Sausage making - To Use Cure or Not

Grandpas Grub

 
I am at a bit of a loss here. I want to make some Italian, German sausage and some Bratwurst, I am not sure if I should use the cure or not.

Once done, I plan on cooking them on the egg and the ones I give to the kids I assume will be gassed (gas grilled) or pan fried. As I read this type of cooking I shouldn't use the cure.

I am wondering what type of use would/should I use the cure.

GG

WessB

I regularly make italian and breakfast sausage. I have never used any cure....not saying that this is the correct way to make it....anyway, I keep everything as cold as possible, freeze the grinder head before starting, stuff my casings, rest in the fridge for an hour os so, then foodsaver and freeze....have never had any that were in anyway bad..different types of suasages may require a cure, but I have no personal experience with them..

Gator Bait

 
Hi Kent,

I have only made fresh sausage in the past so for first hand experience I am a zip. I think this article Sausage making does a pretty good job of answering your "I am wondering what type of use would/should I use the cure."

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Prague powder is the same as pink curring salts. Hope this helps.

Have a good night and keep warm,

Gator

 

Grandpas Grub

 
I was thinking it wouldn't do much good to freeze the grinder head because the grind work would heat it up anyway. That is until I read your post below.

What types of meat do you use for your breakfast and Italian sausage? I am using a mix of chuck roast and boston butt.

How long does the sausage last when frozen?

Lastly, what type of stuffer do you use?

Thanks, Kent

Grandpas Grub

 
Thanks for the link, I will go take a look at that.

For this batch I plan on 'fast' cooking it so no cure would be needed.

Maybe it is need for making salami or peperoni and such an not used with Italian, Polish, German Sausage.

Kent

WessB

The grinding DOES heat it up..hence the freezing, and furthermore I hang a ziploc bag of ice over the head on top of that...keeps everything chilled and happy..For all of the sausage I have ever made it has all been 100% boneless pork butt and have benn very happy with the fat to lean ratio...foodsavered, I believe I have had some close to a year old that was still fine...can't say that for a fact cause I don't remeber the oldest date on the bag I ever pulled out of the freezer....I use a vertical stuffer even though the grinder has a stuffer attachment, I just never used it because I already had the vertical stuffer...here's the link to my stuffer but I didn't pay anywhere near this much when I bought it...http://grizzly.com/products/H7776

Let me know if I can be of any other help...

thirdeye

You are right, fresh sausage that will be hot smoked, grilled, fried or baked does not need any curing agents.
However, you will see them sometimes. In these recipes the curing agent is to give the meat a nice pink color after cooking. When curing agents are added to a recipe, you will notice that the amount of salt is low. This is because curing agents are mostly salt. Tenderquick is 99% salt, and pink salt is 94% salt.

Bigwheels Texas Hot Links is a good example of a fresh sausage recipe with a cure. A 7 pound batch has 6 teaspoons of Tenderquick in it, but only 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.


Curing agents should be added to certain sausage recipes that are cold (or low temp) smoked. The curing agent protects the meat during the long, low temp periods of the drying and smoking process.

WessB

I just checked..I have the 5# stuffer http://grizzly.com/products/H6252
Which would explain why I paid so much less..and trust me..that is plenty of sausage stuffing..

Grandpas Grub

 
Is there a slow smoke or cold smoke type of sausage cook?

I also noticed you ground a good amount of sausage with your KA. It took me quite a while to grind 6#.

Stuffing the 6# with the KA stuffer attachment was painfully long and got me quite concerned about the meat being too long in the danger zone. Not sure what I am going to do about that.

What Stuffer do you use?

Kent

Grandpas Grub

 
It would seem it would take 2 people to stuff? Is the stuffing process fairly quick?

I tried using the KA stuffer myself and it just didn't work out well. Always loading the 'tube' was a real pain in the rear end.

I am going to try and use the KA again for grinding but stuffing I will need to get some kind of stuffer.

I did notice Cabela had some refurbished grinders which might be worth a look at.

Kent

WessB

I always have Sally helping me..I believe others have done it 1 man..I'm sure it's possible to do solo but I would avoid it if possible....she cranks the handle and I feed the casing and move the sausage to allow room for more..once you have done it a time or 2 it really is easy..breakfast sausage links suck big time...from now on breakfast sausage will be patties only..the caings are a major pain to rinse, even more trouble to get on the tube..and they split like nobodies business...bigger sausage like italian is a breeze..and yes it is fairly quick, if i'm stuffing italian rings I can stuff a 3 or 4# ring in less than a minute...Cabelas stands behind their sales equally as well as BGE..at least in the 1 or 2 claims I have ever had...

