A question about my sausage...

[Lordkifar]

Hey folks, just a question here about my sausage...that I will be making :-D ...I want to be 100% sure before doing something stupid.

If I were to make Italian sausage or chorizo or any other variety and stuff them in natural casings, is it ok NOT to use nitrates and nitrites so long as I immediately vacuum seal them and freeze them for future use?

I would not smoke them before or anything. Simply take out and let them thaw and throw on the grill from time to time as desired.

I have no problem using nitrates or nitrites....just won't add them if not necessary.

[Joshw]

The only time you need curing salts, is if you are going to cold smoke, or dry cure. Some sausages call for cure #1 not just for safety, but for a flavor and texture change, If you leave it out, the final product won't taste the same as it should, but it is perfectly safe to leave it out, if you are going to cook it as it is fresh sausage.

[Lordkifar]

The only time you need curing salts, is if you are going to cold smoke, or dry cure. Some sausages call for cure #1 not just for safety, but for a flavor and texture change, If you leave it out, the final product won't taste the same as it should, but it is perfectly safe to leave it out, if you are going to cook it as it is fresh sausage.

Thank you very much for your answer. It is good to know this information your provided me with since this would be my first crack at it.

[worktogthr]

Very good info given above. A little more on the flavor profile. The cure #1 would give it that hammy/hotdoggy flavor we associate with smoked sausages like kielbasa, knockwurst, etc. But for italian and chorizo, that flavor is not usually desired. I only use cure #1 for those sausages where I want that flavor and/or when I want to either cold smoke them or warm smoke them. The cure is necessary in those situations because the sausage's internal temp will be in the danger zone (40-140) for many many hours. So for example, if I smoke some kielbasa at 135 degrees, it might be sitting in the smoker at 100 degrees for an hour to dry, and then take 8-12 hours to come up to my finishing internal temp. Way too much time in that 40-140 range.

[Lordkifar]

Very good info given above. A little more on the flavor profile. The cure #1 would give it that hammy/hotdoggy flavor we associate with smoked sausages like kielbasa, knockwurst, etc. But for italian and chorizo, that flavor is not usually desired. I only use cure #1 for those sausages where I want that flavor and/or when I want to either cold smoke them or warm smoke them. The cure is necessary in those situations because the sausage's internal temp will be in the danger zone (40-140) for many many hours. So for example, if I smoke some kielbasa at 135 degrees, it might be sitting in the smoker at 100 degrees for an hour to dry, and then take 8-12 hours to come up to my finishing internal temp. Way too much time in that 40-140 range.

Ahhhh so for kielbasa which is on my list, this will be absolutely noted!

[EdF]

Well, there's fresh kielbasa and cured kielbasa. I've only made "fresh" sausages, and haven't used nitrates for them. I've made lots.

[IamMadMan]

Hey folks, just a question here about my sausage...that I will be making :-D ...I want to be 100% sure before doing something stupid.

If I were to make Italian sausage or chorizo or any other variety and stuff them in natural casings, is it ok NOT to use nitrates and nitrites so long as I immediately vacuum seal them and freeze them for future use?

I would not smoke them before or anything. Simply take out and let them thaw and throw on the grill from time to time as desired.

I have no problem using nitrates or nitrites....just won't add them if not necessary.

I understand, I used to feel the same way until I wrote an article on curing for a magazine, tidbit below.

The fear of nitrites is a marketing ploy to entice you to purchase a product labeled as "UNCURED" with no added nitrites. They do not intentionally add Sodium Nitrate to the process, but they add other items that are very high in Sodium Nitrate to the curing process. What do they use? Celery, It’s high in nitrates.. Concentrated celery juice is used in the curing process, instead of the naturally occurring mineral sodium nitrate. The FDA allows it to be called “Natural Flavor” instead of “Sodium Nitrite” or “Sodium Nitrate”. It is all a trick to play on our fears so we will buy their product instead of one safely made with a cure. How many times have we heard of "nitrite free bacon" or “nitrite free hot dogs”? They are made without using a traditional curing agent, so they may legally refer to them as “uncured”. This is because the celery concentrate is listed as a flavoring agent not as a cure, but it still has the same nitrites because they use celery juice or celery seed instead of the curing agent and celery juice/seed contains very high levels of nitrates.

Meat is cured with an application of salt, Sodium Nitrite/Sodium Nitrate, and seasoning in order to impart unique properties and flavors to the end product while preventing bacterial growth.

There has been and always will be debate on the use of nitrites and nitrates in curing meat. Some will argue that only salt it is needed as a curing agent. They argue that "mankind has cured meats for centuries without the use of these additives." This statement is only partially true, because “mankind” did not intentionally add the nitrites when curing. The salt they used in the curing process had natural nitrite mineral formations. It is also impossible to tell how many people in these ancient times actually died from food poisoning due to the extended incubation time of these lethal bacteria.

