New guy - potential problem

[FishnHunt]

Hi guys/gals.  I shot a deer on Sunday w/ my recurve bow and decided to make some sausage. Considering this was my first sausage making & stuffing experience, things went pretty smoothly but it was time consuming.  The intent was to make 30lbs of venison/pork butt sausage and cure by air drying.
My buddy and I used a kitchen aide w/ meat grinder & sausage stuffer attachment to do the processing.  Here is the recipe we used (part of the recipe we found on the internet, the rest was freestyled)

- approx 18 lbs of vension trimmed of all sinew/silverskin/ligament/fat ( this consisted of 2 deboned front shoulders and 2 deboned 2 rear hams)
- approx 11 pounds pork butt, deboned and some fat removed
- 8 tablespoon Sage
- 9 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 6 tablespoon Onion Powder
- 3 tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 4 tablespoon ground Black Pepper (coarse grind)
- 1.5 tablespoon Sugar
- 2.5 tablespoon Cayenne
- 6 TEASPOON Curing Salt #1

If this recipe seems bizarre its b/c we are not versed in sausage making and neither of us have ever tried anything this bold culinary-wise.
Heres how we did it: We ran the venison and pork thru the grinder separately using the hamburger plate.  We kept the meat chilled in freezer when not in use.
We then mixed the meat by hand on the counter w/ wax paper underneath
Then we sprinkled the spice mix over the meat and worked it into the meat
Then we ran the spice/meat mixture thru the grinder/stuffer and into hog casings. 
The 30 lbs of sausage are now in my fridge. 

The main problem is that, from what I now understand, it sounds like we should have used Cure #2 since we were planning to dry cure this sausage after a cold smoke.

Since this sausage was prepared with Cure #1 instead of Cure #2 can it still be air dried or do we need to hot smoke it for safety reasons? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Mr Walleye]

Hi FishnHunt

I'm not a sausage expert by anymeans but I do make a fare amount. To my knowledge you will want to hot smoke the sausage. If you have (if you don't you may want to purchase it) Rytek Kutas book called Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing you can look at a number of recipes where he uses cure #1 and will put the sausage in the smoker and hold it at about 110 degrees for 8 to 20 hours (although these recipes usually involve the use of Fermento), then turn the smoker up to 165 to 170 and bring the IT of the sausage up to 152 degrees. This process does dry the sausage somewhat but not to the extent that dry curing does. In order to dry cure properly you need the ability to control not just the temperature but also the humidity levels.

Using cure #1, I would definitely finish your smoke by bringing the IT of the sausage up to 152 degrees.

Just my humble opinion.

Mike

PS
I forgot to welcome you to the forum... So... Welcome to the forum FishnHunt!  ;)

[pensrock]

I agree with Mike. Hot smoke the sausage as he suggested.

[Habanero Smoker]

Mike and Pens are on the mark.

Cure #1 (sodium nitrite) once mixed with meat will only protect your sausage for 1 to 2 weeks at room temperature; and the two weeks, and I feel anything over 10 days is pushing it. Cure #2 has both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate. The nitrite protects your sausage immediately, while the nitrate acts like a time release capsule, it slowly breaks down providing a steady supply of nitrites throughout the drying process.

[FishnHunt]

Guys thank for the advice AND the explanations.  I'll hot smoke this batch. 
I guess I'll just have to arrow another deer to make some proper dried sausage.  I've found a wealth of info on this site today just doing searches, I cant wait to try some of this stuff out.
Thanks to all the contributors!

[Smoking Duck]

My knowledge has increased exponentially here, FishnHunt, and not just on smoking meats.  Cheeses, sausages, peppers, pizza........many folks here are more than willing to offer any knowledge they have as well as walking you step by step should you need it.  I really felt like luck shined on me when I found this place......

SD

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum FishnHunt!

The others here have you pointed in the right direction.