Grandpas Grub

 
Thanks, I have got to do something different with stuffing. Maybe I will run down to Cabela's tomorrow before doing the sausages.

As slow as the KA is I get concerned about the meat getting too warm for to long.

I will be dealing with the casings tomorrow, they look like they are going to be a challenge.

Kent

WessB

Casings arent a big deal at all...in the italian size...I know AlaskanC and at least one other forum member have the 3/4 hp model and are more than happy with it...weigh out what you will get out of it and what it will cost you and then decide what fits your needs and your budget..I personally don't think you can go wrong with a cabelas product..especially if you can go to their store..I have to internet everything from them..and I have plenty of their products...

thirdeye

Yes. Traditional Kielbasa is a good example of a cold smoked sausage. After stuffing it is hung in a cold smoker box without smoke for an hour or two. The temp is less than 100°. This dries the casing and knocks some of the moisture out of the sausage. Then cold smoke is introduced over the next 5 or 6 hours and the smoker temp is gradually increased. This gives you color and partial cooking. At the end of the process, the sausage is dunked in cold water to prevent the casing from wrinkling. Then it is dried again before packaging. As you can see, the 40° to 140° in 4 hour rule is broken, that is where the nitrates in the curing agents come into play. Cold smoked sausage still has to be cooked before eating. Here are some general stages in cold smoking sausage.

Dry at 130° F until internal temp of sausage is around 100° F

Raise to 150° F and smoke until desired color and flavor is achieved - 1 to 4 hours

Raise to 170° F and cook until the internal temp. reaches 140° F

Raise to 185 and cook until internal temp. reaches 155° F. Remove, shower and let bloom. (Develop color).

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My KA is my only grinder. Using the large plate, I plan on 1 pound per minute provided I have the meat in cubes or strips, and it has been chilled in the freezer until slightly icy. My KA mixer is about 20 years old and is the low watt model. I run the speed setting on about 4. When grinding, high RPM is not better.

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The KA stuffer is poor at best. I use a 5 pound vertical one from The Sausage Maker. 20 years ago I paid $125 for it and it is worth every penny. Mine has the metal gears, I think they switched to nylon type gears about 10 years ago. Mine will stuff 5 pounds in about 3 minutes and the second person really has their hands full making coils. When the person cranking re-loads the barrel, the other person has time to make rings or links from the coils.

Grandpas Grub

 
Cabela's is about 30 minutes south of me, pretty close to Thermoworks.

I will probably go down tomorrow.

Kent

Grandpas Grub

 
I cut the meat in cubes, easily fit in the stuff tube. I would think strips would get bound in the augur.

My meat was about 38° when I started and of course went up from there. I used cure in the summer sausage so I am hoping I will be OK. By the time I got it stuffed it got up to 66°. The entire process for 6# took quite a bit of time.

I am going to look at snuffers in the morning before doing the 'non' cure sausages. I think I will cube the meat and then put in the freezer and by the time I get back all should be well.

Thanks, Kent

thirdeye

I grind in 10# batches, sprinkling the spices into the cubes or strips before grinding. Then I dump the tray of meat into a plastic bucket, add my liquid, mix again my hand wearing rubber gloves because the meat is still pretty cold. Then the meat goes into the fridge in my garage overnight for the seasonings to blend.



An hour or two before stuffing I rinse all the casings I'll need (cut or sort out any leakers) and put them in a container full of water. Leave one end out on the rim (see picture in my other post). When you get ready to stuff, the last casing in the water is the first one you pull out. This way you get NO tangles.



Before threading the casing on the tube, run out a little sausage past the end of the tube. This plug will allow the casing to slide on the tube with almost no effort.

WessB

I have found that lightly spraying/misting the outside of the tube with olive oil helps the entire process..on and off immensely..

Grandpas Grub

 
I was wondering why all the ends of the casings were hanging out of the bowl. Thanks for the tips. I tore a couple of casings working with them. I decided not to stuff until I got a stuffer. I am going to go over to Sportsman Warehouse and then a longer trip to Cabela's if I can't find something at the first stop.

