Problems with my sausage and snack sticks.

[Denny O]

Dave in AZ said in Problems with my sausage and snack sticks.:

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.

[Jonathon]

Denny O No need to be sorry, the hot pepper cheese is basically a Monterey jack, which never had enough flavor for me. I use |High-Temp-Cheddar-Cheese for a few snack sticks like |Willie-s-Snack-Stick-Seasoning and |Habanero-BBQ-Snack-Stick-or-Summer-Sausage and then I use |High-Temp-Ghost-Pepper-Cheese for anything I want to add heat too and |High-Temp-Mozzarella-Cheese for most everything else. |High-Temp-Swiss-Cheese Only comes into play with a few seasonings, usually the ones that I want the creaminess of some extra cheese but no strong cheese flavor.