Wild Hog Sausage Question

[jjmrascal]

A friend has a peanut-farming buddy who has a wild hog problem.  So he has been trapping them and giving them to my friend, who invited me today to help him butcher and divvy up the meat.  We butchered one 150 lbs sow and 3 little rooters, about 30 lbs each.  The little ones we left whole to try on the bbq pit later but my question is about making smoked sausage out of the mama.

I know I can safely use it for fresh sausage, to be fried in a pan to a good temp, but I wondered about using the meat to hot smoke to 152* using sodium nitrite cure.  Will the cure and cooking temp kill any parasites or worms that may be in there.  I have made sausage for many years but am new to wild hog meat.  I am very excited either way.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[alblancher]

I believe the cure will do little to affect any parasites or their eggs.  To destroy those you need to cook to a proper internal temp of I believe it is 165.  Another option is to freeze the meat for an extended period of time but I believe you would do better bringing the sausage to the higher temp.

I cook very little wild game so I am just going by what i have read.  I bet someone with some experiece will come by and offer better advice

 

[jjmrascal]

Thanks,

I did read that freezing only affects a small band of possible bad guys that can be present in wild pig.  The 152* apparently works well for Trichinosis as the table on this page shows (scroll down 3/4 of the page).  I agree that maybe bringing it to a higher temp is the key, just to be sure.  If anyone else has info, shout out.

Thanks again,

Jeff

 

[chef jimmyj]

Here is some info from the USDA...JJ

Product	°F
Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures
Turkey, chicken	165
Veal, beef, lamb, pork	160
Fresh Beef
Medium Rare	145
Medium	160
Well Done	170
Fresh Veal
Medium Rare	145
Medium	160
Well Done	170
Fresh Lamb
Medium Rare	145
Medium	160
Well Done	170
Fresh Pork
Medium	160
Well Done	170
Poultry
Chicken, whole	180
Turkey, whole	180
Poultry breasts, roast	170
Poultry thighs, wings	180
Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)	165
Duck & Goose	180
Ham
Fresh (raw)	160
Pre-cooked (to reheat)	140
Seafood
Fin Fish	Cook until opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Shrimp, lobster, crab	Should turn red and flesh should become pearly opaque.
Scallops	Should turn milky white or opaque and firm.
Clams, mussels, oysters	Cook until shells open.

Table 6.1. Internal Temperatures for Smoke Cooking of Foods ( USDA-FSIS 1999 ).

[h4]6.3.2. Cooling[/h4]
Cool cooked products rapidly to below 40°F and keep refrigerated. Cooked fish products should generally be cooled from to 70°F or below within 2 hours and to 40°F or below within another 4 hours (US FDA 1998). Minimize handling of cooked products. Dry (unfermented) products may not be hot smoked until the curing and drying procedures are completed. Semi dry fermented sausage must be heated after fermentation to a time/temperature sufficient to control growth of pathogenic and spoilage organisms of concern.
[h3]6.4. Trichinella[/h3]
Pork products must be treated to destroy Trichinella by (a) Heat: A minimum internal temperature of 130°F(30 min.), 132°F(15 min.), 134°F(6 min.), or 136°F(3 min.), (b) Freezing: 5°F(20 days), -10°F(10 days) or -20°F(6 days) for all pork in pieces not exceeding 6 cu. inches. Double the freezing times for larger pieces up to 27 inches of thickness or (c) some combination of curing, drying, and smoking can kill Trichinella, but these are process specific (9 CFR 318.10).

FSIS approved of the use of up to 50% KCl[sub]2[/sub] in place of NaCl for the destruction of trichinae (USDA FSIS 1995c). Wild game (bear, elk, etc.) must be treated to destroy Trichinella by heating to 170°F, since some strains of Trichinella are freeze resistant (CDC 1985).

The source... http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/lit_rev/cure_smoke_pres.html

 

[smokinhusker]

Thanks JJ for the table of info. We hunt elk, mule deer, antelope, waterfowl and turkey, and usually freeze for 30 or more days and this will come in handy.