cure for venison sausage

watchdog56 · January 15, 2010, 06:52:35 AM

OK just ordered a sausage stuffer and expecting it within a week. Thinking of trying venison sausage again. Last time I did not add cure to Cabela's kit and ended up throwing meat away. My question is do I need to use cure #1 or can I use Morton's tender quick cure? I know I would need more of the Morton's but what about the extra salt? Is it going to make the sausage to salty. I plan on smoking it using the casings that come in the kit.

Caribou · January 15, 2010, 06:59:11 AM

Hi Watchdog,
You'll want to be using cure #1 and adjust the salt to your taste.
Carolyn

RAF128 · January 15, 2010, 07:08:46 AM

I've never used a Cabelas kit so don't know what's in it. I have used several sausage kits from Hi Mountain and among the spices is a packet of cure. I'm surprised your kit didn't have a cure in it unless the sausage kit you got is meant for sausage that has to be cooked. Seems to me the instructions in Hi Mountain say if you're making fresh sausage leave cure out.

Roadking · January 15, 2010, 07:23:01 AM

If your kit requires you to smoke the sausage after stuffing add the cure 1 or the Morton's tender quick cure. If your going freeze after stuffing and not smoke don't add either.

Morton's tender quick cure is a combination of salt and cure 1. I use the cure 1 by it's self as I like to adjust the salt taste the way I enjoy it.

harper072554 · January 17, 2010, 09:30:33 AM

I use the Pink Salt myself... I have a buddy who went to Acadamy and bought a sausage making kit and he ruined his sausage...

Roadking · January 17, 2010, 10:25:16 AM

Quote from: harper072554 on January 17, 2010, 09:30:33 AM
I use the Pink Salt myself... I have a buddy who went to Acadamy and bought a sausage making kit and he ruined his sausage...

Is the "Pink Salt" a name of a product by a company or is that what your calling it pink salt. So is it "Cure #1" (some also call it Prague Powder #1} or is it "Morton's Quick Tender"? Reason I'm asking is when you talk about cures be specific. You could make someone very ill with bad information.

Cure #1 is a controlled substance. The cure itself is a combination of a small amount of sodium nitrite on a salt carrier. The correct measurements are for cure 1 is: 1 ounce of sodium nitrite to 1 pound of salt that would give you 1-1/16 pounds of Cure #1.

The "Quick Tender" by Morton I believe has a higher content of salt (don't the know ratios).

drano · January 17, 2010, 12:47:48 PM

Watchdog,
Don't know which kit you got, but if a kit was designed to be smoked, it usually includes cure. And as others have said, we must use cure if we smoke it.
I use cure #1, the pink stuff. I've never used Morton, so can't comment on it.
good luck. Let us know how your batch turned out.

get smokin
drano

Habanero Smoker · January 17, 2010, 02:34:39 PM

I missed this post. When using Morton's Tender Quick for sausage use 1/2 tablespoon per pound of meat and fat, that should be the right amount of salt. TQ also has sugar, so the amount of TQ you are adding is made up of 78% salt and around 21% sugar.

If using cure #1 (pink salt); the recommended amount of salt to use in sausage is 1/3 ounce of salt for each pound of meat and fat; or 1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt) for 5 pounds of meat and fat, but then reduce the amount of salt by the amount to cure that was added. Just as a side note; I have had good success using 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds of meat and fat.

Roadking · January 17, 2010, 04:11:39 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on January 17, 2010, 02:34:39 PM
I missed this post. When using Morton's Tender Quick for sausage use 1/2 tablespoon per pound of meat and fat, that should be the right amount of salt. TQ also has sugar, so the amount of TQ you are adding is made up of 78% salt and around 21% sugar.

If using cure #1 (pink salt) the recommended use is 1/3 ounce of salt for each pound of meat and fat; or 1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt) for 5 pounds of meat and fat, but then reduce the amount of salt by the amount to cure that was added. Just as a side note; I have had good success using 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds of meat and fat.

Habs I think you ought to recheck your amounts for cure #1. I believe it's 4 ounces of cure #1 for 100 pounds or for 10 pounds 2 level teaspoons. 4 level teaspoons equal about 1 ounce.

Habanero Smoker · January 18, 2010, 02:07:18 AM

Quote from: Roadking on January 17, 2010, 04:11:39 PM
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on January 17, 2010, 02:34:39 PM
I missed this post. When using Morton's Tender Quick for sausage use 1/2 tablespoon per pound of meat and fat, that should be the right amount of salt. TQ also has sugar, so the amount of TQ you are adding is made up of 78% salt and around 21% sugar.

If using cure #1 (pink salt) the recommended use is 1/3 ounce of salt for each pound of meat and fat; or 1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt) for 5 pounds of meat and fat, but then reduce the amount of salt by the amount to cure that was added. Just as a side note; I have had good success using 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds of meat and fat.
Habs I think you ought to recheck your amounts for cure #1. I believe it's 4 ounces of cure #1 for 100 pounds or for 10 pounds 2 level teaspoons. 4 level teaspoons equal about 1 ounce.

You are misreading my post, but I guess I could have phrased it better. I'm responding about the amount of salt one adds to sausage. What I'm saying when you use cure #1 or pink salt instead of TQ, the recommended added salt not cure, is: 1/3 ounce of salt for each pound of meat and fat; or 1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt) for 5 pounds of meat and fat, but then reduce the amount of salt by the amount to cure that was added. Just as a side note; I have had good success using 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds of meat and fat.

I have change the post to be more understandable. Thanks for pointing out my previous post could have been misunderstood.

watchdog56 · February 19, 2010, 06:35:44 PM

I am going to make the venison onion and garlic brats from the Cabela's kit again. I also have purchased some cure#1. This time I am going to smoke them and then bloom them. I plan on freezing them in vacuum bags. How long will they keep and will the cure lose it's effectiveness over time?

smokeitall · February 19, 2010, 06:50:59 PM

Hey Watchdog I have used the Cabelas Onion and Garlic Brat kit in the past with great success. I made them with venison and froze them, no cure, no smoke. I vacuum sealed them and we had the last package about a month ago and it was in the freezer for 1 year and still good. If you add cure and smoke let me know how they turn out, I bet they will be good. What IT are you planning on taking them to?
SIA

watchdog56 · February 19, 2010, 06:55:26 PM

hoping to get them to 156 IT. Don't know how long it will take in this cold.Plan on doing it Sunday.

smokeitall · February 19, 2010, 06:58:39 PM

Are you going to stuff then smoke or stuff and rest overnight and smoke? I believe you may have to let them rest in the fridge for 8-12 hours for the cure to work before smoking.
SIA

watchdog56 · February 19, 2010, 07:02:46 PM

stuff and in frig overnight