Denny O Here’s what I know from reading on accelerators, and using them in most everything I make that is not fresh sausage. I’m sure others like Jonathon will have more details and info.

On the sodium erythorbate it’s just like leaving your cure for an extra day in fridge. The ECA might be an issue as the coating is delicate and letting it sit around risks more of the citric acid contacting meat, which ruins texture and bind (whole reason you encapsulated the citric acid to start with). But the sodium erythorbate is ok. The smoked meat stabilizer product Jonathon mentioned, contains Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Citrate per it’s description, which act as cure accelerators. I myself just use vitamin c, ascorbic acid, at the rate of 1 gram i.e. 1000mg tablet per 1 kg of meat, per Marianski’s book… mostly because it works good, and I know I’m gonna eat vitamin c anyways and be happy for it also sodium erythorbate since it was in stock at Walton’s and I got a bag of it

But really, you probably know while you’re mixing your block whether you will cook immediately or let it sit overnight in fridge… probably best to not add accelerators unless you plan on stuff and smoke right then. I just never want to leave in fridge overnight, or my wife doesn’t want me too heh. And in Phx, stuff dries fast and I can go right to smoker fast.

However, one reason you might want to add erythorbate (not the acids) and let sit, is that in addition to accelerating the cure by releasing the nitric oxide gas fast, it ALSO fixes the color and can give improved coloring. So for Canadian bacon, as I wanted a good strong pink color, I added some erythorbate for that then let it sit for a week curing. I probably wouldn’t do this for a sausage where I needed to ensure a good bind though.
Edit, it bears repeating, don’t add a cure accelerator to a brine with cure#1 or 2, it will offgas nitric oxide fast and greate poisonous gas you shouldn’t breath! Add to meat block separate from your cure1.

Dave,
Many thanks For your extended explanation in this replay! I’m going to have to restart my WHOLE sausage side thinking.

Fresh sausage is one thing, not getting into that now, it is fresh!

Bacon is something I’m just now getting to the bottom of using some of Walton’s products. I’ve been doing the curing my way as I have done with my tried and true method for several years. With Jonathon help today, I hope to learn from him to see if I like and prefer Walton’s products added.

SO now to this subject of cures, seasonings and other additives for summer sausage and meat sticks is my train of thinking in this thread.

ECA is really my focus. I have recently had the tang flavor and a crisp moist snap in a 15 mm deer meat stick, and a deer summer sausage in a 2 1/2" mahogany collagen casing that I wish to pursue.

My current deer summer sausage has been a few different national premixed seasonings like, Hi Mountain, Lem the one other and then a local mix from Todds here. I have tried several of their seasoning mixes for different deer summer sausages and then combine it with a local smoked pepper cheese that I’m not sure if it is high temp or not. But just LUV the flavor!

My last batch of DSS was with Walton’s high temp smoked pepper cheese, I won’t but that cheese again, it is lack luster. Sorry Waltons.

OOps, I Apologize to the original poster sawdoff for derailing your thread!
Denny O is 10-7.

Now, I have twice tested this and left |Encapsulated-Citric-Acid in a product overnight and not been able to see any issue, however they showed us at Iowa State where they did it and there was severe color issues in the meat before smoking and then the product did not burn as nice and red after.

The thickness of the meat only matters if we are talking about a dry rub or wet brine. When we inject or are talking about sausage those rules don’t apply as we have introduced the cure (and accelerator if we used one) all throughout

And that ascorbic acid and sodium citrate Smoked meat stabilizer sounds like a good mix… I haven’t read anywhere about sodium citrate, but the sodium salts of erythorbic and ascorbic acid are both used as accelerators so I expect it’s effect to be similar to citric acid. But if you’re in a bind then Vitamin C, which is ascorbic acid, works great and you can grab everywhere. 1000mg tablet per 1kg or 2.2 lbs meat.

How fast stuff cures with just salt and cure#1 (salt plus 6.25% sodium nitrite) depends on meat size. Whole muscle 4" diameter like a loin takes maybe 12 days, finely ground stuff with cure well mixed in water 1 day. One inch chunks I’d leave longer than a day. But for just me, I would go longer than 12 hours for anything, to be sure, especially with a larger grind or if I used less than 2.5gram per kg of meat.

P.s. sorry for going onnnn… I’m sitting in a parking lot for 2 hours waiting for my kid to be done an appointment, needed to keep occupied!

On the sodium erythorbate it’s just like leaving your cure for an extra day in fridge. The ECA might be an issue as the coating is delicate and letting it sit around risks more of the citric acid contacting meat, which ruins texture and bind (whole reason you encapsulated the citric acid to start with). But the sodium erythorbate is ok. The smoked meat stabilizer product Jonathon mentioned, contains Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Citrate per it’s description, which act as cure accelerators. I myself just use vitamin c, ascorbic acid, at the rate of 1 gram i.e. 1000mg tablet per 1 kg of meat, per Marianski’s book… mostly because it works good, and I know I’m gonna eat vitamin c anyways and be happy for it also sodium erythorbate since it was in stock at Walton’s and I got a bag of it

But really, you probably know while you’re mixing your block whether you will cook immediately or let it sit overnight in fridge… probably best to not add accelerators unless you plan on stuff and smoke right then. I just never want to leave in fridge overnight, or my wife doesn’t want me too heh. And in Phx, stuff dries fast and I can go right to smoker fast.

However, one reason you might want to add erythorbate (not the acids) and let sit, is that in addition to accelerating the cure by releasing the nitric oxide gas fast, it ALSO fixes the color and can give improved coloring. So for Canadian bacon, as I wanted a good strong pink color, I added some erythorbate for that then let it sit for a week curing. I probably wouldn’t do this for a sausage where I needed to ensure a good bind though.
Edit, it bears repeating, don’t add a cure accelerator to a brine with cure#1 or 2, it will offgas nitric oxide fast and greate poisonous gas you shouldn’t breath! Add to meat block separate from your cure1.

And what if you don’t smoke straight away and end up holding it stuffed overnight? What are the bad things that happen?

This allows you to go right from stuffing to the smoker instead of having to hold it for 12 hours after stuffing.