With the general deer and elk rifle hunting season now underway, successful hunters will be looking for ways to prepare their prepare the big game meat they harvest.

Steaks are great. Burger is versatile. But there’s nothing like the allure of wild game sausage to perk up your taste buds.

With that in mind, I recently came across a web site of Hi-Country Snack Foods, Inc., a Lincoln, Montana, company that has provided sportsmen with homemade jerky and sausage products and expertise since 1976. The site address is: www.hicountry.com.

What is unique about Hi-Country’s web site isn’t just the jerky and sausage-making products that they provide. It’s the instructional video clips the company has recently added to its site that tell you how to use their spice, seasonings and brine kits.

These online instructional video clips are perfect for the novice who has always wanted to make his or her own jerky or sausage, but didn’t know where to begin.

The free video clips range from one minute to 14 minutes in length, depending on the procedure being explained.

“With the Internet, we thought it would be an ideal way to explain to folks who always wanted to do their own snacks whether it be sausage, jerky or smoking a batch of fish, ” said Jim Johnson, the founder of Hi-Country.

“The videos are a collection of knowledge and tips that we have gathered over last 30-some years as we have been producing our products for people.”

All of the instructional videos were produced right at the plant in Lincoln and narrated by Dean Yonkovich, whose slow precise deliver helps to explain each detail of a given process.

“It was a lot of fun to put these video clips together. Our hope is that folks will get pleasure out of making their own product and sharing it with their friends,” Johnson said.

Some of the categories that the how-to videos cover cover include jerky making, game bird jerky making, fresh ground sausage, dinner style sausage, sandwich/snack style sausage, smoked fish, smoked game bird and how to setup your smoker.

Hi Country products are also available for sale on their web site but you may also purchase their product at many retail sporting goods, grocery or convenience stores.

“We are proud to be a Montana company and we are even more proud that we have built a business that now employs over 30 people here in the Lincoln Valley,” Johnson said.

The response so far to the video clips has been excellent. According to Johnson, “Folks tell us that the free online videos helped them along the way and that are custom spices and seasoning products taste great.”

For hunters, it’s another way to turn quality big game meat into quality eating that can be enjoyed all year long.