cure #1, tender quick question

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thatmeatguy

Newbie
Original poster
Sep 26, 2013
1
10
Hey Yall,

very new with this forum but so glad i found community that really passionate about smoking meat ;)

been living in Houston, TX for the last 8 years, love some Texas BBQ! now i moved to indonesia and been wanting to start making my own smoke bbq (cant find them over here)

after reading some threads and recipe, i notice that most recipe called for cure #1 and tender quick.

my question is do i need it to make texas link sausage? i want to have that link texture on the meat and how do i get the redness on links sausage.

i really appreciate the helps!
 
If you plan on smoking your sausages properly, low and slow stepping up the temp every hour then yes you will need the cure in there. It does nothing for the color as stated above. The texture in sausage comes from the way you grind the meat, and the slow smoking process. The smoking process will get you the red color, though not as much as a commercial hot link. Most commercial links add red food coloring, yuck! Check out some of the threads that go through the step cooking process of sausage. Most start at a low temp around 120º then bump the heat 10º every hour until about 180º-190º taking the IT temp of the sausage to 165º. This process when done properly keeps the fats from rendering out.
 
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If you plan on smoking your sausages properly, low and slow stepping up the temp every hour then yes you will need the cure in there. It does nothing for the color as stated above. The texture in sausage comes from the way you grind the meat, and the slow smoking process. The smoking process will get you the red color, though not as much as a commercial hot link. Most commercial links add red food coloring, yuck! Check out some of the threads that go through the step cooking process of sausage. Most start at a low temp around 120º then bump the heat 10º every hour until about 180º-190º taking the IT temp of the sausage to 165º. This process when done properly keeps the fats from rendering out.
I apologize for any misinformation I may have given. I'm no sausage expert, and I'm not doubting or questioning your knowledge, but I have read that some of the pink color is due to the meat being cured. Is this only on whole muscle, cured meat? Something like a salt cured ham? 
 
 
I apologize for any misinformation I may have given. I'm no sausage expert, and I'm not doubting or questioning your knowledge, but I have read that some of the pink color is due to the meat being cured. Is this only on whole muscle, cured meat? Something like a salt cured ham?
You are correct as to the cure causing a pink color. Cured meats have a pink pigment due to the nitrite forming nitrous acid & nitric oxide which combine with the myoglobin in the meat to form nitric oxide myoglobin & give you the pinkish/redish color in cured meat.
 
Yep, some sausage makers will use some cure just to keep the meat from turning a nice shade of gray. There is no need to use it IF you intend to freeze the sausage for future use and grill what you want immediately or within a few days. By grill I mean cook over hot coals or a hot skillet. It's raw ground sausage so must hit 165 IT for safety...or higher if you're concerned about Indonesian meat. The reddish color can be obtained by adding additional paprika, smoked or regular, or some of that Asian Chili flake that is a beautiful red but not as hot as you would expect. Use the search bar and type in hot links for many recipes and more info....Willie
 
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