Summer sausage IT only 150 can i eat it

[brey]

Hi all:
I have the 4 rack no pid.
I made 12lb (4) 3lb summer sausage links  for the first time and after 15 hours it was 153 on the 2 in the back and 149 and 150
for those in the front. It was 30 deg out side. (That's warm here on 11-30 ;D)

I had to pull them because it was 5 am and I cold not stay up any longer and was worried they were fating out and in the end they were not.

I did 1h @ 100 3h smk @ 145 to 155 then @165 170 for a very long time, went to 175 185 last 2 hours or so trying to get it done.

The big Question can I eat the two that were 149 and 150 with out joining my gram pa? I could fry them but don't want to eat them that way unless that's the only way.  I let them rest on the counter for 10 mins before the ice water bath but the IT never seamed to climb.

The 153's are great and did not fat out. I wish I would of just left them in there for 1/2 hour longer.
Now what?

[Mr Walleye]

Hi Brey and welcome to the forum.

You didn't mention any recipe so I will assume there is Cure #1 in your sausage or all bets are off.   ;)

Because of the amount of time you sausage was at that 149 to 150 degrees I would say there is no problem with eating them.

Here's a good write on time and what temps you require for it to be safe.
EDIT - Sorry... wrong link, I'll find the right one and post it here for you.

Mike

[brey]

Thanks
It is old fashion summer sausage 957-b  form PS seasoning
It comes with maple cure. That has #1 in it right?
It says 0.84% sodium nitrite

I'v never used maple cure before only #1.
I'v made lots of polish and sticks.

[Sailor]

I take my snack sticks up to 149-150 and pull them without any ill effects.  They have been at that temp long enough to kill any nasties.  I have pulled summer sausage at 149-150 without any ill effects.  There is a chart that shows where meat has to be at what temp to make it safe and I think Mike is looking for it.  I will look and if I find it before he does I will post it.

As far as the maple cure goes I will stand aside as I don't know nuffin bout that.  I use cure #1.

[Sailor]

Found this thread that has a chart with times and temps. http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=30361.msg359677#msg359677 As a full disclosure ....one should take sausage to at least 152 IT or so I have been told.  However I have not had any ill effects and I am still kicking after eating lots and lots of sausage products that were pulled at 149 and above temps. :o

[Mr Walleye]

Thanks Sailor

I've seen that information elsewhere as well.

For me if I'm finishing in the smoker I shoot for an IT of 152. when I finish in a hot water bath I shoot for an IT of 155. The only reason I go higher for the water bath method is simply because the IT rises faster and I want to make sure the IT has been 1t 152 for at least a few minutes.

Having said that there are certainly a number of recipes that call for taking the sausage to an IT of only 145 to 150 degrees by reputable people. For me, I wouldn't hesitate about eating your 2 other chubs.

Mike

[viper125]

140-150 is good for me. but read the other day any ground meat should go to 165 degrees.  But been doing sticks and sausage for some time and at 59 im not to much worried! :-\

[brey]

Well thanks every one. Will eat um.

[Mr Walleye]

Sailor

Those temps that are posted in the link you provided are also in this link from the Food Safety Inspection Service of the USDA.

http://askfsis.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/4648/
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/fr/95033f-a.htm

Mike

[viper125]

Mr walleye. Thats for whole piecs and clued or formed meat. But ground meat is a lot higher.

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[Mr Walleye]

Mr walleye. Thats for whole piecs and clued or formed meat. But ground meat is a lot higher.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Viper

The first link is for non-intact meat. I looked up the definition of no-intact meat on the FSIS web site and it indicated it included ground meat.

That's the thing about these regulations... You'd think they could right them in more reasonable terminology.

I really posted it to show where else the numbers cam from. I can't confirm they are correct for sausage.

Mike

[pmmpete]

In the thread for which Sailor provided a link, I quoted a list from Page 86 of Warren Anderson's book "Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage" of the temperatures and times required to kill the microorganisms which can cause food poisoning in ground beef and pork.  That list is as follows:

160 degrees F - 0 seconds (this temperature will instantaneously kill all organisms)
155 degrees F - 23 seconds
150 degrees F - 72 seconds
145 degrees F - 4 minutes
140 degrees F - 12 minutes
135 degrees F - 37 minutes
130 degrees F - 121 minutes

In that posting, I said that I hadn't been able to locate a government publication which provided that list of temperatures and times.  However, since that time Warren has send me the following link to a USDA Food Safety Inspection Service publication which contains a more detailed version of the list:   http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/fr/95033f-a.htm .  The publication is named "Compliance Guidelines for Meeting Lethiality Performance Standards for Certain Meat and Poultry Products."  (Oops - since I posted this I see that Mr. Walleye has posted the same link, and another one as well).

So Brey, based on the temperatures and times you listed in your original posting on this thread, and the fact that your spice mix contains nitrites, your sausages are all quite safe.  So chow down!  Enjoy!  Don't worry, be happy!

Because your smoker takes a long time to get sausages up to the proper temperatures, next time you make sausage, after you have smoked the sausages for two or three hours, try finishing them in hot water.  Put them in a pot or an electric turkey broiler with water and bring the water temperature up to 160 degrees.  Hold the water temperature at that level until the internal temperature of the sausages reaches 155 for 5-10 minutes, and you'll be done.  This will get your sausages up to temperature much faster than your smoker.  Don't let the water temperature get above 160 because hotter water may melt the fat out of your sausages.

[Mr Walleye]

Thanks pmmpete.

I wondered if you ever heard back from him. I also found a document from the University of Florida called "Guidance for Processing Cold and Hot Smoked Sausage" that also refers to the exact document both you and I posted the link to.

Here's a quote from it.

"Hot smoked meats products should reach an internal temperature of 148°F (64°C) for 115 seconds or
equivalent as recommended by the USDA - Lethality Performance Standards for Certain Meat and
Poultry Products (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/fr/95033f-a.htm). The cooking temperature and time
should be monitored and documented (Appendix 5 - Cooking / Smoking Log). A calibrated, automatic
recording thermometer with internal product temperature probes or calibrated metal-stemmed thermometer
should be available and used during the smoking operations."

Here's a link to it:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FS/FS11600.pdf

Mike

[pmmpete]

I've been looking for a similar chart for smoked fish, but haven't been able to find one.  Presumably the same principles apply, but it would be nice to have an authoritative list of internal temperatures and time for preparing safe smoked fish.

[viper125]

Here is the one I mentioned. Now I cook all my meats except poultry and fish to a temp of 145-155 always have. I only mentioned this because they were asking. But this says 160 for ground meat.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets/Barbecue_Food_Safety/index.asp