A General Guide

To Sausage Manufacturing

And Meat Curing

Home Page

 

 

Introduction

 

Sausage has evolved as a very diverse meat product.  Many varieties have been developed, influenced by climate, religion, and availability of ingredients.

 

Although sausage has been around for hundreds of years, food science, borne from both financial and public health interests, is a relatively new development.  Up to only 50 years ago, sausage recipes and processes were handed down from one generation to the next, with little change for decades, not knowing why or how they worked.  Indeed, food science has sought to explain why the tried and true formulas used for years have worked and have persisted over the years.  Wood smoking, air-drying and salting are techniques in meat processing and meat preservation that are still in use today.

 

This document is intended to act as a guide.  We realize that there is a wide range of acceptable procedures.  Through many years of experience with many levels of meat processors, we have found these suggestions and recipes work best for most processors, in most situations.  Some data has come directly from USDA documents.  However, you must determine what is best for your situation, depending on your level of expertise, the equipment available, and the time you have to spend on a given project.  Feel free to contact our technical staff by email if you need assistance, or by phone if your need is immediate or complex.

 

 

Meat Selection

Any variety of meat can be used for sausage.  In its most simple form, sausage is meat that has been cut, ground, or chopped into small pieces and salted.  There is little limit to the imagination in creating sausage products.  In addition to pork and beef, venison, bison, moose, caribou, ostrich, emus, turkey, and antelope can also be used.

 

Fat Content

Typical fat content varies from 3 to 50 percent, depending on the product.  The fat content chosen will affect the taste, texture, cooking and processing technique, and shelf life of the sausage.  The following is the maximum allowable fat content of some products:

 

            Sausage                       50 percent

            Italian Sausage              35 percent

            Cooked Sausage           30 percent

 

Most homemade sausage will have a fat content of 15 to 25 percent.

 

When preparing venison or other wild game for sausage production, it is important to REMOVE ALL FAT when trimming the meat.  Venison fat will become rancid in as few as 5 days.  Replace the venison fat with beef or pork back fat.  Do not use kidney fat (suet) or caul fat. The sausage product being made will determine the replacement fat chosen, and how it will be consumed.  For example, ready to eat snack sticks are often all beef, but if it is an Italian product, you would likely use pork trimmings.  Ring bologna would have beef fat added as it is eaten cold as a snack.  Pork fat melts at a lower temperature and tends to coat the inside of your mouth with a greasy film.  The fat chosen should be a matter of individual preference.

 

General procedure for processing fresh sausages

1.       Grind all meats through a 3/8" grinder plate, and then regrind through a 1/8" or 3/16" plate.

2.       Measure all ingredients for a maximum batch of 25 pounds of meat.  Added water is limited to 3 percent of the finished product (not just the meat weight).

3.       Place all ingredients in a large container, like a clean meat lug.  Mix all of the ingredients well.  It is not necessary to premix the seasonings with the water.

4.       Stuff the sausage into casings, or fashion into patties.

 

Meat Grinders as Sausage Stuffers

A meat grinder can also be used as a sausage stuffer.  A special stuffing horn called a bell tube because of its shape can be purchased for about ten dollars or so.

The grinder end of the tube comes in three sizes: #12, #22, and #32, which reflect the grinder head size.  The casing end (where the casing is mounted and the meat comes out) is available in two sizes, 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch.  So for each grinder size, there are two tube sizes, depending on the size of casing used.  The larger hog casing would use the 3/4" end, the 23mm collagen or 22-24 mm sheep casing would use the 1/2" end.

Once the meat is ground and the ingredients are thoroughly mixed in (it is now "sausage"), remove the grinder plate and knife, attach the bell tube, secure the grinder head ring, mount the casing on the tube, and begin feeding the sausage back into the grinder.  This is best done with a friend.  While you feed the sausage to the grinder (now a stuffer), your buddy can assist the stuffed sausage off of the stuffing horn and onto the (thoroughly cleaned) tabletop.  If you want to link the sausage, don't stuff it tight, so that when you twist your rope sausage into links, the meat has a place to go.

