Wild Side of the Menu No. 3 Preservation of Game Meats and Fish

• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before beginning to work and after changing tasks or after doing anything that could contaminate your hands, such as sneezing or using the bathroom.
• Start with clean equipment. After using, clean equipment thoroughly with hot soapy water.
• After washing cutting boards, other equipment and surfaces with hot soapy water and rinsing, sanitize with a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water (or approximately 1 teaspoon per four cups water). After spraying the surface or dipping cutting boards in the solution, allow to air-dry. Remake sanitizing solution daily.
• Keep raw meat separate from other foods on cutting boards and other work surfaces. Consider using color-coded cutting boards.
• If using frozen meat in sausage formulations, thaw it in a refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below on the lowest shelf to avoid dripping of juices on ready-to-eat foods.
• Keep meat as cold as possible (40 F or lower) during sausage processing.
• Use a food thermometer to measure internal temperature of smoked meat and other preserved meat. Use a food thermometer to measure doneness in cooked meat, too.
• Use a pressure canner (not a water bath canner) when canning game meat and fish. Dial gauge pressure canners should be calibrated yearly.

To ensure good quality in frozen meat:

1. Freeze meat while it is fresh and in top condition.
2. Select proper freezer wrapping materials. To ensure quality, the wrapping material needs to be moisture/vapor resistant. Be sure to use packaging material designed for freezing.
3. Wrap tightly; pressing out as much air as possible.
4. Freeze and store at 0 F or lower.
5. Avoid long storage periods.

Most wild game will keep up to one year frozen without loss of quality. Vacuum packaging of meat before freezing will help maintain excellent quality of the meat.

In most states, hunting laws require that all wild game be used before the next hunting season. Check regulations for the amount of game you can keep and length of time that you can keep it.

One purpose in curing meat is to make a high-quality meat product for future use. Only properly butchered and thoroughly cooled meats should be used.

Fresh meats can be home-cured by two methods: dry cure or pickle cure (often called sweet pickle cure). Traditionally, dry-cured meats were not injected with sweet pickle; however, when temperature control is difficult or impossible, injecting “pickle” helps to ensure a safe, high-quality product.

The purpose of injecting or pumping is to distribute pickle ingredients throughout the interior of the meat so that curing begins on the inside and cures outward at the same time that curing begins on the outside and works inward. This protects the meat against spoilage and provides a more even curing.

Pumping is usually done with a stitch pump*, an instrument with a hollow needle and holes in the needles through which brine can come out when the needle is inserted in the meat (Figure 1).

Figure 1

* Can use ordinary syringe. Inject into several areas. 

Pickle recipes usually are given on packages of commercial cure. Start by scrubbing the tip pump in warm soap water, then rinse. To keep the pump sanitary while pumping meat, don’t touch the needle with hands or lay it down. When not in use, put pump needle-end-down in container that holds the pickle.

To use, draw pump full of pickle and insert needle all the way into the meat. Push with slow even pressure. As pickle is forced into meat, draw the pump toward you to distribute pickle as evenly as possible. Always fill pump full of pickle to prevent air pockets.

Meat will bulge a little and a small amount of pickle will run out of the meat when the pump is withdrawn. To stop the pickle from running out after the needle is withdrawn, pinch the needle holes together with thumb and forefinger for a few seconds.

Use three or four pumpfuls of pickle for legs and shoulders that weigh 10 to 15 pounds, and five or six pumpfuls for those that weigh 15 to 25 pounds.

The diagrams of the shoulder and leg (Figures 2 and 3) show the bone structure. The lines show how and where the needle of the pump should be inserted for making the five different pumping strokes for large legs and shoulders. For smaller legs and shoulders, fewer injections are needed.

Figure 2

Figure 3

After pumping, apply dry cure using the recipe below or a commercial product.* Rub well over all the meat especially around the bones, hock and the knee joint.

