So many questions...

[Frieda]

Hi everyone. I have just recently started making my own sausage. My husband and I live on a farm and have great access to homegrown beef, pork, and chicken. Ok.....Here are my questions:
Do I have to use a cure at all if I am smoking my links for approx. 2 hours and then freezing them? I have made chorizo sausage in small casings and Italian garlic in larger casings. Fry sausage.
Is it the cure that makes the ham taste/texture?? Am I using too much prague powder if my moose/pork mix sausage is very dense and kind of ham tasting??
Fos B as a binder, do I need it??

I will stop there for now... and thank in advance for the advice (I hope) that comes. Happy sausage making all.

[NCPaul]

Welcome to the forum. Whether the sausage needs cure would depend on the temperature of the smoker but usually it needs cure #1. It's not safe to have raw meat at the wrong temperature. If you would rather not have cure in the sausage, you could poach them at 170F for 15 minutes, cool them quickly, and then package and freeze them. The cure will turn the meat pink and give it a ham taste. Prague powder (cure #1) should be used at 2.4 grams per kilo of meat at a minimum (up to 3 times more is allowable). For most sausages, Fos B (phosphate) is not needed. You will find a lot of members here that can answer your questions. My guess is that you are in Canada.

[Frieda]

Thanx NC Paul. Yep. Canada it is. Alberta. Thanx for your help. I like that poaching idea.