Being a fairly efficient and enthusiastic harvester of whitetail deer I have quite a bit of it in my freezer.  I eat it almost every day, and have a large number of tasty recipies to keep it interesting.  This past year I had quite a number of different types of sausages (polish, bratwurst, spicy, jalapeno) made and am trying to think of a way to safely bring them on my canoe trips this year.

The question I am asking is: Has anyone tried this before?

I'm going to experiment with dehdydrating whole sausages.  My concern is that, especially with bratwurst, they are not pre-cooked.  So I thought I would pre-cook them by baking them, and then dehydrate them in my machine.  I realize that it might take forever and a day, but I'll see how it goes.  The risk, of course, is that I create hard tooth-breaking meat sticks.  But I'll  give it a shot and report back what I learn.

But...as I asked, has anyone tried this before?

Thanks!

I've dehdrated countless batches of duck and goose jerky, so I think I have a pretty good sense of how it works.  I use an Excalibur dehdrator which I swear by, and as you suggest if I leave it on too long my bird meat turns into rocks.  I have my process dialed in to about 20 hours and I use a timer to shut it off a automatically.

One solution may be to bake it to elimate any microbiogical contimination, and then marinate it for moisture/flavor prior to dehydration.

I'm sure that by baking it I can make sure the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F for the minimum of 10 minutes.  Then, after marination, start the drying process.  Any bacteria within that was there from the processing would be dead, and then allow the heat of the dehdrator to do its magic on the external portions.

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Thanks for the recipe, but I hate summer sausage.  I ate a lot of it as a kid on canoe trips and really liked it.  But on a trip once in my early 30's I just reached my fill and couldn't stand the stuff any longer.

Plus, I have a lot of the already made sausages and I'd like to figure out a way to utilize them in a non-refridgerated portable way.

Thanks asmjock,

A few follow up questions if you don't mind:

As for the smoker, I do have a cheap one I received as a gift, only used once on a goose.  What time at temperature would you recommend for sausage so that it would be safe to keep at ambient temperatures?

As for pickleing, that's a good idea as well.  I corned a couple of venison roasts this past March that turned out well.  Two weeks, temps in the low 30's, in a salty spiced brine.  Like with the smoker, I just don't have a good sense of how long the meat would be safe to eat when it is not cold.  Do you have any idea?

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I'm happy to provide it!

Mix:
1.5 pounds of salt--I used Morton's Canning and Pickling salt (no iodine, just salt)
5 oz of sugar
2 tablespoons of peppercorns
1 tablespoon of whole cloves
6 bay leaves
10 tablespoons of pickling spices
2 onions, chopped
12 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon crushed hot red pepper
1 tablespoon red hot chili powder
several small hot peppers, cut in slices

Mix up all of the dry ingredients above in a huge zip lock bag (2 feet by 1.7 feet).  Then add enough cold water to make the total volume about 3 gallons.  Mix this all up so that all the salt is dissolved.  Add the meat to the bag, squeeze all the air out, and carefully seal the bag.  Put this bag in your cooler, put a bag of ice on top of the bag, and put the cooler in an unheated room that hopefully stays between 30 and 45 degrees.  Put a bag of ice on top of the bag, in the cooler, every day or as needed to keep it cold.

Cure for 2 weeks in a cool spot, preferably around 38 to 40 degrees F.  If you can't do this for every 15 degrees over 40 add 1/3 cup more salt.  Every few days gently mix the bag (don't pop it!).

Now, when it is cured you can freeze it or cook it right away.

Here is how you cook it:

Rinse off corned meat an put in large stew pan.  Cover corned meat with water and simmer for 2-3 hours or until tender.  Add potatoes and carrots one hour before serving, add cabbage 30 minutes before serving.

Serve with horseradish and hot mustard if you like.

Absolutely delicious!  Served with hot cornbread and homemade apple pie.