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Home » Wild Game » Venison » Kabanos, the World’s Greatest Slim Jim

Kabanos, the World’s Greatest Slim Jim

By Hank Shaw on February 4, 2013, Updated June 6, 2022 - 104 Comments

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4.75 from 16 votes
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I must confess I’d never heard of kabanos until about eight years ago, I started looking for a superior sausage recipe that used sheep casings. I’d never really used sheep casings before, but I like the idea of narrow, easy-to-eat sausages and salami.

Think Slim Jim, but several orders of magnitude better.

Links of kabanos hanging
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

My first impulse was to make cantimpalitos, the skinny little chorizo sticks from Spain that are to canned Vienna sausages what God is to a lump of mud. I will make these, by the way, but later.

I’d been making a lot of paprika-heavy sausages lately, so I decided to go with something less aggressively spiced. That’s when I read about this Polish kabanos recipe in one of the finest charcuterie books ever written, Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by the Marianski Brothers.

Kabanos, pronounced Kah-bah-NOSS so far as I can tell, is what a Slim Jim dreams about becoming when it grows up. It is fairly lightly spiced with garlic, nutmeg, black pepper and a hint of caraway, smoked over cherry, apple or beech wood, then hung for a few days to dry. Kabanosy is the plural of the word.

It is an unusual sausage because even though it’s air dried, you don’t use starter cultures or Instacure No. 2. The drying process is too short for that.

Traditionally, kabanos is a pork sausage, but really any meat works: Pork, beef, wild hogs, bear, venison, duck or goose, whatever. Kosher versions use chicken or turkey. I used venison, cut with pork fat.

Make LOTS of these, as you will find yourself eating them uncontrollably. Once made, kabanos will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks or so, and after you vacuum-seal them or wrap them tightly, they will freeze for up to a year without loss of quality.

If you can’t find sheep casings where you live, you can buy sheep casings online from The Sausage Maker.

Links of kabanos hanging
Print Recipe
4.75 from 16 votes

Kabanos, Polish Smoked Meat Stick

To make a proper kabanosy, you will need sheep casings. Many butcher shops have them, but they are harder to find than the regular hog casings. You can also buy sheep casings online. In addition, you will need to smoke these links, preferably over cherry, apple or beech wood. If you don't have any of these, oak, maple or hickory would be fine.
Prep Time1 hr 30 mins
Cook Time3 hrs
Total Time4 hrs 30 mins
Course: Cured Meat
Cuisine: Polish
Servings: 10 long links
Calories: 559kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds pork venison, wild boar, bear or other meat
  • 10 ounces pork fat
  • 23 grams kosher salt, about 2 tablespoons plus a teaspoon
  • 3 grams Instacure No. 1, about 1/4 teaspoon
  • 4 grams sugar, about a heaping teaspoon
  • 4 grams crushed black pepper, about 2 teaspoons
  • 2 grams nutmeg, about 1 heaping teaspoon
  • 2 grams caraway seed, 2 teaspoons
  • 1 gram celery seed, about 1/4 teaspoon
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup ice water

