Smoking and Curing

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dic1207

Newbie
Original poster
May 1, 2012
13
10
South of da Burgh
So I am extremely new to Smoking and curing, and have no one around me with no experience. I am planing to make Some Sweet Italian Sausage, and am planing to freeze it right after i put it in casings. Do I need to cure if I am putting it straight into the freezer?

And if I need to cure the meat what is the simplest way for a inexperienced person?
 
It sounds like you are making a "Fresh Sausage" if you are not planning on cooking it at low temps then a cure is not required
 
A cure allows you to do long, low temperature cooks so you pick up more smoke flavor and lose less fat in the sausage.  Cure also

Improves the color of the product and some say the taste of the product.

A sweet Italian sausage may not need the additional smoke and seems to be a particularly common fresh sausage made without cure.   I suggest you find a good recipe and follow it.  Once you get some experience you can adapt recipes to your own needs and tastes.

Like Pineywoods said, if you keep it cold and get it to 140 degrees internal temp within 4 hours when cooking you do not need cure.  If you intend to cook the sausage low and slow you will be better protected from getting sick with a cured sausage.

Good luck,  ask for advice and the members here will try to keep you going in the right direction.

Al
 
So I am extremely new to Smoking and curing, and have no one around me with no experience. I am planing to make Some Sweet Italian Sausage, and am planing to freeze it right after i put it in casings. Do I need to cure if I am putting it straight into the freezer?

And if I need to cure the meat what is the simplest way for a inexperienced person?
Ask questions and read.
 
icon_question.gif
 Just wanted to follow this thread and see were it goes....
 
Thanks, that answers my question completely. 

Though if i do decide to get into using a cure, what is a good recipe that would be a simple starter?
 
There are several types of curing agents and methods and processes to successfully cure meat.  Your original question was about smoking fresh sausage, then you asked about something needing cure.  What type of product were you looking to do, another sausage like a polish or summer sausage, or a whole muscle product like ham, belly bacon, Canadian bacon, or buckboard bacon?
 
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i agree with those that think in this case you were going to make a fresh sausage.also i agree that , although there are knowledgable people on this site you should study about curing. Rytek Kutas " Sausage maker ' is the one I started with.The food safety aspect is where you need professional guidance.Then go for tried and true recipes , then go for your own personal likes.Beware of the people on websites or books that down play the food safety concerns. Having said that the actual art of making tasty sausages is very simple. Happy sausage making weisswurst
 
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