The Texas BBQ Forum

I am going to be trying some cold smoking of raw sausage next time I make some. Fairly new to sausage making and have made a couple batches and vacuum sealed in freezer until ready to cook and eat. I have been reading that not "curing" raw meat can be dangerous . So far I guess I have been lucky .I always figured well cooked before eating would be safe without having to cure .

So would this be a suitable product from amazon at the rate of one teaspoon per five pounds as shown on the bag ? I doubt if this type of salt with nitrites ? could be found in a regular grocery store although I have not checked .

[url]​https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Lab-No-178-Gluten-Free/dp/B075ZBGVWG/ref=pd_cp_325_3/130-4256194-8514154?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075ZBGVWG&pd_rd_r=56eaec00-42a1-4ca2-897b-64ab6992fb56&pd_rd_w=XlYyO&pd_rd_wg=iZ4dy&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=3V3ACNDRM782489ASRAY&psc=1&refRID=3V3ACNDRM782489ASRAY​​​[/url]

​https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Lab-No-178-Gluten-Free/dp/B075ZBGVWG/ref=pd_cp_325_3/130-4256194-8514154?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075ZBGVWG&pd_rd_r=56eaec00-42a1-4ca2-897b-64ab6992fb56&pd_rd_w=XlYyO&pd_rd_wg=iZ4dy&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=3V3ACNDRM782489ASRAY&psc=1&refRID=3V3ACNDRM782489ASRAY​​​

OK , I couldn't get the link to post but y'all will probably know with me saying it is #1

There’s some great sausage people here. Keep this bumped up and one of them will see it

Rambo wrote:There’s some great sausage people here. Keep this bumped up and one of them will see it

I have not yet been able to find the "bump" button but with that said , I do not understand the idea of chemically curing sausage .I am 83 and I have handled and cooked a LOT of meat of all kinds in my time. I understand about cleanliness and proper cooking and have never has a problem and none have ever required "curing".
So why is sausage singled out as having to be cured .Is it mainly for extra color ? Apart from the hobby aspects of making my own sausage , I am also trying to get away from store bought meats that shows things like nitrites and nitrates and some other words that I cannot pronounce along with certain types of fillers that that they hide in their meats ..

All you have to do to BUMP it is to make a post and then it will come back to the top as unread.

OldUsedParts wrote:All you have to do to BUMP it is to make a post and then it will come back to the top as unread.

Thanks for the bump tip .
Since starting this thread I went searching the two major groceries in my small town. No curing salt. Then tried health food stores and one told me to go to the sporting goods store where I was surprised to find a small size package because amazon only has large quantities . Amazon's is pink. I questioned him about that and he said that is just coloring to distinguish it from white. He said his product is what all the local hunters use with processing their venison. I also asked him about # 1 and # 2 curing salt. Said he never heard of it and again what I got is what all the locals use . I have not yet found the difference between 1 and 2 but will continue to look into that as well .
I understand that 1 level teaspoon full and no more should be used for each five pounds of ground sausage meat .

Try amazon for your curing salt needs. You just have to be careful that you’re getting the right curing number is all. Some ads will say the right words but the wrong curing number.

Try amazon for your curing salt needs. You just have to be careful that you’re getting the right curing number is all. Some ads will say the right words but the wrong curing number.

Copasspupil wrote:Try amazon for your curing salt needs. You just have to be careful that you’re getting the right curing number is all. Some ads will say the right words but the wrong curing number.

Well , there is no number on what I got locally yesterday and showed so I guess if it is good enough for all the hunters in this area that do their venison sausage it should be good enough for me with my pork and beef I am not a hunter and I do not care at all for the taste of venison.

Partly to bump this up and also to ask a dumb question.
If a 5 pound sasage recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of salt and a curing salt is also being used then that would be one of curing salt and 3 of ordinary salt . . . Right ?..?

Go to the sausage board and look at the thread that’s pinned to the top

Rambo wrote:Go to the sausage board and look at the thread that’s pinned to the top

Where is this sausage forum you refer to ? What is the name of it ? The only one I see that even starts with the word sausage is called sausage and cured meats.
Some months ago I was also told to go to that sausage forum and I still haven't found it .

Curing sausage prevents botulism, which can kill you. Something that was a serous health risk before the days of reliable refrigeration. It also gives meat that distinctive color. Morton makes a product called "Tender Quick" which is white and has sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite at a lower ratio than "pink" curing salts. Meaning you have to use more of it to get the same effect. Uncured sausage is perfectly fine too -witness Jimmy Dean sausage and Johnsonville Brauts. You might want to PM Papa Tom, one of the deputies, who has forgotten more about sausage making than I have ever know.

Table salt is sodium chloride, which by itself is a preservative but not a curing agent.

Sadly, where I live, "uncured" is all the rage I find it hard to call uncured-cured bacon, well bacon. Just ain't right.

William O Young wrote:Partly to bump this up and also to ask a dumb question.
If a 5 pound sasage recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of salt and a curing salt is also being used then that would be one of curing salt and 3 of ordinary salt . . . Right ?..?

Yes you should subtract the curing salt from the total amount of salt you need.

My alert is going off.......
Yes you must cure smoked sausage like DAT said it prevents botulism that is nasty.
What you have there is the equivalent of USDA cure #1 (pink salt) and can be safely used at the rate of one level teaspoon per 5lb of meat.

Bratwurst is fresh sausage normally kept cold at or below 40°F until cooked, when you smoke sausage you raise the temp of the sausage between 40-140°F the the temps where bacterial growth is rapid. Because sausage is ground meat where all surfaces have been exposed to air and pathogens it is very important to avoid the 40-140°F temperature range. Also botulism is anaerobic (without oxygen) growing so encasing the meat is ideal for it's growth.

SPECIAL NOTE!! People keep asking me "What about this "uncured" sausage and bacon I see in the meat department? Well basically that is BS it is cured if you will pick up a package and read the ingredients you will find celery listed it so happens that celery is loaded with nitrates (nitrites) and may also contain sodium Sodium Ascorbate (vitamen C) or Sodium Erythorbate both are very effective cure accelerators.

Do the right thing and enjoy!

Thanks for chiming in!!