Confused about cure!

[rdetexas]

Hello, just getting into making sausage and I can't find a straight answer on this. Let me explain my upcoming process.

I plan on grinding my mix, stuffing that mix right away, and putting the linked sausage in the fridge overnight so the casings tighten up, so then I can cut them into individual links without worrying about them coming untwisted and vacuum seal 4 links at a time.

My question is do I need to use cure for my method? I know the cure is commonly used in sausage that is cold smoked, but I will not be cold smoking these ever. My smoker only goes as low as 180 degrees anyways, so I will never cook these at Temps below 180. I will either cook a batch right away, or freeze them. Since these sausages are sitting in the fridge, raw and cased, over night only, is cure required? Thank you!

 

[chopsaw]

raw and cased, over night only, is cure required?

No . If you're going to grill or poach them at high temps it's fine . Just cover or bag them while in the fridge so the surface doesn't dry out to much .
I'll put mine on a tray and freeze before vac sealing . So they don't get smashed .

 

[02ebz06]

I 100% agree with chopsaw , cure not necessary for something that is going to frozen or cooked right away.

 

[rdetexas]

Thank you for yall's reply! So I'm trying to understand the purpose of the cure. Is it only for sausage that will be kept in a "dangerous" temperature range (like when cold smoking) for an extended period of time? If so, what would that dangerous temperature range be?

Is there an unsafe amount of time that I should avoid keeping them in the fridge? The longest time I plan on keeping them in the fridge is overnight to harden the casing. I don't plan on ever keeping them in the fridge longer than overnight. How long is to long for the fridge? I'm just worried about that time the sausages will be in the fridge.


Sorry for the questions just want to make sure I'm doing this right, and in a safe manner!

 

[indaswamp]

The dangerous temp. is between 40-140*F for 4 hours. This is for commuted meats like sausage or any whole muscle that has been poked or punctured deeply like a boston butt roast that has been injected. So when smoking sausage the traditional way, the smokehoue temp. starts off low 100-120*F and slowly stepped up 10-15*F over the course of many hours...longer than 4 for sure. This is why you need the cure.

 

[chopsaw]

Is there an unsafe amount of time that I should avoid keeping them in the fridge? The longest time I plan on keeping them in the fridge is overnight to harden the casing.

Your main concern here is the temp of your fridge . I keep mine at 36 degrees . I have an alarmed therm in there to keep and eye on things . Cold and colder are not temps . So even if you put a dial therm in there it will give you a better idea if the temp .
You have about 3 days at temps under 40 .

 

[MICHLITCHSPOKANESPICE]

Hello, just getting into making sausage and I can't find a straight answer on this. Let me explain my upcoming process.

I plan on grinding my mix, stuffing that mix right away, and putting the linked sausage in the fridge overnight so the casings tighten up, so then I can cut them into individual links without worrying about them coming untwisted and vacuum seal 4 links at a time.

My question is do I need to use cure for my method? I know the cure is commonly used in sausage that is cold smoked, but I will not be cold smoking these ever. My smoker only goes as low as 180 degrees anyways, so I will never cook these at Temps below 180. I will either cook a batch right away, or freeze them. Since these sausages are sitting in the fridge, raw and cased, over night only, is cure required? Thank you!

No, cure would not be required. If you are cooking immediately after freezing and bringing to temperature quickly, for instance like you would cook breakfast sausage, then cure is not needed.
When you are smoking you are in a dangerous temperature range for long periods of time, so cure is used to prevent botulism when smoking.

 

[hoity toit]

Hello, just getting into making sausage and I can't find a straight answer on this. Let me explain my upcoming process.

I plan on grinding my mix, stuffing that mix right away, and putting the linked sausage in the fridge overnight so the casings tighten up, so then I can cut them into individual links without worrying about them coming untwisted and vacuum seal 4 links at a time.

My question is do I need to use cure for my method? I know the cure is commonly used in sausage that is cold smoked, but I will not be cold smoking these ever. My smoker only goes as low as 180 degrees anyways, so I will never cook these at Temps below 180. I will either cook a batch right away, or freeze them. Since these sausages are sitting in the fridge, raw and cased, over night only, is cure required? Thank you!

No, you are making fresh sausage. You are on the correct path. Overnight covered in the fridge, then freeze them for later is perfect.

HT