Pink cure, Mortons' quick cure, etc

[schreib]

Just getting into sausage making, advice on need for cure:
If I am only making venison / pork breakfast sausage, italian sausage, “burger” from a blend of pork and venison with intent to freeze(not smoke) in 1# bags is it not necessary to use these added “cure” solutions. It seems they are targeted to jerky and smoked products meant for room temp / dry storage vs frozen storage, true?

[DaFish13]

schreib You are correct. Cures are used to protect the meat when the temperature is in the danger zone between 40-140 degrees for extended periods like fermenting or things like curing and drying. Applies to jerky, bacon, ham, salumi, etc. You do not need a cure for grinding, spicing, packaging and then freezing. Just keep the meat and equipment as cold as possible. I typically put my grinder pieces (not the motor) in the freezer for a day before starting.

[Jonathon]

schreib What DaFish13 said is correct, for any Fresh (non-smoked) product you don’t need to add cure as you won’t be slowly increasing the temperature so it should get to your intended temp much faster.

[schreib]

OK, interesting. So, you are implying, then, that during the smoking process while slowly ramping up to final smoking temp the risk is that bacteria have a chance to multiply and without the cure chemicals in place it is a breeding ground. However, also implied, since cooking breakfast sausage rapidly heats the food to temp in the frying pan it the process kills any bacteria there or attempting to multiply. . . right?!

[Jonathon]

schreib That is correct, when smoking sausage you are creating a perfect environment for bacteria, warm but not too hot (40-140°F) with plenty of moisture. So the cure helps block the growth of spores and bacteria but you still need to get the meat to 160 for beef, pork and wild game and 165 for poultry to kill everything. With a fresh product, you are taking it from the cooler or refrigerator and getting up to that 160 or 165° so quickly that it does not require a cure.

[schreib]

excellent, thanks.