The cure prevents illness from bacteria, due to prolonged exposure at low temperatures, which could result in food-borne illnesses. When people cure they also create a completely different food product like ham, bacon, or sausage from the fresh meat. The prolonged time in the cure is what gives these foods their tell-tale color, textures, and flavors. Without the use of a curing agent present in these processes, the bacteria are free to grow, possibly causing severe illness and even rancidity.

Here is a quote from an article Michael Ruhlman wrote on this... http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/
Full disclosure if you don’t already know: I am a vocal bacon advocate, and one of my books, Charcuterie, relies on sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate for many of its recipes to cure foods such as bacon, ham and salami, so take all this with (a grain of salt), um … no, I’m too pissed off to pun.


Please, if someone can tell me what is wrong with nitrates (in green vegetables) and nitrites (in curing salts and in our bodies, a powerful antimicrobial agent in our saliva, for instance), I invite them to do so here. In the 70’s there were studies finding that at high temps, they could form nitrosamines, cancer causing compounds. I don’t disagree, but burnt things containing nitrite are bitter and unpleasant so we’re not likely to crave them in harmful qualities.


Aspirin is not bad for you, right? Helps with a morning headache and achy joints. It’s even taken for its heart benefits. But eat enough of it and it’s toxic.


The fact is, most nitrates we consume comes from vegetables. Nitrates we consume coverts to nitrite in our body, which is an anti-microbial agent in our guts. Sodium nitrite in bacon cures the bacon and then converts to nitric oxide, so, while I’m not chemist, I have heard others suggest that you’re not actually consuming any nitrite by the time the bacon gets to you. Again, almost all the nitrate and nitrite in your body comes from veggies. It’s an anti-oxidant. Studies are coming out now saying it’s good for the heart.
A study in the Journal of Food Protection put it this way: “Since 93% of ingested nitrite comes from normal metabolic sources, if nitrite caused cancers or was a reproductive toxicant, it would imply that humans have a major design flaw.”


Bacon is one of the greatest foods on the planet, but the food marketers are going to figure out a way to make you buy their bacon. So what they do is use celery powder and celery juice (note the asterisk on the label above) as their nitrate source (celery is loaded with nitrate) and are therefore are allowed to say no nitrites added. Why go to the trouble? Because we don’t know any better. Can we really be this stupid? I have only one word to say on this beyond an emphatic - YES.


Don’t be stupid. Don’t let food marketers trick you. Eat natural, minimally processed foods. Eat a balanced diet. Cook it for yourself and the people you care about. Enjoy a little fat. Salt your own fresh food yourself.


Elise Bauer responds: “The thing that irks me is the “no added nitrites or nitrates” as if the fact that they’re adding celery powder means nothing. Or “uncured” even though they are obviously “curing” with celery powder. It is false, misleading, and playing off of people’s food fears to market their cured product that is loaded with nitrates. When I saw a bright pink slab of corned beef for sale at TJ’s, marketed as “uncured” I knew there was a problem.”

Why do we fear using cures? Are we all really as stupid as Michael Ruhlman suggests? Or are we all simply sheep being led to slaughter that have fallen to marketing propaganda?

Keep in mind that when food is properly cured there are no remaining nitrites, they have been quickly converted to a Nitrous Acid (which lowers the pH, reducing bacteria growth) and then converts to Nitric Oxide which dissipates from the meat as an odorless and colorless gas.

[thirdeye]

Making "fresh" sausage is fine as long as it's fried, grilled, baked, simmered in beer, etc., where you have a somewhat fast cooking time. You don't immediately need to vacuum seal and freeze it, treat it as you would any fresh ground meat product. And it's generally acceptable to USDA guidelines to cook it to 165°, although there are some facts and figures available to bend those rules.

Food safety, cold smoking, or a slight change texture change aside... the addition of pink salt or Tender Quick to fresh sausage is also for adding a light pink color, for eye appeal so to speak. In fact the amount of curing agent might be way less than is required when cold smoking sausage when color is the main objective in a fresh sausage.

[Lordkifar]

I understand, I used to feel the same way until I wrote an article on curing for a magazine, tidbit below.

The fear of nitrites is a marketing ploy to entice you to purchase a product labeled as "UNCURED" with no added nitrites. They do not intentionally add Sodium Nitrate to the process, but they add other items that are very high in Sodium Nitrate to the curing process. What do they use? Celery, It’s high in nitrates.. Concentrated celery juice is used in the curing process, instead of the naturally occurring mineral sodium nitrate. The FDA allows it to be called “Natural Flavor” instead of “Sodium Nitrite” or “Sodium Nitrate”. It is all a trick to play on our fears so we will buy their product instead of one safely made with a cure. How many times have we heard of "nitrite free bacon" or “nitrite free hot dogs”? They are made without using a traditional curing agent, so they may legally refer to them as “uncured”. This is because the celery concentrate is listed as a flavoring agent not as a cure, but it still has the same nitrites because they use celery juice or celery seed instead of the curing agent and celery juice/seed contains very high levels of nitrates.

