured whole muscle
- No cure → fresh brats & ground sausage cooked same day
- Same 0.25% rate. Never swap them.
Fat Ratio (lean game : pork)
| Product | Game : pork butt | Approx. fat |
|---|---|---|
| Bratwurst | 50 / 50 | ~17% |
| Snack sticks | 50 / 50 | ~17% |
| Summer sausage | 50 / 50 | ~17% |
| Ground / most sausage | 50 / 50 | ~17% |
| Venison bacon | 50 / 50 | ~17% |
| Bologna & hot dogs | 50 / 35 / 15* | ~26% |
*lean game / pork butt / pure pork fat. Remember the ratio is not the fat percentage — pork butt is only ~30% fat itself.
Internal Temps (pull at)
| Summer sausage | 155°F / 68°C |
| Snack sticks | 152°F / 67°C |
| Ring bologna, hot dogs | 152°F / 67°C |
| Venison bacon | 152°F / 67°C |
| EQ bacon | 150°F / 66°C |
| Fresh brats | 160°F / 71°C |
| Jerky (before drying) | 152°F / 67°C |
Smoke & Safety Rules
- Set temp ≠ actual temp — pellet/electric smokers swing; run a second probe for the chamber and trust it, not the dial.
- Keep meat under 40°F (4°C) while grinding & mixing; keep fat near freezing so it grinds clean.
- Don't exceed ~170–180°F (77–82°C) smoker temp on sausage — that's fat-out.
- Weigh cure on a gram scale. Never add extra. Keep it away from kids & pets.
- Go by internal temperature, not the clock.
Want all of this done for you? DeepWoodz Smokehouse scales every recipe to your exact batch, locks the cure safe, and runs your smoke timer — a growing library of proven recipes, plus a community of makers.
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