 

Linking the Sausage

With the sausage stuffed loosely into the casing, now lying on the table stretched out before you, begin at the left end and pinch the sausage gently where you desire your first joint.  Rotate this first link 1/2 turn in either direction, say "away" from you.  Then pinch the sausage gently again, where you want your second link to end.  Put your left thumb and forefinger on the first pinch, your right thumb and forefinger on the second pinch, and flip the link "toward" you, rotating only the link.  Advance to the next link, pinch where you want the link to end with your right thumb and finger, hold the previous twist with the left thumb and finger, and rotate the link the other way, "away" from you.  As you advance down the stretch of rope sausage, alternating your spins, and adjusting link length by where you pinch, you will complete the linking of the rope sausage.  You can then cut the links and package for freezing, or move the links to the smoke stick for smoking.  The links will stay together, for the most part, and greater success will come with practice.

 

Processing procedures for wild game

The game animal should be field dressed immediately after it is killed.  The hide should be removed as soon as possible to allow it to cool.  It is important to reduce the carcass temperature to below 50 degrees F. within 5 hours.  If the hide cannot be removed right away, possibly due to transport considerations, then hang the animal from the hind legs.  This will allow the body heat to flow up and out of the carcass.  If the animal is hung up by the neck, body heat is trapped in the lung cavity.  As soon as possible, the carcass should be washed down to remove dirt, hair, and any visible contaminants.  Chill the animal to 40 degrees F. or less.  Remember that proper thermal handling of any meat will greatly enhance the shelf life of the sausage. 

 

Procedures for processing smoked or cooked sausage.

1.       Choose a meat block (combination of meats and fats in proper proportion)

2.       Grind meats through a 3/8" plate, and then regrind through a 1/8" or 3/16" plate.

3.       Stuff into casings.  You can opt to hand link sausage or use 16-ply cotton twine to make links.  Fibrous casings should also be closed with cotton twine.

4.       Sausage can be held in the cooler at 35-40 degrees for up to 2 days, or transferred immediately to the smokehouse or oven.

 

Smokehouse Cook and Smoke Schedule

If you are using a smokehouse, here is a general smoking and cooking schedule.

 

 

When sausage has reached it's "finished temperature", it is done.  There is no need to hold it at this temperature unless a wrinkled sausage is the desired result.  Take it from the smokehouse and shower with cold water to an internal temperature of 100 degrees.  Then let hang for 30 minutes to dry off.  Place in cooler and chill to 40 degrees before packaging. (This is very important: packaging will trap and hold the heat, reducing shelf life).

 

  * 30 min or until the surface of the sausage is dry.  Wet sausage will not take smoke.

 ** Close the damper as far as possible while still maintaining enough draft so that the smoke does not back up into the smoke chamber.

*** Sufficient time to reach the desired internal temperature.  Must use a stem type thermometer to check this.

 

Smokehouse cooking times can vary widely due to a combination of many factors.  Here are a few:

·         The temperature of the in-going meat

·         The R-value and thickness of the insulation on the smokehouse

·         The temperature of the ambient (room) or outside air

·         The thermal output of your heat generating device

·         The amount of moisture in the meat

·         The thickness of meat

In short, you cannot accurately predict the cooking times without some experimentation.  You must use a stem thermometer, checking the meat periodically and recording the results.

 

 

Water cooking to reach a "finished" temperature.

Water cooking is recommended (yet still optional) to reach a finished temperature if no humidity or steam is available in the smokehouse. (Steam or high humidity transmits heat much better than low humidity.)  To water cook, put the sausage into ham stockinette or cheesecloth and tie closed.  Submerge into 170 degree F. water (NOT boiling) until the internal temperature of the meat reaches the finished temperature.  Take the sausage out of the water bath and submerge into a salt water/ice bath until it reaches a temperature of 100 degrees.  This process replaces the salt leached out of the meat by the hot water bath.  This salt replacement step is important, as the function of the salt is to preserve in addition to flavor enhancement.

