Sasusage goofup

[Fair-chase]

 Maybe I'm wrong here if so please tell me , but if your sausage has set to long with no cure added and   ( spoiled) for lack of a better word taking it to 152 or whatever temp is not going to solve whats happened.

[KevinG]

You are correct, botulism will not go away by cooking if it managed to get started.

[Mr Walleye]

WatchDog56

I have to agree with the rest of the guys... No cure = No smoke

I would rule on the side of safety and toss it if it was me. I know it sucks but just chalk it up to the learning curve. On the positive side nobody got sick and you now know the cardinal rule... If sausage goes into your smoker it must have cure in it.

As others have mentioned, there is nothing wrong with buying seasoning packages for "fresh" sausage but if you decide to smoke it make sure you add the appropriate amount of cure to keep your finished product safe.

Mike

[watchdog56]

OK so I should throw the polish away. The summer sausage had cure in it. If I use the rest of the brat seasoning what do I do to the brats? Boil them or cook them in oven? For how long and at what temps?

[Mr Walleye]

WatchDog

If you have some cure #1 you could use it along with your seasoning and go ahead and smoke it as you did. If you don't have any cure #1 you can go ahead and make fresh sausage with it. Once you have the sausage stuffed you can vac seal them & freeze them for longer term storage. If you plan on using them in a day or two they would be fine in the fridge. As far as cooking them goes just cook them as you would any fresh sausage by frying, grilling, etc.

Mike

[marauder11]

Just make sure you get the fresh up to a good It aswell.

[Gizmo]

For Brats, I like to boil them in beer until they are cooked through and then toss them on the grill to give them color and additional grilled flavor.  The boiling in beer helps ensure you get them cooked through without drying out the meat closer to the surface

[watchdog56]

I don't have cure#1 but I do have Morton's tenderquick. Can I use that and if so is it the same as
Cure# 1 ratio?

[Gizmo]

TQ can be used but it is not the same ratio.  Use the amount that Morton recommends for that type of application.

[watchdog56]

Do you think my summer sausage will be ok? IT has cure in it and it has been in frig on top of the brat about 24 hours?

[Gizmo]

I have never done summer sausage so can't say with any experience.  In general I would think the cure would help protect against any microbes but then I wouldn't put raw unpreserved meat together with something that wasn't going to be cooked.  Your best judgement should be your guide.

[Roadking]

There are lots of sausage mixes out there that are ready to use, which do not contain nitrites. As NePas pointed out, there are sausage mixes that are for fresh sausage. I like to use the ready to use Penzey's Bratwurst Sausage Seasoning, and if I want to smoke them I have to add my own cure #1. The only thing I can say is, if you cooked them without a cure, there is a chance they are alright, but if not vacuum sealing the sausage will only make matters worse. Personally I wouldn't take the chance.

I have to agree with Habanero don't take the chance since you only had an IT of 141. Ditch the product and chalk it up as a "I'll never make that mistake again!" You won't be the first one or last one to mess something up. It's a learning experience.

[Quarlow]

Yeah My last batch of jerky went in the bin. Hurts to $30 worth of meat but it was uneatable.

[Mr Walleye]

WatchDog56

TQ is definitely not the same as Cure #1. Cure #1 is used at the rate of 1 tsp per 5lbs of sausage whereas TQ is 1.5 tsp per 1 lb of sausage.

TQ has a lot higher salt content in it and depending on your seasoning mix it may come out extremely salty.

Cure #1 contains - 93.75% salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite.
TQ contains - 79% salt, 20% sugar, .5% (note decimal point) sodium nitrite and .5% sodium nitrate.

These percentages are just off the top of my head so don't take them as gospel, but they will be close. As you can see from the percentages that the cure #1 formula is much stronger and is why you use less of it. They both use salt as a carrier but in order to get the correct amount of nitrite when using TQ you end up with fairly high salt content. If you are using a recipe where you are adding all your own ingredients it's not as much of a problem because you can just leave out the salt. When you are using a premix it probably already has the salt in it.

Mike

[watchdog56]

Gizmo I had both sausages in casings in the frig. I did not mix raw meat together. They both came out of smoker at different times and after blooming went into frig together overnight.