Sausage Cure Question

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reeko

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Dec 1, 2009
155
10
Forest Grove, Oregon
Planning on grinding and stuffing my first Andouilli sausage today.
Will be using Instacure #1 per the recipe.

Anyway, I don't think I will have time to then smoke it, I imagine it will take 7 hrs or so from start to finish to dry/smoke etc. I even read siuggestions to hang the sausage after smoking a few hours to "bloom" whatever that means, so it is probably more like a 10 hr process.

So, unfortunately my wife planned for us to go out with friends tomorrow afternoon. So, 2 questions:
1)Once I add the cure and then stuff the sausage, is it safe to leave refrigerated for 1 or 2 days before I actually smoke. Will it "over-cure" or anything like that?

2)Is the Hanging to bloom a required step? What does it do? How will it effect the taste (I don't care too much if it is just effects the look of the sausage).

Thanks,
This site is full of great advice.
 
You can't over cure them. Edit; When I say Over cure I mean as in leaving in the frig to long. you can add to much cure to the meat and make it unsafe to eat.
I always go at least a day in the frig with cure and spices to let the flavors meld together.

The bloom I think is more of an appearance thing...darkens the sausage up and dries it out some. I bloom some and not others.

Good luck and don't forget the Q-view
 
Cool.
Can't wait.

We plan to try out the Kitchenaid Grinder & stuffer today. WooHoo.
If it works out good, I have another 2 10lb Shoulders I plan to make Suasage and Boudin from over the holidays.

Time to aquant some of my PNW friends to real Cajun food. I already have them hooked on my Gumbo :)
 
I agree you'll be fine with the time in the fridge, but to be honest I don't know what would happen if you went much more than a few days. In addition to changing the appearance of the sausage, a bloom period also allows the flavors to "meld", kind of an aging and enhancing thing to my mind. It is purely a matter of preference how long, or if you do it.
 
So,
Any concerns with me stuffing today, but smoking Tuesday morning? That is about 40 hiurs in fridge.
My other option is waking up and smoking at 6am tomorrow. But, I am on vacation this week and hate getting up too early.
 
Maybe someone will disagree, but I see no problem with that plan. the nitrates will be doing there thing while it sits in the refrig.
 
No problem with a couple of days in the fridge either before or after grinding. Most recipes call for a couple of days with the meat seasoned and just cut up, then a day after stuffing before smoking to dry and meld a bit. If you are going to use the Kitchenaid to stuff the sausage make sure the meat if very cold and use small amounts at a time. When the meat gets warm it can be a bit sticky making it tough to push down the throat of the stuffer. Because of the expense of a new grinder I use the kitchenaid for the task but I did purchase a small 5 lb stuffer from Harbor Freight.

Al
 
I always fridge it overnight after stuffing to give the cure a chance to work, then smoke the next day. Never any problems that way, but I've never gone more than a single day before smoking it.
 
I think the concensus is you don't have a problem. I have always left my cured sausage in the fridge overnight to meld before smoking. I agree and make sure to measure your cure accurately.

Merry Christmas!
 
I'm not by any means an experienced smoker (unless you count 42 years of Marlboro), but I agree with all previous posts. As far as length of time, I would think 40 hours would be OK. Once you get much past that I would think it would be similar to how long would you want to keep raw hamburger in the fridge after grinding or buying---2 days?, 3 days?, 4 days??? Hmmm, there is a limit. It won't overcure, but it could eventually be a problem----IMO.

Just my 1 1/2 cents,
Bearcarver
 
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