Here are a few to get you started: Poor Man's Salami 2-21/2 lb ground venison 1 cup water 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, mustard seed 2 tbls liquid smoke 3 tbls Morton's Tender Quick salt Combine all the ingredients and form the mixture into two 8-inch long rolls. Wrap in foil with the shiny side next to the meat. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Pierce the foil in several places on the bottom side of the roll with a toothpick. Place the rolls on the oven rack over a pan containing 1/2 cup water. Bake at 225 derees for about 2 hours. Venison Breakfast Sausage 4 lbs ground venison 2 lbs ground pork 1/2 Burgundy 1tsp garlic powder 2 onions, liquified in blender 4 tsp basic smoke salt* 4 tsp marjoram 3 tbls mustard with horseradish 1 tbls pepper 2 tsp sage 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp ground nutmeg 3/4 tsp rosemary Combine all ingredients well. Form into patties and fry. Or stuff casings to make breakfast links. *Basic Smoke Salt This is a seasoned salt mixture I devised years ago for smoking meats. It's a great general seasoning salt as well: 1 package table salt (1 lb 10 oz) 1 tbls onion salt 2 tbls celery salt 1 tbls garlic salt 2 tbls paprika 4 tbls white pepper 2 tbls dill salt 4 tbls white sugar Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container (canning jars work great) Spicy Game Sausages 1 3/4 lb venison or other game meat, ground 1 3/4 lb pork, ground 1 tbls smoke salt 2 tsp chili powder 2 tsp black pepper 5 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tsp rubbed sage 1/4 tsp ground allspeice variations: 1 tbls curry powder 2 tsp cumin seed Combine all ingredients. Stuff into casings or make into chubs. For people with dietary restrictions forbidding pork, this next is particularly suitible. Scott Darrohn's venison sausage 4 lb venison,ground 1 lb beef fat 2 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne 2 tsp ground sage 1/2 tsp ground allspice Combine venison, beef fat, and seasonings and pass through meat grinder. With hands, shape; meat into 4-ounce patties. The sausage can be prepared any way you like it, or frozen for later use. This next is reminescent of Boudin sausages, but actually has a totally different flavor: Venison & Potato Sausage 10 lbs ground lean venison 10 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 10 lbs ground raw potato 3 lb ground raw onion Sausage casings Grind meat, potatoes and onions separately first, then mix all together with salt & pepper and put through meat grinder a second time. Fill sausage casings by hand or with a sausage stuffer attachment on your meat grinder. Tie off or twist sausage into individual links or leave whole. Do not pack casings too tightly or they will burst when cooked. Wrap in meal sized packages and freeze. To serve, punch a few holes in the casing to release pressure as the sausage expands while cooking. Put frozen sausage in boiling water and let simmer for 45 minutes. If preferred you can add up to 3 lbs ground pork to the mixture before stuffing the casings. BTW, if all you have is ground meat, that's fine. But if you're starting with whole cuts, it's best to spread the herbs and spices on the meat before grinding. Then double grind the meat. This assures that the herbs and spices are evenly distributed throughout.

It was my recipe, Nancy - I can't remember who raved about it - either Sol or Chase, maybe? CHINESE MEATBALLS 2 (20 oz.) cans water chestnuts 3 bunches green onions, chopped 5 lb. lean ground pork 1/4 cup soy sauce 6 eggs, slightly beaten 1 Tbsp. salt 2-1/2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs cornstarch oil for frying Drain and chop water chestnuts; chop onions (top and all). Mix both with meat. Add remaining ingredients, except for the cornstarch and oil. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Chill. Form into balls, using 1 rounded teaspoon for each. Roll lightly in cornstarch. Fry at 370 degrees until well browned. Refrigerate until about ready to serve. Warm before serving. Serve with Chinese meatball sauce. CHINESE MEATBALL SAUCE: 1 cup vinegar 2 cups pineapple juice 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups canned beef consommé 1 can water 2 Tblsp. soy sauce 3 Tblsp. grated fresh ginger 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 cup cold water Heat together vinegar, pineapple juice, sugar, consommé, water, soy sauce and ginger. Mix cornstarch with cold water and gradually stir into vinegar mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until clear and thickened. Serve meatballs in just enough sauce to form a slight glaze in hot chafing dish. More sauce and meatballs can be added as needed. **Note**: Five tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger may be used in place of fresh ginger.

