freezing uncooked meat with cure?

[must8657]

I am wanting to make up several batches of sausage but won't be able to smoke them at the same time.  here are my questions:

1.  can i thaw frozen meat, mix seasoning and cure into it and refreeze?

2.  can i mix seasoning and cure into fresh meat the freeze?

the recipes i have state to leave the mix in the fridge for x amount of time.  what happens if i leave it longer?  will freezing it stop the curing process or does it matter?

sorry if these have been asked before but i couldn't find the answers with a search.
thanks
jason

[Habanero Smoker]

Freezing will stop the curing process, or slow it down to a point there is little chemical reaction. If you read curing recipes it will often state cure between 36° - 40°F. This keeps the meat out of the danger zone, but warm enough for curing to take place.

Though I can't give you a definite answer right now, I would think that freezing will preserve the nitrites. You can thaw meat in the refrigerator, add your seasoning and cure and refreeze, or you can mix seasoning and cure into fresh meat then freeze; either way is safe. To take some extra precaution could you mix up your seasoned batches ahead of time without the cure, and freeze in bulk. Then thaw what you need, add the cure, leave in the refrigerator for a day and then stuff, or are you going to stuff prior to freezing.

For sausage, when a recipes that call for curing for x amount of time, is to insure that the cure has time to evenly distribute prior to stuffing. Leaving it longer will not do any harm, but nitrites only protect for so long. I believe at room temperature they provide protection form about 10 days to 2 weeks; of course in the refrigerator it would be longer.

[must8657]

i didn't even think about stuffing them and then freezing.  i was going to mix it up and then place in vacuum bag.  but stuffing would save me a step.  do you see any problems with stuffing them and then freezing them prior to smoking?
thanks
jason

[Habanero Smoker]

I didn't know if you were going to stuff first or not. I don't foresee any problem with that, but I'm not 100% sure that after freezing for months, if the protective properties of the nitrites will still be present in the meat. I strongly believe they will, but have not found any information on this; other then lower temperatures slow or stop the curing process.

Stuffing them first, forces you to add the cure prior to freezing. Freezing in bulk give you more options. First it makes it easier for you to just mix in just your seasonings without the cure, and freeze the sausage in bulk. Then when you take the amount out of the freezer that you want to stuff and smoke, after thawing that amount out it would be best to add the cure prior to stuffing; though I would refrigerate the cured mixture for a day prior to stuffing to ensure the cure is equally distributed. This also gives you the option of using "fresh" (uncured) sausage in other dishes if you prefer. Often I won't smoke certain sausages, because adding the cure alters the taste too much for me.

One other thing that I forgot to mention in my earlier post. If you are using powdered dry milk or soy protein powder, adding those to mixed meat and having it sit, even for a small period of time prior to stuffing will present some problems. I found that those two ingredients act like a glue and it will make it difficult to extrude during stuffing. If your sausage calls for any of those ingredients, you should not add that or any liquid that the recipe calls for until you are ready to stuff. Then prior to stuffing mix the ingredient, along with the cure in the liquid and then mix well into the meat mixture. Stuff immediately (the liquid will help distribute the cure evenly).