Is my sausage garbage?

[Jamez74]

I am pretty sure I know the answer to this and that is yes. I used a recipe from a friend at work who makes sausage all the time. His recipe stated to use 3/4 cup of cure along with 3/4 cup of salt for an 80 lb batch. The cure he uses is Mortens Tender Quick so that seems to be way off. I made a 20lb batch and scaled the ingredients back to match. It was cold smoked for an hour, also his suggestion.

This sausage should all go straight into the garbage right?

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Jamez74;

Welcome to the forum. Your friend seems to have a very odd formula for his sausage; if he is added two different cure mixes. It is early, so my math may not be spot on. For example, if he was using cure #1 for an 80lb batch, that would only require 5.25 tablespoons (3.35 oz.), and no other cure. Not the 12 tablespoons he has in his recipe. If one is using Morton's Tender Quick, for 80lb. batch, that would require 120 tablespoons or 7.5 cups 40 tablespoons or 2.5 cups, with no additional cures being added.

Can you clarify what cure(s) you are using. Different cure mixes have different percentages of nitrites and/or nitrates. For example the percentage of nitrites in cure #1 is 6.25%, while Morton Tender Quick has a .5% nitrite, plus .5% nitrate.

When you state Morton's are you referring to Morton salt, or Morton Tender Quick.? If you used both cure #1 and Morton Tender Quick in the amounts he told you, I would throw it out.

How much of each did you put in your sausage?


Edited for math errors.

[Jamez74]

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I used 3.5 tablespoons of Mortons tenderquick.  The salt added was just regular salt not curing salt and that was also about 3.5 tablespoons.

He has been using this recipe for years without any issues.

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm reading my post for early this morning. Like I said, my math get a little off that early, especially when replying to your post, using a calculator, and replying to another email at the same time. ;D ;D ;D The calculation for Morton's TQ was 120 teaspoons, which equals 40 tablespoons and that should have been 2.5 cups.

For a 20lb. batch, the amount of TQ is very low. When using TQ for sausage you should use .5 tablespoons per pound.

His formula may be alright. It is unclear as to which other cure mix he is using.

[Jamez74]

There was no other cure. Just the tenderquick. That's why I am thinking this should not be consumed due to the risk of botulism.

[Jamez74]

I'm reading my post for early this morning. Like I said, my math get a little off that early, especially when replying to your post, using a calculator, and replying to another email at the same time. ;D ;D ;D The calculation for Morton's TQ was 120 teaspoons, which equals 40 tablespoons and that should have been 2.5 cups.

For a 20lb. batch, the amount of TQ is very low. When using TQ for sausage you should use .5 tablespoons per pound.

His formula may be alright. It is unclear as to which other cure mix he is using.

Sorry about the original post, I was not very clear.  The 3/4 cup of cure he uses is Mortens Tenderquick and that is all the cure he uses.

So for a 20lb batch 10 tablespoons should be used. I only used 3.5 but also used another 3.5 tablespoons of regular salt.   It was also only in the smoker for an hour.   From what I read about botulism it needs a low salt environment to grow. With the salt and mortens that was added do you think it would be safe to eat?

[Habanero Smoker]

The standard amount of cure for sausage is to add enough nitrites to achieve 156ppm (parts per million); though as low as 50ppm will provide sufficient protection from botulism. Clostridium botulinum the germ that causes botulism needs low oxygen environment to grow. So bacteria trapped in ground meat, surrounded by a casing, and place in a smoker; at temperatures that are between 40°F - 140°F for extended periods of time; is a good environment. Sodium nitrite is the main ingredient that prevents that growth. Salt will also prevent that growth, but you would need to add the amount of salt that will be 3% - 5% of the weight of the meat. That would make the sausage inedible.

The old motto is "When in doubt, throw it out". But there are a few things to consider here. If you only cold smoked for an hour, and if the meat was properly handled prior to placing it in the smoker, that should be within the requirements of safe handling of fresh sausage. Do you recall the temperature(s) you cold smoked at? Did you allow the sausage to come up to room temperature prior to placing it in the smoker (that will extend the time the sausage was in the danger zone)? How did you handle the sausage once it was out of the smoker?

There is a way to calculate the ppm that your sausage has, but I can't locate that formula online right now to provide you with a link. Don't use the cure calculators you find on line. They are based on cure #1; not Morton TQ. You will need the actual formula, and the weight of TQ, to do the calculations. I know I have it in one of my books and may be able to calculate the ppm's for you.

[Habanero Smoker]

I located the formula to calculate the level of nitrite in your sausage. I can't calculate it for you, because I can't locate my Morton's TQ. I need the TQ  in order to get the weight; which is required in this formula.

PPM = N (Amount of cure in weight in pounds, such as use .25lbs instead of 4 ounces) x % Nitrite in cure x 1,000,000/Weight of meat
PPM = N x % x 1,000,000 / Wt.

For Morton TQ you will need to plug in the weight of 3.5 tablespoons of TQ for the letter "N" that is in the formula. Since TQ is .5% nitrite and .5% nitrate, I'm using 1% in the below formula as the total amount of nitrite. Keep in mind that not all the nitrates may convert to nitrites. If you feel more comfortable using .5%, then plug that into the formula instead of the 1%.

PPM = N x 1% x 1,000,000 ÷ 20lbs.

Also note that in my previous post I listed 156ppm for sausage. Keep in mind that is the recommend maximum.

Edited to clarify how to enter the weight of cure.

[Jamez74]

I'm getting 51.6 ppm.  Still debatable wether it would Be ok I guess. The sausage went straight from the fridge to the smoker then right back into the fridge when done. It has been in the fridge now for 2 days while I try and figure out what to do with it.

[Habanero Smoker]

If you only cold smoked for 1 hour, and returned it to the refrigerator; I would say you are within the safe guidelines of how fresh sausage is handled, plus the 51.6 ppm should provide sufficient protection (other sources say 40 ppm is sufficient). The sausage will be less rosy in color, and have less of that flavor that nitrites add.

The call is yours, but from the information you provided; I would treat it as fresh sausage. If you decide to keep it, what you don't use within the next few days I would freeze. Again, when thawed, I would treat and cook it as fresh sausage.

[Jamez74]

Thank you for the info and your time. It has been much appreciated.

[Habanero Smoker]

You're welcome.

You should discuss the recipe with your friend who provided it. He may have a reason for using the amount of TQ that he uses. It could be he doesn't like the way nitrites change the taste of the sausage.

The below link will provide almost all you need to know about nitrates and nitrites:
Nitrate & Nitrites

Also look around that site. It has great information on smoking sausage & meats, and almost all you need to know about brining (though I don't agree with their brining times :) ).

Edited:
Since they updated their site, it took me awhile to find the information on safe levels of nitrites. Click on the below link. According to their information your sausage is safe as cured sausage. I didn't want to make that statement earlier until I could provide the direct link for you.
What Will Happen if Too Little or Too Much Cure is Added?
Just scroll down until you come to the title "What Will Happen if Too Little or Too Much Cure is Added?". They are experts, written several books, and generally stick strickly to Federal regulations, and recommendations.