Sources for Spices and other ingredients
I get all my spices from Con Yeager Spice Company (144 Magill Rd Zelienople, PA 16063; 800.222.2460) and have attended even a class there "Sausage Making Classes for Hunters and Home Hobbyists" which was really good. Rodney Schaffer (email: RSchaffer@conyeagermail.com) is always very helpful with all kind of tips and suggestions. But before contacting him, read the "A General Guide To Sausage Manufacturing And Meat Curing" which includes a ton of information helpful to understand all the details about curing. This guide also explains what the various ingredients do mentioned below.

Deer Ham
So here is one of my starter recipes for deer ham: I have ordered 11.80 pounds of Maple Cure 901 (essentially any cure works with salt, sugar, nitrite), 2.97 pounds of Curaphos (2801), 0.26 pounds of Sodium Erythorbate (685)—all from Con Yeager. This will be fine for 100 pounds of total brine weight (adding 84.87 pounds of water). Then, I added juniper berries and garlic powder. I used soaking and pumping. The entire process includes:

1. Thaw frozen deer ham in fridge.
2. inject brine using stainless steel marinade injector
3. ham goes into plastic barrels for 10 to 14 days of curing at 38 to 42 degrees F (turning 2 times/week)
4. rinse with water
5. salt equalization period of a few days: dry (60-80 % humidity) and cold (42-46 degrees F)
6. overnight in cold water
7. hang for drying for a few hours
8. smoking at cold temperature: 70 - 80 degrees F for 2 weeks
   

Steelhead Trout
I got 5 steelhead trouts from a friend which were caught in a creek near Lake Erie on 11/9/2008.

Figure 1: Fresh Steelhead Trouts

Here the entire process from fresh fish to smoked and frozen fillet:

1. First, I fillet the trouts following a procedure described here.
   
   Figure 2: After filleting
   
   Steelhead Trout Roe Curing: If you are lucky you get some females you can harvest the roe as well. The roe comes whole in a sack called a skein.
   
   Figure R1: In a stainless steel bowl, combine 3 quarts of warm water (100F) and 1 cup of kosher salt for 30 minutes.
   
   
   Figure R2: Lift out the skein, reserving the brin. Under the hot water, remove the membrane. The hot water running over it will shrink and retract from the eggs, allowing the individual eggs to fall into the colander. When all the eggs have been separated, return them gently to the salt water.
   
   
   Figure R3: Pick through the eggs, separating any small bundles and pulling away remaining skein until the eggs are clean. Pour the eggs into a colander and drain the eggs well. They may look a little opaque, but within 15 minutes, will become translucent.
   
   
   Figure R4: Place the eggs in glass jars and refrigerate. The caviar should last two weeks. (Method adapted from Olivia Wu)
   
   
2. Back to the fillets: take filtrated water (bucket with 6 quart water)
   
   Figure 3: Food grade bucket with filtered water.
   
   
3. Let the water cool in bucket in a fridge to 35 F.
   
4. Add first 3671 Sodium Erythobrate (0.8 oz) and stir thoroughly.
   
   Figure 4: Sodium Erythobrate
   
   
5. Then, add 783 Brown Sugar Cure .75% Nitrite (22 oz).
   
   Figure 5: Brown Sugar Cure
   
   Then, add 2801 Haifa Sodium Tripolyphosphate (6 oz).
   
   Figure 6: Haifa Sodium Tripolyphosphate
   
   
   Figure 7: Measure exactly the amount of curing agents!
   
   Add further: 20 Bay Leaves, 4 tsp pepper, 30 juniper berries, 1 TL Garlic powder
   
   Figure 8: Stir thoroughly!
   
   
6. Add the fillets to the brine.
   
   Figure 9: Add the fillets
   The problem is that they are not fully covered. Thus, add a plate to push them down into the brine.
   
   Figure 10: Add a plate
   
   
7. Cure for 24 -48 hours depending on how thick the fillets are.
8. Rinse 20 min in cold water.
9. Put fillets on a kitchen linen twine.
10. Let the fillets hang in the smoker without smoke in order to allow a salt equalization (12 hrs) or store dry (60-80 %) and cold (35-40 F) anywhere else.
11. Smoke for 4 days (If you like dill on top now is the time to add it.)
    
    Figure 11: Smoker door was just opened during begining of the smoking process.
    
    
    Figure 12: Fillets on kitchen twine
    
    
12. Smoke until the fish has a glazed look to it (compare Figure 13 and 14).
    
    Figure 13: Fillet at the start of smoking process—smoke generation has started already.
    
    
    Figure 14: Glazed-looking fillets after 4 days of smoking—black pepper visible.
    
    
13. Take the fish out of the smoker and cool it down before vacuum sealing. After packaging. If the fish was not previously frozen, be sure to freeze it for a couple of days for parasite control.

Smoking
Smoking 101 from About.com: The modern method of smoking foods has evolved from a process of preserving. Long before refrigerators and chemical preservatives, smoke was used to extend the shelf life of food, particularly meat. Now days smoking, as it relates to barbecue is so much more. Smoking adds flavor.

Brine links
Brining at About.com Brining foods in a saltwater mixture before you cook them adds flavor, tenderness, and reduces cooking times. If this sounds like a good thing then its time to learn the basics about brining.

Fish links
Preparation of Salt Brines for the Fishing Industry The use of salt brine for refrigerants and fish curing is common in the seafood industry. It is important to
understand a few basic principles to make and use brines properly. This bulletin attempts to point out some of those basic ideas and principles and provides charts that are useful to anyone who uses brines frequently.

Brine Curing Recipes Most brine recipes contain water, salt, and sugar in various proportions ... others also include various spices. There's no hard rule on what should go into the brine other than definitely salt and some sugar. Feel free to experiment with adding additional spices to your brine.

Smoking Fish at Home Producing a high quality home-smoked fish is a popular recreational activity and a point of pride for many Alaskans. In earlier times, smoking was a form of food preservation; large amounts of salt and long smoking times were used to help preserve the fish. Now fish is smoked more for flavor and appearance.

Smoked Salmon Recipe Cold smoking is very hard to do at home because you need to have a smoker capable of keeping the temperature to 80 F or less. One way to do this is to have your heat source (smoke generator) far enough away that the smoke cools before it reaches your smoker.

Filleting a Salmon After catching your salmon be sure to bleed it and immediately place it on ice. Allow the salmon to go through rigor mortis before attempting to fillet it otherwise the fillets will contract and become tough after filleting.

Smoking Fish The fisherman's catch, if properly preserved, can be a welcome addition to family meals over a period of several weeks or months. Smoking is an excellent way to preserve fish that you don't plan to eat right away. Fish is smoked as it dries over a smoldering fire. Wood smoke adds flavor and color; the brining process helps to preserve the fish.