Dry cure (for 100 pounds of meat)

6 pounds salt

3 pounds sugar

3 ounces sodium nitrate or 1 ounce sodium nitrite**

Rub dry cure mix over entire leg surface:

1/3 of mix on first day

1/3 of mix on seventh day

1/3 of mix on fourteenth day

Place on flat surface, uncovered, at 38 F for two days per pound of leg, or approximately four to six weeks. Curing action stops when temperature inside the meat gets below 34 F.

When the meat is cured, let the smaller legs soak for 30 to 40 minutes and larger ones 60 minutes in lukewarm water. Then work and scrub with clean stiff brush to remove grease and salt. Meat is now ready to smoke.

*Freeze-Em-Pickle made by B. Heller and Company; “Morton Tender Quick Cure” or other products are appropriate. Each product has its own recipes.

** Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite (USP Grade) can be obtained at a drug store. Salt peter (potassium nitrate) may be
used instead.

Put pumped leg in a container such as a crock, barrel, sealed wooden box or a stainless steel container, or in a USDA-approved plastic container that is approved for food products, such as containers used in the restaurant trade. Do not use other metal containers. Add water to cover the meat. Make up pickle solution just prior to putting in the product.

Remove the meat and add enough salt to the water so an egg will float, measuring as you add. If you do not have a specific pickle cure recipe, add sugar to equal one-half the amount of salt used. Add commercial cure to pickle solution according to package directions.

Put leg into pickle solution. Let stand at 38 F for three days per pound of meat (45 days for 15 pounds of meat). If temperature becomes warm and brine becomes ropy, remove meat. Wash the meat. Boil and skim pickle solution or make a new one. The new pickle solution should be as strong as the original. If space is a limiting factor, it might be advantageous to bone out the wild game. This procedure is described in Circular FN-125, “Wild Side of the Menu, No. 2, Field to Freezer.” Keep the pieces of meat as large as possible and then use one of the procedures described for curing. Smoke after curing is complete.

Smokehouses can be as simple as a tarp covering or as sophisticated as a commercial unit. An old refrigerator makes a useful smokehouse. Caution: For safety, remove the locking device from the door and replace with a simple latch that will lock only from the exterior. Plans for more elaborate smokehouses are available at North Dakota State University Extension Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Department, North Dakota State University Station, Fargo, North Dakota 58105.

Hardwood such as hickory, maple, chokecherry, oak or apple is best for smoking. Never use a soft wood such as pine because the resin tars will produce off-flavors.

Smoke leg until golden brown at 110 F to 125 F. Then raise smokehouse temperature to 170 F until the internal temperature of the meat reaches a minimum of 137 F. Usually the internal temperature is brought up to 141 F. If you want to have a fully cooked product, then you need to bring the internal temperature to at least 148 F. Ready-to-eat commercial products are even finished at higher temperatures. Once the desired smoke color is obtained, you want to finish your product in your oven. Always use a calibrated meat thermometer to check temperatures.

Drying or “jerkying” meat is an art that has been known since the dawn of civilization. There are many recipes which can be tried, but before you begin check the jerky maker’s checklist and then adapt these directions to your own circumstances.

A Jerky Maker’s Checklist

1. Use fresh lean meat that is free of fat and connective tissue.
2. Slice the meat across the grain.
3. Add the correct amount of seasoning. If you do not have a scale, use approximate equivalent measures for seasonings as follows:
   1. Salt
      1. 10.5 ounces (298 grams) = 1 cup  
      2. 8.0 ounces (227 grams) = ¾ cup  
      3. 3.0 ounces (85 grams) = 4½ level  tablespoons 
   2. Sugar
      1. 5.0 ounces (141 grams) = 2/3 cup  
      2. 3.5 ounces (100 grams) = ½ cup  
      3. 1.0 ounce (28 grams) = 2 level tablespoons  
   3. Ground spices
      1. 0.5 ounces (14.3 grams) = 6 level teaspoons  
      2. 0.08 ounces (2.4 grams) = 1 level teaspoon  
   4. Saltpeter (Potassium Nitrate)
      1. 0.3 ounce (8.5 grams) = 2 level teaspoons  
4. Cure the meat the correct length of time at 38 F. Salted meat should be placed in wooden, stainless steel or stone containers.
5. Keep the drying or smoking temperature in the smokehouse or oven at 120 F (use a thermometer).
6. If an oven is used, line the sides and bottom with aluminum foil to catch the drippings. Open the door to the first or second stop, or prop open to allow moisture to escape and to lower the oven temperature. A fan will speed air circulation and the drying process.
7. Use hardwood for smoking. (Do not use pine, fir or conifers because they cause off-flavors.)
8. Remove the jerky from the smokehouse or oven before it gets too hard for your taste. Five pounds of fresh meat should weigh approximately two pounds after drying or smoking.
9. Store jerky in clean, airtight containers or plastic bags at room temperature, or wrap it in freezer paper and freeze. Check often during the first month to be sure jerky is dry enough to keep well. Although jerky will last almost indefinitely at any temperature, its quality deteriorates after a few months.
10. Seasonings and smoking or drying times can be changed to suit individual tastes. Be careful however, to maintain minimum temperatures to avoid bacterial growth.

