Sausages
Hunter's Trail Kielbasa
Hunter's Style Kielbasa
Hunter's Trail Kielbasa is a smoked sausage built on a 50% lean meat / 50% pork blend, using lean wild game, lean beef, pork butt or pork shoulder. Smoke at 130-175°F (54-79°C) and finish at an internal 152°F (67°C), stuff into 32-35 mm all natural hog casings, grind at 1/4". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.
Crushed juniper is the hunter's ingredient — resinous, slightly piney, and it works with the gaminess of wild meat instead of trying to bury it. Allspice rounds it off. Alder smoke suits this one better than hickory if you have it on hand.
- Internal temp
- 152°F (67°C)
- Smoker temp
- 130-175°F (54-79°C)
- Casing size
- 32-35 mm
- Casing
- All Natural Hog Casings
- Bloom
- 1-2 hours
What goes in it
- Kosher Salt
- Cure #1
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Fresh Garlic (minced)
- Juniper Berries (crushed)
- Marjoram
- Allspice
- Sugar
- Ice Cold Water
Amounts are calculated for your batch weight in the app — including the cure, which is held at a fixed, food-safe rate.
The meat
Lean Wild Game · Lean Beef · Pork Butt · Pork Shoulder
Bear or wild hog: take it to 160°F and hold 3 minutes. Freezing, smoking and curing do not kill trichinella — only heat does.
How it's made
- With the meat ice cold (32°F), grind all meats together through a 1/4" plate.
- Add all seasonings and ice water. Mix until tacky with good protein extraction.
- Stuff into 32-35mm natural hog casings. Tie into 12-16" horseshoe-shaped links.
- Hang to dry at room temp for 1 hour.
- Smoke at 130°F with dampers open for 1 hour.
- Apply heavy smoke and increase to 150°F for 2-3 hours.
- Raise to 170-175°F until internal temperature reaches 152°F. Important: Do not let your smoker exceed 175°F. Even if your smoker is set at or below 175°F, the actual temperature can spike higher — monitor closely.
- Immediately plunge into ice water bath until internal temp drops below 100°F. (Optional — an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
- Hang to bloom for 1 hour, then refrigerate.
Wood
Cherry · Apple · Alder
Safety
- Keep meat below 40°F during grinding and mixing
- Cook to 152°F internal temperature
- Ice bath after smoking to prevent wrinkling. (Optional — an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
Before you start
New recipes as they land.
Venison, wild game, snack sticks, summer sausage. Leave your email and we'll send the new ones over.
Only when there's a new recipe. Nothing else.
You're on the list. We'll be in touch.
Something went wrong. Please try again.