Instructions

  • Cut the meat and fat into pieces that will fit in your grinder. Mix all the salts and spices with the meat and fat. Put everything in the freezer for 1 hour to chill. Meanwhile, take out about 20 feet of sheep casings and soak them in tepid water.
  • Grind the mixture in the fine die of your grinder, making sure everything stays cold. If the meat warms beyond 35°F, stop and freeze everything for 30 minutes to cool it down. Put the ground meat in the fridge while you clean up.
  • Using a Kitchenaid or other stand mixer, or your (very clean) hands, add the ice water and garlic. Mix the meat and fat -- use the lowest setting on a stand mixer -- until it binds, about 1 to 2 minutes. Again, put the meat in the fridge while you clean up.
  • Flush the sheep casings with warm water and set aside.
  • Put the meat mixture in your sausage stuffer and stuff into the sheep casings. Remember that sheep casings are weaker than hog casings, so you do not want to overstuff them.  As you are stuffing, fill up a link between 12 inches and 24 inches, leaving plenty of extra casing on either end. Cut the casing and continue to make these large links until you've used all the meat.
  • Use a sterilized needle to pierce the casings wherever there are air pockets. Gently squeeze the meat in the casings to tighten. You may break some until you get the hang of it. If you do, put the meat back into the stuffer and make another link. Once all the links are firm in their casings, tie the ends together in a double or triple knot. Trim any excess casing.
  • Hang the links to dry in a cool place for several hours, depending on how warm it is. If the temperature is 70°F or above, hang for only an hour.
  • Move the links to a smoker and smoke until the interior of the meat hits 150° -- keep your smoker cool enough so that this takes about 4 hours. You want the links to get lots of smoke time.
  • Let the links cool, then move to a place to hang them. Ideally this place is between 35°F and 60°F and dark. Hang the links for 3 to 5 days to let them dry out a bit. They are now reasonably shelf stable, but I keep them in the fridge. If for some reason you plan on keeping them more than a month or so, wrap tightly (or vacuum seal) and freeze.

Nutrition

Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 956mg | Potassium: 331mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1.1mg
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Filed Under: Appetizers and Snacks, Charcuterie, Eastern European, Featured, Recipe, Venison, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for davedave says

    February 7, 2022 at 3:18 pm

    Is drying time appreciably different with 17mm collagen vs sheep casing?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      February 7, 2022 at 3:38 pm

      Dave: I don’t know. I never use collagen casings.

      Reply
  2. Avatar for MaxMax says

    October 22, 2021 at 7:10 pm

    Hank, looks great. I saw your comment about pellet smokers. Mine only goes down to 180, you think two hours would be fime at that temp? I understand I’ll get less smoke, but these are the realities of condo living, and I’m just greatful I’ve got a smoker at all.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      October 23, 2021 at 8:27 am

      Max: Sure, or you could smoke for a couple hours, then cool, then smoke again.

      Reply
  3. Avatar for MarkMark says

    August 21, 2021 at 6:07 am

    Hi, the recipe sounds great, and plan to try it using our home raised hogs…..but I have a few questions: I assume processed ground pork is ok to use? If so, do I need to add pork fat? Do I have to use sheep casings? It’s too hot here in Missouri to hang to dry….I assume I’ll have to use a refrigerator?

    Thank you for your time!

    Mark

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      August 24, 2021 at 1:41 pm

      Mark: You shouldn’t need to add fat if you are starting with ground pork. And since these are snack sticks, yes, you should use either sheep casings or similarly narrow collagen casings.

      Reply
  4. Avatar for JohnJohn says

    May 1, 2021 at 6:08 am

    Are you able to use Morton’s Tender Quick instead of Instacure? If so, would you use the same amount?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      May 1, 2021 at 7:34 am

      John: No. They are not very similar products. Sorry.

      Reply
  5. Avatar for DaleDale says

    December 2, 2020 at 6:17 pm

    Started off super flavorful and enticing straight off the smoker, but after hanging for the 3-day minimum in my 50-60 degree garage these have been left dry and crumbly. They still smell fantastic, but somehow that makes the lackluster taste and texture even more of a disappointment. Am I alone on this one?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 11, 2020 at 11:33 am

      Dale: Sorry that happened, but what I think might have gone wrong is that the bind in the sausage might not have been well developed enough at the get-go, and there might not have been enough fat in them, which would make them dry. Also, 60F is pushing it for hanging temperature.

      Reply
  6. Avatar for SteveSteve says

    October 27, 2020 at 12:56 pm

    Great starter snack stick recipe, forgot to add garlic, but thats on me.

    Reply
  7. Avatar for Ryan lytleRyan lytle says

    May 5, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    Fantastic I have converted many non wild hog eating people with this recipe.

    Reply
    • Avatar for davedave says

      February 5, 2022 at 9:21 am

      Hang temp of 35-60, I assume a typical fridge temp of high 30s is fine, yes?

      Reply
      • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

        February 5, 2022 at 9:27 am

        Dave: For these, yes, because they are so thin. With thicker links, you will need to add a lot of humidity to prevent the outside from drying too fast, which can rot the inside.