Large pieces of meat that are pickle-cured make excellent jerky when sliced and dried or smoked. Corned meat pickle solutions are preferred because spices are included in the cure.

Debone hind leg, splitting into individual muscles; top, bottom and tip. Pump with brine* (two pounds commercial saltcure mixture per gallon of water).

Place in crock or USDA-approved plastic container. Do not use plastic containers such as garbage cans, plastic bags or supermarket ice cream buckets. Cover completely with brine and weight meat down to keep it submerged.

Store in cooler (38 F) for 10 days.

Every two days, change the position of the meat and weight it down again.

After 10 days remove from brine and smoke five hours at 150 F.

Hang to dry at room temperature (about two weeks). Cut off to use as needed.

1. Pre-freeze meat to be made into jerky so it will be easier to slice.
2. Cut partially thawed meat into long slices no more than ¼ inch thick. For tender jerky, cut at right angles to long muscles (across the grain). Remove as much visible fat as possible to help prevent off-flavors.
3. Prepare two to three cups of marinade of your choice in a large saucepan.
4. Bring the marinade to a full rolling boil over medium heat. Add a few meat strips, making sure they are covered by the marinade. Reheat to a full boil.
5. Remove pan from range. Using tongs, remove strips from hot marinade (work quickly to prevent overcooking) and place in single non-overlapping layers on drying racks. (Repeat steps four and five until all the meat has been precooked.) Add more marinade if needed.
6. Dry at 145 to 155 F in dehydrator, oven or smoker. Test for doneness by letting a piece cool. When cool, it should crack but not break when bent. There should not be any moist or underdone spots.
7. Refrigerate the jerky overnight in plastic freezer bags, then check again for doneness. If necessary, dry further.

Source: Oregon State University

Yield: Five pounds of fresh meat should weigh approximately two pounds after drying or smoking.

1. Slice 5 lb. of meat (¼ inch thick strips) with the grain. Use lean meat free of fat and connective tissue.
2. Spread out meat and sprinkle on 3 tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 tablespoon sugar. Put the meat in a pan or dish and let stand for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Pound the meat on both sides to work in the spice. Optional: Dip strips of meat in a liquid smoke solution (five parts water to one part liquid smoke) for one to two seconds for added flavor.
4. Make a brine by dissolving ¾ cup salt, ½ cup sugar, and 2 tablespoon ground black pepper in a gallon of water. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
5. Bring the brine to a low to medium boil. Immerse the fresh meat strips (a few at a time) into the boiling brine until they turn gray (one to two minutes). Remove meat from the brine, using clean tongs or other utensils that have not contacted the raw meat.
6. Spread out meat on a clean dehydrator rack or on a clean rack in the top half of a kitchen oven. If you use a kitchen oven, open the oven door to the first of second stop. Heat at 120 to 150 F (lowest oven temperature) for 9 to 24 hours or until the desired dryness is reached.
7. Remove jerky from oven before it becomes too hard or brittle. Properly dried jerky should crack when bent in half but should not break into two pieces.
8. Store jerky in clean jars or plastic bags, or wrap it in freezer paper and freeze. If kept dry, properly prepared jerky will last almost indefinitely at any temperature, but is quality deteriorates after a few months.