 

Finished temperatures

These vary depending on the product.  The following table shows the MINIMUM temperatures set forth by the US Department of Agriculture:

 

Bacon	128 deg. F.
Smoked Ham	138 deg. F.
Smoked & Cooked Ham	148 deg F.
Fully Cooked Ham	156 deg. F.
Lunch Meat	156 deg. F.
Hot Dogs	152 deg. F.
Smoked Sausage	152 deg. F.

 

 

 

Deer Processing Formulas using

Con Yeager Spice Company Prepackaged Seasonings

 

The following formulas are for 25 pounds of meat.  Here are two suggested meat blocks, both having a final fat content of about 8 percent:

           

            Meat Block #1          20 pounds of trimmed venison (no fat)

                                                  5 pounds of 60% lean/40% fat pork or beef trimmings.

 

            Meat Block #2          15 pounds of trimmed venison (no fat)

                                                10 pounds of pork shoulder or beef chuck (80% lean/20% fat).

 

Kolbassi

 

 

Bologna

 

 

Cheese Bologna

 

 

Old Fashion Bologna

 

 

Trail Bologna

 

 

Snack Stick

 

 

Hot Stick

 

 

Snack Stick (shelf stable)

 

 

Pepperoni

 

 

Summer Sausage

 

 

Casing selection

 

There are three general classes of the most popular casing:  Natural, Fibrous, and Collagen.

 

Natural Casing

These are the intestines (thoroughly cleaned, of course) from lambs, sheep, hogs, and beef.  They are removed from the animals by cutting or pulling, cleaned so that just the natural collagen part of the casing remains, sized, and salted for storage.  Before using they must be washed free of salt in warm water, then soaked for 15 minutes or so in warm water to make them soft and pliable.  Casings that are "presoaked" are available, but they are soaked in salt water and need to be rinsed before use.  These are sometimes called "pre-flushed", but rarely are.

 

Any leftover casing must be washed free of meat particles, and then can be stored long term (1 year) or short term (6 months) by the following methods:

1.       Long term:  Cover casings in dry salt, hang to drip for 1 hour or so until dry but pliable, then store in a plastic container in the refrigerator.  Label this container, because many a spouse has discarded this item not knowing what it is.

2.       Short term:  Put casing into a zip lock bag with some enough dry salt to coat the casing, along with a minimum of water.  Label the bag and keep in the fridge.

 

Use the table below to determine the casing you would like to have.  Remember, there are no hard and fast rules, only tradition.  Any sausage can, in general, go into any casing.  Keep in mind that the larger the diameter the longer the cooking time.  Also, your customers or family may not accept radically divergent casing choices, as tradition is the mind's assurance of expectation.  That is to say that most people eat with their eyes before their mouth.  (Then again, some people will try most anything.  Experiment wisely.)

 

 

 

Collagen Casing

These are manufactured from the inner layers of beef hides.  They are dried, powdered, reconstituted and extruded to exact diameters, and are fully edible.  Some sizes are available in mahogany color.  They were developed to challenge natural casings because of their several benefits:  Ease of storage, no holes, tears, or tangles, uniform diameters, no mess, and are relatively bacteria free.  Where speed is essential, collagen casings are favored.  They come out of the box (caddy) and right onto the stuffing horn with no preparation, rinsing, soaking, or the like.

 

Collagen casings are made by the tube, which is 40 to 70 inches in length, but is compressed into a tube about 10 inches in length.  Tubes are packed in boxes called caddies, with 6 to 12 caddies per case.  One caddy can stuff out several hundred pounds of sausage.

 

There are two general types, one for fresh sausage (F type), and another for smoked sausage (called "processed type" or P type, because smoking and cooking are just that).  The F type is normally a thinner-wall casing.  If the F types are used for processed meats and are hung in the smokehouse, they will break and fall to the floor of the smokehouse because the casing walls are not strong enough to hold their own weight when moist and stuffed.  They are more tender than the P type, which is a desired trait in fresh sausage that is cooked in your pan at home.  The P type collagen casings are designed for the more rigorous treatment of hanging while cooking and smoking.  When ordering these, please make this distinction.  You can use the P type for fresh sausage if you do not want to stock both kinds.

