OLD FASHION LUNCH MEAT

When I was just a youngster back in the 1960s I used to spend a couple of weeks each summer with my grandparents that lived in Jollyville, Texas.  Jollyville was a hole in the wall between Leander and Austin, at that time it was the only thing between Leander and Austin.  It has long since been swallowed up by Austin and few remember what it was like back then.  It was a small community with only one store and gas pump called Hill’s Store.  I can remember going to the little store which had a small meat case and getting lunch meat sliced. Sometimes my grandparents bought Olive loaf which I hated or bologna which was ok.  Other times they would get Salami or Spiced Luncheon meat. They always had it sliced thin.  I liked the Salami the best, the Spiced Luncheon meat had a good flavor but was greasy which I assume was because it was made from fatty meat trimmings. I came up with a recipe that reminds me of the old time lunch meats we had sliced at Hill’s Store but I know what goes in this one.  I also can slice this as thick as I like for a sandwich.  I think you would enjoy this version and it is not that hard to make.

 

Spiced Salami Lunchmeat

10 pounds of ground meat about 20 to 30 percent fat

2 level teaspoons pink cure salt

4 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons brown sugar

½ cup powdered milk

1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 cups cold water

Mix all dry ingredients together very well. Add the liquid smoke to the 2 cups of cold water and mix all of the dry ingredients into the water until dissolved and mixed well. Once well mixed pour water with spices over the meat and mix until the ingredients are equally distributed though the ground meat. Place meat mixture in the refrigerator, cover and let cool for 12 to 24 hours to let the cure work and the spices blend together. After at least of 12 hours in refrigerator stuff into casings. (I used the jumbo red casings for bologna and lunch meat available online and some sausage supply companies. I bought mine from Lem Supply Co. online. These casings are about 4.5 inches in diameter and perfect for sandwiches.) Soak the casing in warm water for about 30 minutes before stuffing. Add more cold water if needed to the meat blend to help with stuffing the casings. If you use the large fibrous casings you do not even need a sausage stuffer.  Just spoon in the meat and squeeze down the casing until tight and plump then ring or tie off the end. Once the casings are stuffed you can cook them in a smoker or oven, I like somewhere between 225 to 275 degrees. Slowly cook to 155 degrees internal temperature. When internal temperature is up to 155 degrees place in ice water bath for about 15 minutes to prevent shrinkage.  Slice and enjoy.

Wild Ed’s Meat Snack Sticks and Summer Sausage

 

Summer Sausage and Snack Sticks ready to go in the oven

I love meat snack sticks but don’t eat them very often because of the price.  If you figure out the price you pay per ounce for decent ones it comes in around $20.00 per pound. Many of those I have bought taste greasy and there is no way of knowing what is really in them.  Therefore I have been working to come up with one I can make at home for a reasonable price and with quality meat and ingredients. The following is my best so far and can be made with your choice of meats. You can leave out or add spices as you please.  I sometimes add cheese and Jalapenos to the recipe. Come up with your own favorite but until you do I think you will enjoy this one.  ET

10 pounds of ground meat about 20 to 25 percent fat

2 level teaspoons pink cure salt

4 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons brown sugar

½ cup powdered milk

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 cups cold water

17 to 21 mm edible collagen snack stick casings, available at many butcher shops, online sausage supply companies, Amazon and many Academy Sports stores. I use the mahogany colored ones.

Mix all dry ingredients together very well.  Add the liquid smoke to the 2 cups of cold water and mix dry ingredients into the water until dissolved and mixed well.  You can leave out the liquid smoke if you are going to actually smoke the snack sticks.  Since I am doing these in the oven I added the liquid smoke. Once well mixed pour water with spices over the meat and mix until the ingredients are equally distributed though the ground meat. Place meat mixture in the refrigerator, cover and let cool for 12 to 24 hours to let the cure work and the spices blend together. After at least of 12 hours in refrigerator stuff into casings.  Add more cold water if needed to help with stuffing the casings.  Once the casings are stuffed you can dry them in a smoker, oven or dehydrator.  Slowly dry to around 155 degrees internal temperature or to the dryness and hardness you prefer. If using poultry in your meat mix bring to 165 degree internal temperature for safety. Cut to preferred length, package and enjoy.

Observe Fawns From a Distance

 

 

I was out checking livestock water troughs yesterday when I spotted a newborn fawn right by the ranch road.  It did not even raise its head as I watched it for a moment.  The camouflage spotted pattern was almost perfect except it lay on a patch of green making it visible to me.  The sighting reminded me that I needed to post a warning about touching these little fawns. This is the time of year that people come across these beautiful little creatures and want to pick them up or feel they are abandoned and think they are saving them.  Do not touch it, if you get your scent on it the doe may not take it back when she returns.  Deer bond based on smell and if that smell is strange she may not accept the young deer as her own.

Not only are fawns found out in the countryside but also in city neighborhoods, parks and back yards as we encroach into their habitat with housing developments. In Suburbia the deer are quite at home with living on the forage found in large yards and greenbelts. Several generations have been raised among the houses and traffic and thus it is normal for them. What is not normal are the numbers of fawns that are picked up by well-meaning souls that find them laying in the yard or on the edge of a walking trail.   A doe will place her fawn somewhere she feels it is secure and go off to feed. She will later return to check the fawn and nurse it as needed. So many city folks that run across these fawns think they are abandoned or the mother is dead and take them. Not being equipped nor trained in raising deer they either have to get help or try to raise it themselves. Many cannot get the little fawn to nurse or give it the wrong kind of milk and start it towards a cruel death even though they had good intentions. Rehabbers in our area have an overabundance of whitetail fawns they are raising because of the well-intentioned people that have picked them up.

Remember that if you find a fawn leave it where it is unless it is covered by fire ants or is actually in real danger. Do not get your scent on it. The doe will return and retrieve her fawn later. In my almost seven decades of being in the outdoors I have only removed two fawns from the wild.  One was completely covered in fire ants including in the nose and eyes.  The other I took away from a dog carrying it down the side of the highway. If you really think it is abandoned come back and check on it later or watch for the mother in the area. Ninety-nine percent of the time the doe will come back unless injured or killed. It is illegal for you to possess a white-tailed fawn in Texas so if it truly needs help you should go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website and locate a licensed rehabber in your area or call the local game warden. They will take the fawn and give it a chance to survive. Feel free to observe the beautiful wildlife of Texas, but do it from a distance.