Source: University of Wyoming

Venison, antelope, moose, bear or beef can be corned following the same method. People who usually do not like wild meats may like them corned, as corning takes out the musky wild flavor and tenderizes the toughest wild meats. A good piece of round is wonderful corned, but less desirable cuts of meat like the brisket can be corned, too.

To make six gallons of corning liquid:

3 pounds (6¾ cups) salt

10 ounces (13/8 cups) sugar

2 ounces sodium nitrate

½ ounce sodium nitrite

3 level teaspoon black pepper

3 level teaspoon ground cloves

6 bay leaves

12 level teaspoon mixed pickling spice

For onion flavor, add one medium-size onion, minced. For garlic flavor, add 4 garlic cloves, minced. Put the ingredients into a pickle crock or glass jar and add enough water to make a total of 6 gallons, including the ingredients. Cover the container.

The ideal temperature for corning meat is about 38 F. During the fall or spring months, this is not too difficult to obtain. In the winter, an unheated part of a basement can be used for corning meat. During summer months, it is hard to find a place around 38 F. Higher temperatures need not affect the end result of the corning process at all, if, for every 15 F of temperature above 38 F, you add one-third more salt. At 83 F, add three pounds more salt, making a total of six pounds of salt.

Place meat into the liquid. Put a heavy plate on meat; weight plate, if necessary, to keep meat below pickle brine.

Leave the meat in corning liquid for 15 days. On the fifth and 10th days, stir the liquid well, remove the meat and put it back so the bottom piece is on top. After the 15th day, remove the meat. Use what you want immediately and store the balance in a cool place refrigerated at 38 degrees. It is recommended that after meat is removed from the corning liquid it should be cooked and consumed within one week or frozen for up to one month.

The meat at this stage has a grayish pink color. When cooked, corned meat changes to the characteristic pink color associated with a cured product.

Place the corned meat in a pan with a cover. Add cold water to cover meat. Bring to a boil and remove the scum from the water. Reduce the heat and simmer for about five hours or until tender. Season to taste and serve as the main meat dish.

Only good quality, properly cleaned and cooled game should be canned. To ensure safety of canned meats, meat must be processed in a pressure canner to reach a sufficiently high temperature for a long enough time to kill all bacteria that cause spoilage or food poisoning. Large game animals are canned like beef. Small game animals and birds are canned like poultry. Either type of meat can be raw packed or hot packed.

Procedure: Choose freshly killed and dressed, healthy animals or birds. Dressed meat should be soaked one hour in water containing 1 tablespoon of salt per quart and then rinsed. Remove excess fat. Cut meat into suitable sizes for canning. Can with or without bone.

Hot pack – Boil, steam or bake meat until about two-thirds done. Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart, if desired. Fill jars with pieces and hot broth, leaving 1¼ inch headspace.

Raw pack – Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart, if desired. Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces, leaving 1¼ inch headspace. Do not add liquid.

Adjust lids and process as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Canning Time Table For Game­

*Local altitude­ 

(strips, cubes or chunks)

Procedure: Choose quality chilled meat. Remove excess fat. Soak strong-flavored wild meats for 1 hour in brine water containing 1 tablespoon of salt per quart. Rinse. Remove large bones.

Hot pack – Precook meat until rare by roasting, stewing or browning in a small amount of fat. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart, if desired. Fill jars with pieces and add boiling broth, meat drippings, water or tomato juice, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Raw pack – Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart if desired. Fill jars with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-inch headspace. Do not add liquid.

Adjust lids and process as shown in Table 1, using “without bone” recommendations.

(bear, beef, lamb, pork, sausage, veal, venison)

Procedure: Choose fresh, chilled meat. With venison, add one part high-quality pork fat to three or four parts venison before grinding. Use freshly made sausage, seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper (sage may cause a bitter off-flavor). Shape chopped meat into patties or balls or cut cased sausage into 3- to 4-inch links. Cook until lightly browned. Ground meat may be sautéed without shaping. Remove excess fat. Fill jars with pieces. Add boiling meat broth, tomato juice or water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add one teaspoon of salt per quart to the jars, if desired.

