Dilemma

[twilliams]

So approximately 5 weeks ago i made a 12.5 lb batch of Smoked BBQ sticks and Honey BBQ sticks. I always get about 1 pound of meat that i can not get out of my stuffer so i use my jerky gun to stuff a summer sausage casing with the left over meat. At the time i did not have any summer sausage casing so i bagged it and froze. Today i thawed and stuffed those summer casings, what im very concerned on is the color of the meat. Usually the meat turns brown from the cure. As you can see the pile in the left is Smoked BBQ, right is Honey BBQ and the meat around sides and bottom of tub is fajita that i just stuffed into sticks you can see a distinct color difference. I really dont believe i forgot the cure as i dissolve the cure in distilled water of 2 qts. 1 qt for each 12.5lb batch so the cure would have been in both mixes if it was used and the pile on the right which is honey BBQ does have a darker color. Jonathon thoughts? And anyone else? Have you used the Smoked BBQ and notice not much of a color change, or by freezing and thawing do something different to it?

[twilliams]

I did cut open a snack stick lengthwise of one of my other batches of Smoked BBQ and it does appear to have close to the same red color of meat. Not sure why it wouldnt discolor like other flavors of seasoning but im feeling much better about not forgetting the cure.

[processhead]

twilliams said in Dilemma:

I did cut open a snack stick lengthwise of one of my other batches of Smoked BBQ and it does appear to have close to the same red color of meat. Not sure why it wouldnt discolor like other flavors of seasoning but im feeling much better about not forgetting the cure.

I can’t explain what you observed, but I totally understand that feeling that you might have forgotten some critical ingredient or weighed something out incorrectly.

I try to force myself check items off a list as I add them to a batch.

Another method I used years ago when I was blending large quantities of spices for sausage seasoning. Sometimes the seasoning mix batches were 50 lbs or more.

A scale error or omission while weighing out the individual spices could result in a costly mistake. I would add up the total weight of all the seasoning ingredients for the batch ahead of time. Then after all the ingredient s were weighed out and combined, I would get the net weight of the finished batch and make sure the batch total equaled the calculated total.
A screwup while weighing that much seasoning could mean adding bad seasoning mix to the meat block which could ruin a sausage batch weighing hundreds of lbs.

[Jonathon]

twilliams If it were me I would toss it just in the off chance you did forget something but adding cure turns the meat brown but then it can turn red if it is held without smoking for a while…that is what I think I remember. Gonna try to see if Dylan can answer this more thoroughly but my official “Walton’s” answer is be safe and toss.

[craigrice]

processhead do like a stir fry have everything ready and measured in containers just like all the work before starting to stir fry

[Dylan]

Jonathon Even if you did forget the cure, you can still treat it like a cooked product without cure and would be safe to consume. The color is not necessarily an issue as the meat would turn brown and then the darker red of nitrosomyoglobin which is the dark red color of cured meat that has not been heated. Without seeing a full timeline of pictures, it is hard to say what happened. Either way, I would eat them, but treat them as keep refrigerated products and eat within a couple of days of thawing.

[Jonathon]

Thanks Dylan, even if the cure was not added to the original batch and it was then smoked? That was what I was referring to tossing out.

[Dylan]

Jonathon Yes it is fine. The equivalent would be making ground beef, stuffing into chubs, freezing it and then thawing and grilling it.

[twilliams]

craigrice i do, thats why im pretty sure i added the sure cure. Just messing with my head how red it is

[twilliams]

Dylan so the original meat was stuffed into 19mm casings. Held in fridge overnight to a minimum of 12 hours as i dont use ECA. The smoke schedule was typical at 110°, 125°, 140°, 155° and taken out when IT reached 160°. All in about 6-7 hours. I had left over meat that i did not have casings for so i froze it, thawed it out later and stuffed following same smoke schedule. I am pretty sure i put the cure in but its messing with my head on how red it is. So with the smoke schedule and taking it to an IT of 160° is it safe if perhaps i did forget the sure cure? Thanks for your help

[Dylan]

twilliams It should be fine from what you are describing. Like I said before, just think of it like normal ground beef or ground pork. The smokehouse BBQ is very red though as the ingredients make it a lot darker.