The more I think about things, I am probably going to toss the summer sausage and redo it.

How do you deal with the casings you don't end up using or do you must toss them?

Kent

Grandpas Grub

 
Thanks Wess, these things are going to same me some aggravation when doing this.

I went over to the store and talked with the butcher. He said most people end up just buying the done sausage and brats because of the work & cost. I was asking him about casings, he said he would sell me some but it costs him $70 for 2# of casings. I haven't looked into any of that yet as I had just bought some High Mountain Kits.

There are some interesting sausage recipes out there.

Kent

NoVA Bill

Kent, like Wayne said, a five pound stuffer is worth it's weight in gold. I found out this week stuffing sausage is defintely a two-man gig. Love my stuffer - easy to use, breaks down for easy cleaning and a a strong quality built unit.

I went with Northern Industries unit because they have replacement parts, specifically the nylon gears. They have both, metal and nylon gear models if you're willing to pay the extra bucks.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200308623_200308623

Good luck!

WessB

All my casings have been packed in salt..whatever doesn't get used just gets put back into the salt in the bag..and stored in the fridge...

ranger ray

hi.... i concur with everything that wess has said... stuffing by yourself can be a a bit tricky... but i have done it many times.... now i have a cabela's vertical stuffer with an electric feed motor with a foot pedal control.... it's so easy .... i wish i hadn't waited all those years to get one( money was a problem too).... i only use cure when i'm making kielbasa or some kind of smoked sausage....if you're making fresh sausage you don't need a cure.... in fact, i try my best to stay away from any foods with chemicals....when i make fresh sausage .... i only use butts....i use deer and pork when making kielbasi... i have never used a beef mixture...thanks! ray

WessB

Absolutely not having to crank would easily allow it to be a 1 man operation..I may have to look into adding that to my stuffer if possible..Thanks for the idea.

ranger ray

make sure you go to the bargain cave.... you can haggle a bit over the price there too... they have a date code on the items in there.... the longer the stuff hangs around the more they lower the price.... i have their 1 hp grinder( a dream come true!).... i have the meat cuber, jerky slicer, the 30 pound mixer and 30 pound stuffer a hamburger press and the cg 13 suck and seal.... all of which i bought at the cave... i never kept track of the prices.... but saved a ton of money..... here's a tip.... get to be friendly with the guy/gal who works in the food section.... they can check the bargain cave for the things you would like to have and they will call you at home......

ranger ray

oh! you have no idea how much easier it is....the motor a has a speed control on it too.... i can whip up small batch anytime i feel like it....don't have to wait for a buddy or my gf...they often have the motors in the cave.... wess ... if you're interested.... i go to cabels's about one a month.... the motors in the cave run about fifty bucks.... i'm fairly certain that the motors are universal.... i can pick one up for ya or i bought a couple of cg15's(150 bucks) for different guys on here....anything else you might be interested in....and send it down.... shipping shouldn't be too bad.... ray

ranger ray

check "butcher and packer " online for casing and supplies.... they are good guys to work with

thirdeye

Those ends hanging out of the bowl will dry during the soaking time, so snip them off right before slipping on the tube. Depending on their length, you can fit 2 or 3 on the tube.

The ones I buy are packed in salt and come in bags for 25# batches or 100# batches. The 100# batch packages have nicer and longer casings in them. The shriveled up casings are held together with a small string, I undo the string and sort out the amount I think I'll need. I usually try to guess a little long. The remainder just go back in the bag and in the freezer. If I have leftover ones that have been double rinsed and pre soakd to soften, I toss them. If you underestimate and have to rinse and soak more, you can always just do that batch later in the day or the next morning. Giving them time to soften really helps.

If I make flavors like Italian or Farm that I want some of in bulk, I shoot that sausage into these one pound bags. You can also make them into meatballs and freeze, these are really handy.

WessB

Never tried putting 2 or 3 on at once..we will definately give that a try on the next run..some of my casings come out 3 or 4' long...But I will definately give it a try..picked up a couple of good tips from you throughout this whole post..Thanks..

WessB

I'll keep that in mind...Thanks for the offer...it's listed on their site as out of stock with no links, not sure if maybe they dicontinued them or something...but from looking at the small picture they had it looked like it might be a royal PIA to adapt to my stuffer http://grizzly.com/products/H6252