sausage202 wrote:...Question #1-I tagged along for deer sausage making this year and we did about 1800 lbs. We used a cure #1 and gave them a smoke in a smokehouse and came back the next day and did a second smoke. They then just hung for 5 weeks. I asked my brother because they too have a group of guys that does sausage and they do it the same way but they hang for 6 weeks. The more and more people I talk to, this seems to be the norm? My question is no one seems to be taking temperatures of the sausage? Does the cure #1 take care of the cooking process all together or simply protect it between 40-140 this or do you still have to get it to 165*. ...
Cure #1 contains sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite is what protects against botulism. It dissipates quickly. If the sausage is going to hang for more than a couple of weeks, then it needs longer term protection. Sodium nitrate is used for longer term protection.
While it doesn't protect against botulism, itself, naturally occurring bacteria in the sausage break down sodium nitrate into sodium nitrite, and the sodium nitrite does protect against botulism. Think of sodium nitrate as time-released sodium nitrite. Cure #2 contains sodium nitrite (for immediate protection) and sodium nitrate (for longer term protection).
Cure #1 is ok for sausages that aren't going to hang for more than a couple or three weeks, but for sausages that are going to hang for a month or more, you really want to be using Cure #2.
The reason for adding Cure #1 to sausage that is going to be hot-smoked, fully-cooked and then eaten, refrigerated or frozen, is to protect against the proliferation of
C. botulinum bacteria (that cause botulism) as the sausage warms from 40°F through 140°F during the hot-smoking process. Once the middle of the sausage reaches 140°F, it has reached a temperature where pasteurization can occur and pathogens are being killed by the heat. Raising the sausage to an internal temperature of 165°F ensures that the sausage is pasteurized.
Saltpeter is potassium nitrate. Potassium nitrate is like sodium nitrate, and is a time-released form of potassium nitrite. Potassium nitrite is like sodium nitrite, and prevents botulism. So, your brother is using saltpeter to provide longer term protection.
Without knowing more about what your friends are actually doing in their processing, it is impossible for any of us to judge whether they are being safe or unsafe. It is certainly safer to monitor the temperature of the sausage as it is smoked, to ensure that it has pasteurized and/or fully-cooked. It may also be that your friends have been making their venison sausage long enough that they think they know the sausage is fully-cooked and safe. All I can tell you is that I don't mess around with botulism. Safety comes first, and that means monitoring temperatures throughout the process and using proper curing techniques.
HTH