Cold smoking pork sausages

[picksbigwagon]

We will attempting cold smoking about 50# of pork sausages this fall (2nd weekend of November).  This is the first time I/we have cold smoked raw meat before.  I think we need all the help we can get.  My concerns are how long can we cold smoke them before we have to package them and get them cold?  I am worried about botulism here, do we need to add pink salt to the sausage mix?  We will be using one barrel and two stand up smokers.  I have access to multiple pellet smoker tubes that will crank out enough smoke.  

 

Any help here would go a long ways for sure.  I plan on throwing some cheese on the smokers too, cause hey, smoked havarti is GOOOOOOOOOD

[reinhard1]

Yes, you have to use a cure.  Cure #1 also known as the pink salt.  It goes to a ratio of 1 tsp per 5 pounds.  Or for 50 pounds you need 2 oz.  Make sure these measurements are accurate.  Depending on how you will batch them.  Mix the cure in water before you add the cure.  Sprinkling cure over meat just doesn't do it.  It does not get evenly mixed in to meld.  Use the proper amount of water to what you are making.  I would also recommend using powdered milk if you are going to smoke it.  That is a binder and will absorb all the moisture.  One cup per 5 pounds of mix.  Are you just going to smoke it cold and fully smoke it to a proper internal temp or are you going to smoke it and leaving it fresh?  With a cure after all is mixed you should leave the mix in the fridge overnight so the cure and seasonings can meld and take hold.  good luck.

[picksbigwagon]

I was hoping you would respond R1!  The initial plan is to cold smoke it and leave it fresh, at least that is what the plan is for now.  How much water would we add to 50#'s of pork?  I never thought about a binder but we will get the powdered milk too and refrigerate it for a night too.  

[reinhard1]

So this will be 100% pork I take it.  Are you going to hand mix this or do you have a mixer assuming you are doing a one time 50 pound mix.  Using a cure [pink salt] will give the meat a redish tint to it and also change the flavor profile a bit, just so you know.  I really don't see a problem with doing this.  i'm more concerned about the step by step method's you are going to use by doing this since it's your first time cold smoking fresh meats.  I'm guessing you just want that smoky taste.  We got until November so we can do this.  Not a big deal but there are steps to be taken to be safe.  I have never cold smoked fresh sausage with the idea of leaving it fresh.  I have made for example a 25 batch of sausage with cure, left the mix overnight in the fridge, then stuffed it and smoked half of it and the other half I vac packed it for the freezer right away. I did this because some of us like it smoked and some fresh.   Another side note is that cured meats of any type don't last as long as fresh meats in the freezer, for the salts and nitrates break down by freezing.  I don't have a problem with this because nothing I make lasts longer than 4 months or so.  This goes for bacon also.  This is why I make smaller batches, but I'm assuming you guy's are going to divide it up.  Binders are used mainly for smoked sausage to absorb moisture and reduce shrinkage.  We have some time so we can go step by step.  I like the use of the tube smokers also.  Great tool to have.  I'll be busy today and I'll be back on here tomorrow, so kind of give me an idea of the equipment you have to do this and room in the fridge ect.  This is a great thread to keep going.  I just want to make sure that you get the right results.  good luck.

[rustysetter]

Hi, Pick and R1, just for information purposes, we stuff and cold smoke around 250 pounds of sausage every year, with a ratio of 65% pork always trying to get the heat under 130. The seasoning is salt and pepper to taste as well as freeze dried jalapeños to taste. We have never used any cure so it takes a longer smoke time to get the redish color that makes it look good. We stuff in 50 pound batches and it usually November so keeping things cold is easy. I really appreciate all the great recipes I get from this thread R1 you have a ton of great advice thanks!

We will attempting cold smoking about 50# of pork sausages this fall (2nd weekend of November).  This is the first time I/we have cold smoked raw meat before.  I think we need all the help we can get.  My concerns are how long can we cold smoke them before we have to package them and get them cold?  I am worried about botulism here, do we need to add pink salt to the sausage mix?  We will be using one barrel and two stand up smokers.  I have access to multiple pellet smoker tubes that will crank out enough smoke.  

 

Any help here would go a long ways for sure.  I plan on throwing some cheese on the smokers too, cause hey, smoked havarti is GOOOOOOOOOD

[LindellProStaf]

R1 will give us the info but I thought I have read that being under 140 is the danger zone and shouldn't be in that zone for very long.  I would think cure would be very important when staying below that temp.  I am curious too about this so will be checking in.  I want to smoke some sausages too.  

[delcecchi]

2 hours is what they say about the danger zone.  Except that isn't true either.  It is a time temperature thing.   So a few minutes above 140 kills bacteria.  A longer time above 130 also kills bacteria. 

In the case of cold smoking sausage there is a real issue since the inside of the sausage never gets near 140.  Hopefully the nitrite will inhibit the bad stuff from growing.  

[reinhard1]

I know guy's that cold smoke sausage for up to 8 hours using cure#1 [the pink salt or also known as prague powder 1].   There are two types of this cure.  Cure #1 is what we are talking about now.  Used for cold smoking up to a point and then cooked/smoked to proper internal.  The other is Cure#2  This cure is used only with products that are dry-cured and with products that do not require cooking or refrigeration.  Two total different cures.    There is a 40 to 140 degree danger zone often up to 4 hours but it fluctuates with temperatures in the surroundings you are handling your food.  So It's always important to handle your food quickly as possible and then get it under refrigeration when you are done handling it.  With the cure you are safe in that zone, but not in long periods of time.  I don't cold smoke longer than 4 to 5 hours.  This is ample time to get good color..  Besides when you start increasing the temp after that point you can still give smoke until you are satisfied with color penetration.

 

You also just cant stuff the sausage and start the cold smoke.  The casings have to be dry to the touch before the smoke can penetrate the casings.  You can use a fan to get that done faster.  They should be hung on a rack for this.  This time should be taken into consideration in the whole process.   Those tube smokers also generate some heat so you want to keep them away from being directly under the sausage being smoked.  Kind of like in-direct smoking.