curing and spices?

[viper125]

OK this is probably a preference instead on a need to..but how many people here always let their ground meat sit in refrigerator over night to cure and spices to mingle. I started quite a few years ago mixing it all with water and letting set to give cure time to work. When i moved here a few years ago i had got out of smoking. But my neighbor did and got me started again. Now the reason. He makes a pretty bland to my taste but others like it summer sausage. Only big problem is after being in freezer for a while it gets green patches in it. And I Don't eat green meat. Only thing I can think is he mixes dry and stuffs right away. Maybe the cure isn't getting to all the meat. I have never had that problem but decided to always mix with water and give it time. I have Kielbasa and a batch of trail working in refrigerator.
Reason I'm asking is for opinions and why do it the way you do?

[viper125]

Hmm 6 views and no reply's? Figured their would be a ton of opinions on this question. LOL

[squirtthecat]

I looked at it twice, but I can't help - my stuffer is still in a box...   ;D

[viper125]

HA ha ha Thanks Squirtthe Cat any way.

[grnhs]

Viper125,
I've been understanding that the cure works right away so I would think that there may be an insufficient mixing of it. The spices probably will meld together if given more time to so that may be beneficial over night rest, but I've always mixed well and stuffed, then let it sit in the fridge overnight before smoking.
I'm sure someone more knowlegeable will show up here soon and help out.
     

[NePaSmoKer]

Its just personal preference. I have done both but normally mix and stuff right away. A few times i have mixed and fridged for a couple days before stuffing.

[viper125]

Thanks guys! Well yes I have to Nepa. But after seeing the green he has me doubting things I have all ways though. I was away from smoking for years(about 20 ) Also there has been a lot of changes I see and have to learn.  Mostly more on safety then any thing. So I ask some pretty simple and seemingly stupid things. But besides the years I have also developed a lot of problems and a few diseases. Some are attacking my brain and memory. This at times tends to PO a lot of people. (including my wife. LOL) Some times you can say something and a few seconds late I'll ask the same thing. Makes things a lot harder to do then most people realize. So these days I print my recipes out and even mark off ingredients. I trust nothing to my thoughts or memory. Seems some times I think something was said that wasn't. Now that's really Bull when you can't trust your own mind. LOL I even write out the steps ant times for setup. But even at that I left the salt out of the trail bologna the other day. Now have you ever ate smoked meat with out salt? Sucks big time. So we ground it as suggested and added relish and mayo and salt. Not bad at all. Well sorry for the book but I get carried away some times. Just didn't want anyone to think I was messing with them or wasting their time with stupid questions.

[Bavind]

So I ask some pretty simple and seemingly stupid things.

No such thing. Every time a question is asked and answered by the people on this forum the rest of us learn something new. Because of the people here I have tried things I thought i would ie curing and smoking ham, making bacon, experimenting with sausage etc etc etc. The people on here are the best resource for anyone starting out or experienced. Thanks to everyone on the forum.

[Habanero Smoker]

One of the causes in greenish discoloration in cured meat is nitrite burn, or nitrate burn if he is using cure #2 or salt peter. Depending on how much myoglobin is in the meat, the discoloration could lean toward a grayish color. It is more common in dry fermented sausage, but can happen during other curing methods. (Sometimes spices my discolor the meat, but this is rare.)

If it is nitrite or nitrate burn, it is caused by the excessive use of the cure, or the cure was not mixed well into the meat, or evenly distributed. The greenish discoloration is severe oxidation of the meat pigment producing a green pigment.

Another cause of a greenish discoloration in cured meat could be due to exposure to light and oxygen, which can also cause oxidation to take place. Light and oxygen exposure causes the break down of red color pigmentation that is formed during the curing process.

Both are considered microbial spoilage, that will alter the taste of your sausage. Most of these bacteria; I believe are harmless, but if you have nitrite or nitrate burn, then you are dealing with excessive cure..

[Sailor]

Habs is the go to guy on cures.  I have never had any green meat in my smoked sausage.  I may be doing it wrong but when I do my mix I use distilled water and get my water measurement then I add my cure to the water and dissolve it then I add the other salt that the recipe calls for.  If I am adding non fat dry milk to my sausage it goes in next.  When all of that is dissolved the other spices go in.  That all gets stirred up and then back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Normally I will stuff and then smoke.  If I am using hog casings I have put them back in the fridge overnight before smoking and had no issue.  If I am using collagen casings for snack stix I have found the casings to be loose if I do an overnight rest so they just go on after stuffing. 

I think the main thing is when you mix your meat is to make sure that it is well mixed.  It seems to be a fine line in mixing because you can mix so much that you are separating the fat out of the mix.