 

Use the following table to determine which casing is best for you.

 

 

 

 

Other recommendations for handling collagen casings

Store between 35 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  Use open boxes as soon as possible, as the casings will dry out and become brittle and unusable.  If they do become dry, place them uncovered in the refrigerator overnight to add some moisture.  You can also dip the dried out casing tube briefly in water, then shake off excess water.  This will make the casing flexible again.  DO NOT soak in water.  They get too soft and will break easily.  Stuffing tables, horns, and operators hands should be dry and grease free.  Casing should be stuffed full, but not hard, and the stuffed out tube should have a slightly wrinkled appearance.  The casing will absorb the moisture that it needs from the sausage meat inside it.

 

Collagen Rounds (sometimes called collerin)

Collagen or collerin rounds are used like natural beef rounds.  They are made shirred (compressed into tubes) or cut into 16 or 18-inch lengths.  The cut variety usually have a cotton string closing one end of the piece, which is long enough to tie the other end closed when it is stuffed.  It forms a tubular ring, like a natural beef round, with the ends nearly touching.  After tying closed, it can be easily hung on a smoke stick for further processing.  They are stronger than natural casings, but not as strong as fibrous casings.  They are technically edible, but not normally eaten because they are fairly tough.  They are usually peeled off before consumption like the fibrous casings.

 

Use this table to determine what collagen round might be best for your use.

 

 

 

Fibrous Casings

Fibrous casings are manufactured from cellulose fiber and collagen protein.  They are strong and used for smoked products as well as non-smoked products.  Smoke will penetrate fibrous casing, as will moisture.  These casings need to be soaked in warm water for at least 30 minutes to make them soft and pliable before stuffing.  String tied or metal clipped with a hanging loop on one end, they are available in a wide range of diameters, from 40 mm to 160 mm (pepperoni sized to boneless ham size), lengths, and in clear, red, and mahogany colors.

 

Custom printed fibrous casings are quite popular during deer season.  Some commercial customers get their logo, name and address printed continuously along the length of the casing.

We typically carry a printed fibrous casing that say "Venison Sausage", "Not For Sale", with the outline drawing of a antlered deer, usually available in clear, red, and mahogany in 64mm diameter x 24 inch length, string tied.

 

Some are available with a protein coat on the inside.  These casings are called "meat cling", and are used so that the meat bonds with the casing, and will not shrink and separate from the casing during the drying phase of some semi-dry sausage items, like salami and pepperoni.

 

Use the table below to choose a fibrous casing.

 

 

 

Stockinettes and Casing Nets

Stockinettes are tubes made with an open cotton weave, cut to length.  They are typically used to hang hams and the like in the smokehouse, and sometimes used to water cook wieners and to steam clams.  They come 100 nets to the bundle.  A special kind of stockinet, called a boneless ham net, is a much tighter weave, and constricts the boneless hams while being smoked.  These are sold by the piece.

 

Casing Nets are used in the same way, to hold together pieces of meat for smoking and processing.  They are available only in 150-foot rolls, and are cut to length when used.

 

Use the table below to select a stockinet or casing net.

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

Salt

One of the most important ingredients in processed meats is salt.  It acts as a flavor enhancer, inhibits or slows bacterial growth, and is used to "extract" the protein, vital in making sausage.  Protein extraction occurs when the salt causes the muscle cells to break open, releasing their protein (called myosin).  The myosin holds water in the sausage and encapsulates the fat particles and holds them in suspension in the meat during cooking.

Typical salt levels fall between 1.8 and 2.35 percent of the finished product.  Cured, cooked and smoked sausage products with a finished salt level below 1.8 percent present a shelf life problem, and have a bland taste.

 

Sweeteners

Sweeteners have been used to mask the high salt levels, which were more common years ago.  Now sweeteners are used mostly for flavor, but are also used to reduce water activity in semi-dry and dry sausage products.  Cane sugar or beet sugar (typical table sugar) is the most commonly used today.  It is inexpensive and works very well. 

