Nitrate and cured meat question

[Dotch]

OK, some of you pro's especially RH, this may or may not be something that may or may not have been addressed before but I'm too lazy to dig through here to find it.

Several years ago Mrs. Cheviot was doctoring for migraine headaches. Yes, a real doctor you clowns.  One of her triggers (other than me) was determined to be smoked or cured meats, especially those containing nitrates and nitrites. Bacon and ham are no-no's even though she really loves the stuff. That's great for me but I feel a little guilty eating 10 lbs. of bacon or ham by myself although the bacon off those wrapped portobellos was really delicious...

It's one reason I haven't jumped into smoming with both feet just yet. That and I'm not aware of a lot of lamb sausage recipes but don't know why it wouldn't be bomb. Are there brines, techniques, seasoning packages, etc., that can be used that avoid the issue or will I be the one eating what I smoke and sharing with others? I'll hang up and listen.   

[leechlake]

I smoke a lot of things only using minimal salt and I make certain sausage and only use salt no cure or tender quick.  I guess you want to avoid the cooking/heating method that leaves food in the danger zone of making botulism which would be why you'd add cure.  You can smoke anything without nitrate/nitrites or nitro, ribs, pork shoulder, fish.  If you make sausage you either have to make fresh stuff or heat it over 160 or whatever that temp is.  

Also, tell the wife that constant tv noise at night has been found by many Essential Oil pro's to lead to migraines.  It saves the Earth too.

 

[reinhard1]

Kris said it well.  I do not know about the effects of nitrates.  Stay away from all processed sausage [smoked].  Ham or even some lunch meats.  Check what's in the products before buying them in processed foods.  If you were to make your own sausage with your wife's condition as far as nitrates then just stick to making fresh sausage.  Or you could buy fresh/frozen brats for example like Johnsonville for example.  Even some "cooked" brats do not have nitrates.  Those are easy to just put on the grill and give the goood old grill marks for they are fully cooked.  

A lot of brines do not have cure in them for things you are grilling.  They do not require cures's for you are cooking the meats at a higher temp.  Those brines are for extra moisture and flavor.  Not designed for the smoker which smokes at a lower temp.  Low and slow.  Typicaly those brines are for a few hours or even for 24 hours depending on the size of the item.  So stay away from processed foods and stick to fresh sausage for your wife.  good luck.

[Tom Sawyer]

You can control the nitrates, but what about all the carcinogens found within the yummy smoked foods .......

[delcecchi]

48 minutes ago, reinhard1 said:

Kris said it well.  I do not know about the effects of nitrates.  Stay away from all processed sausage [smoked].  Ham or even some lunch meats.  Check what's in the products before buying them in processed foods.  If you were to make your own sausage with your wife's condition as far as nitrates then just stick to making fresh sausage.  Or you could buy fresh/frozen brats for example like Johnsonville for example.  Even some "cooked" brats do not have nitrates.  Those are easy to just put on the grill and give the goood old grill marks for they are fully cooked.  

A lot of brines do not have cure in them for things you are grilling.  They do not require cures's for you are cooking the meats at a higher temp.  Those brines are for extra moisture and flavor.  Not designed for the smoker which smokes at a lower temp.  Low and slow.  Typicaly those brines are for a few hours or even for 24 hours depending on the size of the item.  So stay away from processed foods and stick to fresh sausage for your wife.  good luck.

You can buy "uncured" bacon and ham at the supermarket, so it stands to reason that you could make your own.  It would probably taste different, and need to be frozen sooner, but would be safe.  Botulism is an Anaerobic bacteria which doesn't grow in the presence of oxygen.   Of course, inside a sausage or salami is no oxygen so cure is used.  But if you keep stuff frozen etc it is ok.  And ham need not have cure.  Country ham or Italian Proscuitto only had salt and maybe smoke. 

So buy some uncured bacon and see how she does.  If she likes it and tolerates it, there you go.   Likewise lamb sausage, if you refrigerate and freeze promptly would be ok.  

Here is a starter, This and some smoming would be good

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/scrap-iron-chefs-bacon-recipe.html