Adjust lids and process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes in a pressure canner with pressures listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Canning Time Table for Ground or Chopped Meat­

*Local altitude­ 

The lean trimmings from wild game make an excellent meat for sausage production. Try one of your favorite recipes and substitute wild game or fowl trimmings for the beef portions.

Venison Summer Sausage

15 pounds venison

10 pounds pork trimmings (5 pounds lean, 5 pounds fat)

7 ounces (2/3 cup) salt

1 ounce (2 tablespoon) commercial cure

1 ounce (2 tablespoon) mustard seed

3 ounces (½ cup) pepper

3 ounces (½ cup) sugar

½ ounce (3 tablespoon) marjoram

Mix salt and cure with coarsely ground venison and pork trimmings. Pack in shallow pan and place in cooler for 3 to 5 days. Then add rest of ingredients and mix well.

Cure is optional. It is used to develop a pink color and as a preservative.

Note: This sausage recipe is quite spicy. If you like less spice, cut down proportions of spices. Smoke sausage as described in the following method.

Smoking Sausage: Stuff prepared sausage into 3-inch diameter fibrous casings. Smoke at 140 F for 1 hour, 160 F for one hour and 180 F until internal temperature reaches 152 F (insert a calibrated meat thermometer
in the thickest part of the sausage to check internal temperature). Remove from smokehouse and rinse/spray with hot water for 15 to 30 seconds. Follow with cold rinse/spray or place in ice water until internal temperature is reduced to 100 F. Let dry 1 to 2 hours. Refrigerate.

Wild Game Polish Sausage

25 pounds 50/50 pork trimmings (50% lean and 50% fat)

20 pounds wild game (lean meat)

1 quart water

14 ounces (11/3 cups) salt

2 ounces (4 tablespoon) cure

½ ounce (6 teaspoon) marjoram

1½ ounces (3 tablespoon) mustard seed

3 cloves garlic

2 ounces (¼ cup) pepper

Mix all ingredients together and grind the product through a coarse plate and follow this with a fine grind. Stuff in hog casing and smoke at 120 F for one hour, 150 F for one more hour, then at 170 F two hours or until internal temperature of 141 F is reached. Follow same procedure as described for smoking venison summer sausage.

Quick Sausage

2 pounds hamburger or deerburger mix

½ teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

2 tablespoon curing salt

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

1 cup water

1 tablespoon mustard seed (optional)

Pack mixture in a water glass to within ½ inch of the top. Use large glass container or enough glass tumblers. Cover and freeze overnight. Run warm water on glass to release. Plastic containers will not crack and are safer, but may pick up flavors from the sausage. Wrap in cellophane wrap. Tie ends. Simmer
1 hour in water. Slice thin.

Note: Hamburger or pork sausage can be mixed with ground venison.

More information and recipes on sausage making are available in FN176 (revised), “The Art and Practice of Sausage Making” available from the NDSU Extension Service. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/art-and-practice-sausage-making

“The Art and Practice of Sausage Making” (FN176) provides directions and recipes for making sausage.
https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/art-and-practice-sausage-making

“Food Freezing Guide” (FN403) provides procedures and recommendations for freezing a wide variety of foods.
https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/food-freezing-guide

“Jerky Making: Producing Traditional Food with Modern Processes” (FN580) provides directions and recipes for making jerky products at home. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/jerky-making-producing-traditional-food-modern-processes

“Wild Side of the Menu, No.1, Care and Cookery” (FN124) provides information on nutrient content, food safety and preparation of wild game. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/wild-side-menu-no-1-care-and-cookery

“Wild Side of the Menu, No.2, Field to Freezer” (FN125) provides information on field dressing, skinning and muscle boning game meat. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/wild-side-menu-no-2-field-freezer

These publications and information about wild game and other food safety/nutrition topics are available on the NDSU Extension website: www.ag.ndsu.edu/food

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