Dextrose sugar (corn sugar) is only 70 percent as sweet as table sugar, but is sometimes used because of its low cost.  Dextrose is often used in conjunction with lactic acid starter cultures to acidify semi-dry products such as snack stick, pepperoni, or summer sausages.  This process gives the sausage a fermented, tangy flavor.  The more dextrose added, the more lactic acid formed by the culture, and the tangier flavor occurs.

Dextrose also turns brown more easily when heated than cane sugar, and is used where this effect is desired, such as in breading mixes and in breakfast sausages.

Corn syrup solids, used to hold water in meat products, is 42% as sweet as dextrose, and is also relatively inexpensive.  It can be used at 2.5 times the weight to replace cane sugar, an advantage in products that are sold by the pound.

 

Binders

Plant and milk proteins are added to sausage products to improve the texture and the water holding capacity, to enhance what's called "Mouth Feel", and give larger diameter items "slice-ability".  Typical store-bought bologna would crumble away when sliced if it were not for the effects of binders.  Most plant proteins are cheaper than meat, and are added for the weight alone, while others, although still less expensive than meat, add flavor and texture enhancements that consumers have come to enjoy.

Non-fat dry milk and sweet dairy whey have similar flavors and provide a nice, smooth texture along with a sweet, dairy flavor note to many processed meat products, particularly strong-flavored venison bologna.  It also provides a desired sheen to emulsified (very finely ground) bologna when it is sliced.

Soy protein is lower priced than milk protein, but work just as hard and is considered an excellent protein source from a health standpoint.  Soy, although bland, do have a "musty" or "pumpkin" flavor that can be detected by some people if used to excess.

Cereal binders, such as wheat, corn, and rice flours, and very inexpensive, and are used in products where price is a major consideration.  They add a carbohydrate nutritional element, and add somewhat of a starchy flavor if used in excess.

Modified food starch is one of the newer ingredients used in sausage products.  It has very little flavor of it's own, and does not increase the viscosity of the sausage during mixing.  Therefore, it is easier to stuff into casing, especially if the casing is a small diameter.  Our Circle S Binder is a blend using modified food starch as an ingredient.

 

The table below lists the protein levels and usage of common binders

 

Acidulants

Acidulants are used to lower the pH (increase acidity) of sausage products to meet a specific, desired flavor profile, and often to meet the requirements of shelf-stable sausage products.

Encapsulated citric acid is citric acid crystals that have been coated with cottonseed and soybean oils, which melt off at specific temperatures (136 degrees F.).  The citric acid is thus exposed to the meat, melts and diffuses into the meat and lowers the pH.  (Note: This occurs after the bind is thermally set, so that the acidity will not interfere with the binder, and make the product mushy or "fat out" during cooking.)  With the acidity lowered, the product has greater shelf-stability, and an "Old World", tangy or "fermented" flavor without the perils of going through a fermentation process.  It is important to get products with encapsulated citric acid into the smokehouse within 12 hours of stuffing, as the coating will be dissolved by the animal fat, thus exposing the meat to an acidic environment prematurely.

 

Antioxidants

Common antioxidants are BHA, BHT (butylated hydroxy anisole and butylated hydroxy toluene), and citric acid.  Usually added together, they work in concert to prevent oxidative rancidity in sausage.  They are most commonly used in products that intend to be frozen, since oxidative rancidity occurs in products that are frozen for long periods of time.  The typical "freezer taste" is the process of oxidative rancidity hard at work.  The antioxidants absorb the oxidizing agents before the fat in your meat product do, thus protecting it.  They are permitted to be used at a level of 0.01 percent, based on the fat content of the sausage.

 

Lactic Acid Starter Culture.

Starter cultures are also used to reduce the pH of a meat product.  A known, lactic acid producing bacteria culture, along with a simple sugar, like dextrose, are added to the meat.  The sausage is stuffed into casing, then incubated in the smokehouse at about 100 degrees for a specific length of time.  The pH drop can be controlled by adjusting the fermentation time, controlling the amount of simple sugar added (more sugar yields more lactic acid), or by elevating the temperature (cooking). Lower pH is typical to products like pepperoni, salami, and slim jims, giving them a tangy flavor and increased shelf stability.  Careful attention should be given to the incubation temperature.  Should the temperature rise too high, the bacteria would be killed before the desired pH levels would be reached.

