1st Cold Smoke Sausage

[BillDCat]

Hi All,

I am currently on hour 62 of a 72 cold smoke for chorizo.  I have been able to keep the temp from range 65-80 using a homebrew PID setup.  However, out of the stuffer the sausages sat in fridge for 4 days then in the freezer for three. 

I followed the recipe and used the correct amount of kosher salt and pink salt.  Do I have anything to worry about?  It seems like 72hrs at essentially room temp is peculiar.

Also, as I have not altered my setup for cold smoke (ie cardboard box + dryer vent), I have only been able to apply brief periods of smoke.  This couldn't be a problem could it?!?

One last twisted question: If I were to test a sausage out on old Rover dog ... just in case ... how long would it take to see the effects of botulism?

Thanks!

[Habanero Smoker]

What are your plans after cold smoking?

Pink salt (Cure #1) should be sufficient for the amount of time you are cold smoking the sausage. Then you can treat it as fresh sausage or fully cook it after smoking; but if your long term goal is to dry cure the sausage, then you should have used Cure #2 in your recipe. Nitrites will generally provide protection for bacteria for about a week or a little longer. Freezing extends that protection.

I don't believe that intermittent smoking periods should cause a problem when cold smoking.

[Gizmo]

Not a sausage expert here but I suspect the recipe you are following for 72 hours of smoking is for a standard smoke house which is much different than the bradley.  I wouldn't think you wouldn't need that much smoke, wonder if the product will come out too smokey?
Let us know how it turns out. 

[BillDCat]

Thanks guys!

HS:  I will be using as fresh sausage.  Glad to hear it should be ok.  From the 60-72 hours range the sausage really developed a nice color.  I guess that comes from the curing?  I'm going to grill some up tonight and test it out!

Gizmo:  It by no means had smoke applied for 72 hrs ... maybe 3-4 total.

All:  Does anyone know why the sausage would sit in a smoker for 72hrs if it is not taking smoke for that period?  Could the 72hrs have more to do with curing than smoking? 

Thanks for helping an uber noob out!!  ;D

[manxman]

how long would it take to see the effects of botulism?

Botulism symptoms normally occur after around 16 - 20 hours after eating contaminated food up to about a day and a half but like many things scientific there are exceptions to every rule and it can be just a couple of hours or it can be several days!

Given that botulism is very hard to get I am sure Rover would be willing to take the risk for a tasty piece of chorizo!?  ;) :D

[Mr Walleye]

Does anyone know why the sausage would sit in a smoker for 72hrs if it is not taking smoke for that period?  Could the 72hrs have more to do with curing than smoking?

I'm no expert by any means but here is what I understand about it. This long time at a low temp, usually around 90 degrees but not over 110 degrees, depending on the ingredients the sausage will ferment. Fermentation adds a taste element that simply cannot be duplicated any other way. It adds the "tang" to it. The lactic acid produced by the fermentation provides the sausage with an additional weapon against spoilage. This process also dries the sausage somewhat and is sometimes referred to as a semi-dry sausage. It also gives it that nice mahogony color as well.

If you haven't read the book "Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas, I would highly recommend it. It also has a lot of great recipes. Speaking of which, you didn't mention your recipe or where you got it from. I tend to only use recipes I get from what I feel is a reliable source.

Again, I'm no expert but I hope that helps...

Mike

PS
I have never done a complete cold smoke and treated the sausage as fresh such as you have done. I have held sausage at around 100 degrees for up to 20 hours though before increasing the temp to finish. Keep us posted on how it turns out.

[BillDCat]

Speaking of which, you didn't mention your recipe or where you got it from. I tend to only use recipes I get from what I feel is a reliable source.

I used a recipe from Professional Charcuterie: http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Charcuterie-Sausage-Making-Terrines/dp/0471122378

I think the recipes in this book might be above my pay grade ... I'm going to stick the the recipes in Rulhman's "Charcuterie" for now http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Thanks again for all the help!