Meat is cured with an application of salt, Sodium Nitrite/Sodium Nitrate, and seasoning in order to impart unique properties and flavors to the end product while preventing bacterial growth.

There has been and always will be debate on the use of nitrites and nitrates in curing meat. Some will argue that only salt it is needed as a curing agent. They argue that "mankind has cured meats for centuries without the use of these additives." This statement is only partially true, because “mankind” did not intentionally add the nitrites when curing. The salt they used in the curing process had natural nitrite mineral formations. It is also impossible to tell how many people in these ancient times actually died from food poisoning due to the extended incubation time of these lethal bacteria.

The cure prevents illness from bacteria, due to prolonged exposure at low temperatures, which could result in food-borne illnesses. When people cure they also create a completely different food product like ham, bacon, or sausage from the fresh meat. The prolonged time in the cure is what gives these foods their tell-tale color, textures, and flavors. Without the use of a curing agent present in these processes, the bacteria are free to grow, possibly causing severe illness and even rancidity.

Here is a quote from an article Michael Ruhlman wrote on this... http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/
Full disclosure if you don’t already know: I am a vocal bacon advocate, and one of my books, Charcuterie, relies on sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate for many of its recipes to cure foods such as bacon, ham and salami, so take all this with (a grain of salt), um … no, I’m too pissed off to pun.


Please, if someone can tell me what is wrong with nitrates (in green vegetables) and nitrites (in curing salts and in our bodies, a powerful antimicrobial agent in our saliva, for instance), I invite them to do so here. In the 70’s there were studies finding that at high temps, they could form nitrosamines, cancer causing compounds. I don’t disagree, but burnt things containing nitrite are bitter and unpleasant so we’re not likely to crave them in harmful qualities.


Aspirin is not bad for you, right? Helps with a morning headache and achy joints. It’s even taken for its heart benefits. But eat enough of it and it’s toxic.


The fact is, most nitrates we consume comes from vegetables. Nitrates we consume coverts to nitrite in our body, which is an anti-microbial agent in our guts. Sodium nitrite in bacon cures the bacon and then converts to nitric oxide, so, while I’m not chemist, I have heard others suggest that you’re not actually consuming any nitrite by the time the bacon gets to you. Again, almost all the nitrate and nitrite in your body comes from veggies. It’s an anti-oxidant. Studies are coming out now saying it’s good for the heart.
A study in the Journal of Food Protection put it this way: “Since 93% of ingested nitrite comes from normal metabolic sources, if nitrite caused cancers or was a reproductive toxicant, it would imply that humans have a major design flaw.”


Bacon is one of the greatest foods on the planet, but the food marketers are going to figure out a way to make you buy their bacon. So what they do is use celery powder and celery juice (note the asterisk on the label above) as their nitrate source (celery is loaded with nitrate) and are therefore are allowed to say no nitrites added. Why go to the trouble? Because we don’t know any better. Can we really be this stupid? I have only one word to say on this beyond an emphatic - YES.


Don’t be stupid. Don’t let food marketers trick you. Eat natural, minimally processed foods. Eat a balanced diet. Cook it for yourself and the people you care about. Enjoy a little fat. Salt your own fresh food yourself.


Elise Bauer responds: “The thing that irks me is the “no added nitrites or nitrates” as if the fact that they’re adding celery powder means nothing. Or “uncured” even though they are obviously “curing” with celery powder. It is false, misleading, and playing off of people’s food fears to market their cured product that is loaded with nitrates. When I saw a bright pink slab of corned beef for sale at TJ’s, marketed as “uncured” I knew there was a problem.”

Why do we fear using cures? Are we all really as stupid as Michael Ruhlman suggests? Or are we all simply sheep being led to slaughter that have fallen to marketing propaganda?

Keep in mind that when food is properly cured there are no remaining nitrites, they have been quickly converted to a Nitrous Acid (which lowers the pH, reducing bacteria growth) and then converts to Nitric Oxide which dissipates from the meat as an odorless and colorless gas.

Great article, Thanks for the great info. Quite enlightening and helpful. Also explains this whole bit of celery juice I keep seeing online in writeups.

[Badjak]

A little addition to IamMadMan's post:
The amounts of salt that were used in the past to preserve meats was also much higher than we would find acceptable nowadays (basically render the product inedible without soaking first)

I will use nitrites and or nitrates in my smoked sausage and dried sausages.
Fresh: I don't use it as it is not necessary