RonÂs Meatballs and Spaghetti This recipe comes from my grandmother. I donÂt know where she got it from but it is at least 130 years old as of 2007 and comes from New Orleans. As usual with old recipes there are no measurements. Meatballs: Hamburger Onions, finely chopped Bread crumbs 2 or 3 eggs for binder depending on amount of hamburger Salt and Black Pepper Mix all and form small, half-dollar, meatballs. Sauce: Onions chopped Bell pepper chopped Celery chopped Amount of Onions equal Bell pepper and Celery combined. "The Trinity" Garlic 2 or more cloves minced 2 Bay leaves Thyme Flour 1 Tbl or more to coat vegetables Tomato sauce, not paste. Water Directions: Saute meatballs in batches and remove. In same pot sauté vegetables. When cooked add flour to coat and cook for a couple of minutes more  donÂt burn. Add tomato sauce to develop a rich red color. Cook down stirring often then add water to half way up pot. When well mixed and cooked add meatballs and continue to cook on slow fire uncovered til done. Stir to prevent sticking. ThatÂs the recipe  now my tips. The amount of flour is used to make a kind of roux with the fat left from the meatballs so the more fat left the more flour needed to absorb. At this point you need to keep stirring just like making a roux and have the tomato sauce ready to cool it down before it burns. This step only takes a minute or two. Rich red color is what it says. Cooking down means reducing til the mixture is thickened. As it thickens it will tend to stick. The hotter you cook it the faster it will try to stick and the closer youÂll have to watch it. It is cooked down (reduced, thickened) when bubbles form on the surface and pop. Kind of messy unless you use a Âsplatter coverÂ, one of those screen wire things that covers a pot. Add water. A good rule of thumb is to add as much water as tomato sauce. Fill the empty tomato sauce cans with water. Cooked til done. The longer it cooks the more flavor is transferred between the sauce and the meatballs. ThatÂs why the meatballs are small. Important! While not mentioned, it was passed down. In the final stage of cooking til done you need to taste to see if enough of the salt and pepper seasoning transferred to the sauce and, if sauce is bitter add a pinch of sugar. And a final tip: During final stage you can turn it off and let it sit til youÂre ready to complete the process. This resting/cooling stage lets the flavors meld as in all Creole cooking  its always better the next day.

Here is a recipe for crunchy herb meatballs with parmesan reggiano cheese (which makes all the difference with this recipe). Ingredients: 1 pound ground pork 1 pound ground round beef 6 oz fresh spinach 2/3 cup of freshly ground, not grated, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (equal to 1/4 to 1/5 pound of non-grated cheese) 2 eggs 2 teaspoons fresh basil 2 teaspoons fresh parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use more, around 3/4 tsp, use more if you like a spicy meatball) 2/3 cup Panko crumbs (you may also substitute homemade breadcrumbs from French bread, but the meatballs will be far less crispy and crunchy) Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, spinach, cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and a 1/2 cup of the panko. Using the claw method, mix all the ingredients until well combined; in this case, you do not want the mix to be just combined, but thoroughly mixed in. You can use the mix right away, however, for better flavor it is recommended that you cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (best would be for 24 hours). Place the remaining 1/2 cup of panko into a wide bowl. Shape the meatballs into medium size balls (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, or the size of an ice cream scooper); roll the meatballs until the outer texture is smooth (the inconsistencies and roughness of the meat are smoothed over). Do not roll more than 12 to 15 times; dip in the panko, and coat evenly. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown and th