  8. Avatar for Alex VPAlex VP says

    March 13, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    Good grief these are fantastic. I added some jalapeno pepper cheese just since I had it sitting in the freezer. My new go to snack stick for sure

    Reply
  9. Avatar for JDJD says

    November 18, 2019 at 9:48 am

    Great recipe! Appreciate the nutrition information at the bottom of the recipe also. Is that information an average per link?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      November 18, 2019 at 9:53 am

      JD: Yes, it’s a rough estimation of the nutrition info per link. I use a program that has a lot of the ingredients I use, just not all of them, so it’s more of an approximation.

      Reply
  10. Avatar for Michael jenningsMichael jennings says

    September 7, 2019 at 6:52 pm

    Really good just add a little chilli (2 teaspoons)ground, had heaps of requests for more, will do again soon. Beer and dry biscuits cheese,yum yum.

    Reply
  11. Avatar for ChrisChris says

    July 9, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    This was off the hook good! I doubled the quantity of ingredients to get a 5 lb batch. No garlic used on first try but will add some next time.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for EricEric says

    February 24, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    Do you think I’d be ok to use a larger casing for these?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      February 25, 2019 at 12:20 pm

      Eric: Not really. Maybe if you got a very narrow hog casing. But the whole point of this is as an easy dried snack stick. When you use thicker casings it becomes more like a traditional salame, which of course would work, but you’d need start culture and Instacure No. 2, not No. 1.

      Reply
  13. Avatar for Luc GendronLuc Gendron says

    February 7, 2019 at 1:13 pm

    Excellent recipe! Made a batch last weekend to try and was very impressed. I definitely recomend making this sausage.
    Making a 21 lb batch of it tonight. I multiplied all the ingredients x 7…. that’s 28 cloves of garlic lol. Hope it’s garlicky enough!

    Reply
  14. Avatar for EricEric says

    January 31, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    Very good stuff. My kid loves landjaegers and this is a close second for him. Made this when it was cold outside so we did the grinding and mixing out in the garage so we didn’t have to keep throwing it back in the freezer. Made for some cold hands, but we go through it.

    Reply
  15. Avatar for MikeMike says

    January 25, 2019 at 10:00 pm

    is the pork fat suppossed to melt while cooking? Or is it supposed to stay whole and visible when cooled down?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      January 27, 2019 at 8:18 am

      Mike: You mean smoking? Some will melt a bit, but if it’s all running out your smoker was too hot.

      Reply
  16. Avatar for EricEric says

    December 4, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Couple questions. Do you put water in the smoker trip tray to keep the humidity up? Any idea what temp to set an electric smoker to get the 150 degrees in 4 hours?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 6, 2018 at 8:42 am

      Eric: You can do that and I do put a tray in when the outside air is very dry. As for temp on the smoker, set it to 150F if you can. I now use a Traeger, so it goes no lower than 165F, and in that case I smoked for only 3 hours.

      Reply
  17. Avatar for ZacZac says

    November 18, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Mild, but outstanding! Everyone would love these!

    Reply
  18. Avatar for TeijaTeija says

    September 26, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    Do you grind the caraway and celery seed or just leave them whole? No garlic?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      September 30, 2018 at 9:03 am

      Teija: I leave the caraway whole. And if you like garlic, put in a few minced cloves.

      Reply
  19. Avatar for Kevin RingelmanKevin Ringelman says

    September 8, 2018 at 1:00 pm

    Last time I made these it was winter in California – no problem finding a cool place to hang them to dry. But, seeing as I want to make another batch tomorrow in Baton Rouge, how critical is the drying phase?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      September 10, 2018 at 4:43 pm

      Kevin: Critical. As in, required. 😉

      Reply
  20. Avatar for Tres BrookeTres Brooke says

    June 8, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    Are these sausages essentially the same as what I generally see in stores sold as “hunter’s sausages”?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      June 10, 2018 at 7:07 am

      Tres: I have no idea. There is no specific “hunter’s sausage.”

      Reply
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Hi, My name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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