# Meat



## nabati (May 6, 2020)

I am new to the smoking game, but ready to jump in.  However, my dad who lives with me is on a low sodium diet which complicates most rubs/sausages/brines.   So my questions are:

1.  If I buy some ground pork and make my own sausage links are they safe to smoke (not a cold smoke a full temp smoke)?

2.  Must all poultry be brined or is it okay to just start smoking after the bired is placed in a marinade (some apple juice/vinegar and spices)?

3.  For smoking poultry without brine, is it still okay to smoke whole or would you advies cutting it? (hopefully plan to do cornish hens and a chicken)

Thanks in advance!


----------



## mike243 (May 6, 2020)

you don't have to brine or salt anything to cook it, you can make rubs with the spices you like and leave out the salt.  On making links just freeze what you don't use within a few days, the nitrates are to help keep safe during low temp smokes , cutting the chicken into smaller parts will cut down the cooking time, a lot of folks like to spatchcock chickens, cutting out the backbone and laying the bird out flat on the rack. have fun lot of good food can be made less the salt. Its our taste buds that need to be retrained to avoid them


----------



## fivetricks (May 6, 2020)

Go to the search forum feature and search recent threads made by 

 pops6927


All of this recent stuff is based on having to be on an ultra low sodium diet. His topics cover a very wide area and you will be sure to find what you're looking for!


----------



## pops6927 (May 6, 2020)

Yes, thank you for asking!  I have had 3   heart attacks and must limit my sodium intake, lest I have another one!  You can cook any fresh meat without salt or other preservatives if you stick to the 40 to 140 in 4 hour rule.  "Raise the internal temp from 40° to 140° within 4 hours for food safety reasons!"


----------

