Venison/Elk Mettwurst Smoked Summer Sausage

From "Barbecuing & Sausage-making Secrets" by the Culinary Institute of Smoke Cooking, Charlie & Ruthie Knote. Mix the spices with the water, then mix this with the ground meats thoroughly. Grind again with a hamburger plate (1/8 inch holes) for a finer textured sausage. Makes 3 sausages. To smoke sausage without casing: Refrigerate the mixture 2 to 4 hours for better shaping. Shape 4 pounds of mixed sausage into three loaves 1 1/2" to 2" in diameter by 10" to 12" long. Place each loaf on an 18" long piece of plastic wrap, then roll up tightly. Knead this sausage loaf carefully to eliminate air pockets in the sausage. Prick any air pockets with knife or ice pick, and twist the ends loosely to make a temporary casing. Place the wrapped sausage loaves running accross the wires on your smokers grid. This will produce a better appearance on the finished product. Leave 1/4" space between sausages for heat penetration. Wet smoke-cook in a water smoker, or cook in a custom smoker or kettle grill, or oven, for 45 to 50 minutes at 250 degrees. Do not exceed 275 degrees, or the plastic wrap may melt. You need to cook just long enough to "set-up" the meat, 120-130 degrees internal. Remove the sausage from the smoker, and cool for 10 to 30 minutes in the plastic. You want the meat to reabsorb the liquids, for a moist sausage. Then, remove the plastic wrap. Remove any liquid and sediment from the surface with a paper towel. Dry smoke for 40 to 60 minutes, to an internal temperature of 150 to 155 degrees. Check the temp with a meat thermometer from the end of the sausage. Remove immediately when done, cool and refrigerate. Age for 12 hours up to 5 days in the refrigerator for mellowing out before serving. Cover with foil or plastic to prevent drying out. This can be kept up to 6 months in the freezer without great loss of flavor by wrapping in foil and placing it in a plastic bag. Notes: I tasted the beef version of this recipe, which is made with 1 1/2 lb beef chuck & 2 1/2 lb pork, and does not have the extra garlic & black pepper at the end of the recipe. Twelve people made 1 sausage disappear in less than 10 minutes. Making this without the casing made for an irregular shape, but nobody cared! I havent read to much of this book so far (I only got it last night!), but Im not too impressed by some of the tips and procedures they have. Also, the style of the authors leaves something to be desired. They keep referring to "Food-panicked" Americans, and appear to have an over-inflated opinion of themselves. They do have some good information, and some great recipes, however, and overall, Im not disappointed I bought the book, but you may want to find it for less than the cover price of $14.95. Posted to bbq-digest by chef.paul.g@altavista.net on Dec 17, 1998,