# Sausage safety



## deerslow (Dec 8, 2016)

Hello folks! New to the forum here. Wealth of knowledge on here and I look forward to learning more!

Question about food safety, BUT I just wanted some input from you folks on my specifics of a smoke I just completed.

I have a brand new electric digital smoker. When I broke it in the 1st night I failed to double check the operational temperature, well it is cooler by ~23 degrees. I figured a digital unit would be closer than that!

On to cook day, I had 10 pounds of a venison/boston butt mix (3/1) sausage, using the backwoods trail bologna (inlcudes nitrate mix). They were stuffed into the red non-edible casings. The cook times and meat temperatures are below.

5pm cabinet cooker set at 180 (actually 157)

8pm inserted meat probe (meat was at ~125)

9pm meat was ~130 until 1 am and meat was at ~135

3am meat was ~140

8am meat was 145 (cabinet bumped up to 200 which was actually 177)

5am meat was 145

10am 150 (cabinet bumped up to 210 which was actually 187)

1130am 157

230pm 160 until 430 meat stayed around 160

Having been at such a low temperature ~130's for roughly 6 hours, did my ending temps get high enough, long enough to be safe to eat? I have children that love the meat and I didn't want to risk E coli or anything else. now I know to adjust for the temperature difference in the cabinet. Troubleshooting guide says to refer to temperature calibration, but I cant find any wording on that in the manual. I can easily adjust as needed in the future.

Thanks!


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## SmokinAl (Dec 8, 2016)

It will be fine, as long as there was cure #1 in the mix.

When you say it had nitrate mix in it, I'm assuming that's what you mean.

Al


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## chef jimmyj (Dec 8, 2016)

The cure in the kit bought all the time you needed to get to temp. Had this been Brats, you would have lost the batch...JJ


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## deerslow (Dec 8, 2016)

Great thanks. The cure did come within the flavor pack, as a separate pack, but just for cure. Ill eat some before I feed it to the kids :)

As a redemption I am smoking a fatty tonight, as ya'll call it...


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## smokeymose (Dec 8, 2016)

As you've no doubt figured out, the therms that come with most smokers are only good for decoration. Get yourself a Maverick or two. 
Fatties are great!
Welcome to the forum!
Dan


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## deerslow (Dec 8, 2016)

I was hoping with a digital that is run from the therm it would have been better off. Wish I could calibrate it. I am maxed out at 275, but I am only reaching 255...


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