just wondering if any one can tell me, to cold smoke sausages do you need to add a cure to the sausage. is there any alternative to insta cure because i have rang some of our suppliers and they dont have it thanks.
you could check out that video on the top left of the page it has info about all kinds of sausage and jerky making. Its called Solutions for meat cutting but is aimed more at sausage and jerky.
Insta cure is just one brand name for a 6.25% sodium nitrite cure and yes, you need to use it if you are smoking meats/ sausage at temperatures below 140 degrees F. The sodium nitrite in the cure prevents botulism bacteria from producing the toxins that cause food poisoning. Sodium nitrite also imparts color and flavor characteristic of cured meats.
Different cures are available for different product applications. Insta cure, Prague Powder #1, or Quick Cure (is what it is called in our store) is the basic cure used to cure cold smoked sausages that will finish out as a fully cooked product. There are prepared cures formulated with sugar and salt used for hams, bacons, poultry, and fish. There are also cures for producing dry cured products like artisan salume, proscuitto, and country hams.
Visit the cures section of our web site to see if we can help! http://store.butchersupply.net/seasonings--sausage--meat-cures-c39.aspx
Brother Jessie hit the nail on the head!! If you do not use at least 6% sodium nitrite (or celery powder which has naturally occurring sodium nitrite in it) you run a very serious risk of botulism. Botulism kills! It is not something you want to mess with or be known for cold smoking takes the meat into the danger zone of 40 degrees to 140 degrees for extended period of time that makes botulism spread very rapidly
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Joe Parajecki
Operations Manager/ Partner
Kettle Range Meat Company, Milwaukee WI
Member Meat Cutter Hall of Fame and The Butcher's Guild
It very much depends on what end product you are hoping to achieve. If the cold smoking is your end process and you will be eating it afterwards than no, you do not need to add any Nitrite. If you are cold smoking to then dry age than yes use it. I never dry age without Nitrite, it is too risky. Like mentioned above, you can use Celery Juice Powder but i'm not a big advocate of that. Since it is not regulated or required to be disclosed on packaging the amounts of Nitrite contained within is unmonitored for PPM and is incredibly variable. You are way better off just using a the #2 and then you know exactly by meat weight how much nitrite to use.
I will add my two cents worth and agree with Berry, Joe & Jessie. While you may not want to use nitrite in your product the risks that you take by not adding it are much too great. Botulism is only one of several nasty bugs that love to grow in the temperature danger zone that cold smoking creates. Better safe than sorry. Good luck to you!
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I'm not a vegetarian, but have eaten many animals that were.