 

Flavor Enhancers

Although salt is the most common flavor enhancer, the next most common is MSG.  An abbreviation for monosodium glutamate, MSG is produced by the action of specialized bacteria on  corn sugar.  Having received some bad press in recent years due to sensitivity by certain individuals to MSG, it is nonetheless a very effective flavor enhancer in food systems that are neutral in pH (neither very acid or very alkaline).  MSG would not work very well in a spaghetti sauce, for example.  But, in relatively neutral pH meat systems, it works very well as a flavor enhancer.  The USDA requires that it appear on the label of any product in which it occurs, although it is not a restricted ingredient.  Typical additions are 0.25 percent (4 ounces in 100 pounds of sausage)

Hydrolyzed soy protein is also a good flavor enhancer, and contains a naturally occurring level of MSG.  It, too, must be declared on the label of any food item to which it is added. Typical additions are 0.15 to 0.75 percent in processed meats and poultry. 

 

Mold Inhibitors

Potassium sorbate is used on shelf stable products to prevent the growth of mold in vacuum packs and in bulk packs.  It must be applied to all surfaces.  Dipping into a 10 percent solution seems to be the best method.  Spraying is considerably less effective.  Adding 1 pound of potassium sorbate in 9 pounds of distilled water will provide the needed concentration.  Apply this solution to products like pepperoni, salami, snack sticks, and the like.

 

Natural Hickory Smoke Flavors

Liquid smoke is made from real hickory smoke which is sprayed with a mild acetic acid solution (vinegar is 5% acetic acid).  The higher acidity, the more smoke flavor.  There are several types available, all with specific applications.  In some, polysorbate is added to keep the particles of smoke flavor in suspension.

 

 

Smoking with Wood

White hickory is by far the most common wood used for smoking meats.  White hickory provides a deep red to mahogany color.  Oak and Maple give a more golden brown color.  Apple is another good smoking wood, but is not readily available.  Sassafras wood is even less available in the market place.  Corncobs are sometimes used as a source of smoke.  They impart a very dark color, but add a sweet flavor to the meat.  The moisture content of the wood, usually in the form of coarse sawdust-like chips, is very important.  Very dry wood imparts a burnt, bitter flavor.  Wood moistened with water will smolder better, and give a smoother, less harsh flavor to the meat.  We have Gregory’s White Hickory Bits available in 50 lb bags.  This wood needs to be moistened before using with the following method:  Weigh the entire bag, which was 55 lbs when freshly made.  Determine the difference from 55 pounds.  This is the calculated water.  Place the entire bag in a 32 gallon plastic garbage can with a lid, add the calculated water (usually 3 to 6 pounds), mix up a bit and place the lid on tight.  This method provides consistent results with using a smoke generator.

 

Sterilized Spices

Most spices are grown in warm, underdeveloped, third world countries, and typically contain high levels of bacteria, especially spices that are grown close to the ground, like black pepper.  Even onion and garlic grown and processed in California can contain high levels of bacteria.  To provide safe and flavorful spices and seasonings to the commercial processors and the retail public, Con Yeager Spice Company routinely has their spices treated to reduce or virtually eliminate bacterial contamination.  Some spices are steam sterilized, typically black and white pepper, with a kill rate of about 95 percent.  Other spices are irradiated, with a kill rate of near 100 percent, and others still are treated with ethylene oxide (ETO), which has a kill ratio of about 90 percent.

 

Bacteria are just about everywhere, so I must point out that the term “high” used here is a level that would negatively effect fresh sausage shelf life, which is our major concern.  Cooking would, of course, kill all the bacteria that occur naturally in the spice, meat, casing, or from whatever source.  Smoked meats don’t have the shelf life considerations that fresh sausage does, so preserving freshness and flavor in fresh sausage is a constant concern.

 

The two things that effect fresh sausage shelf life the most are temperature and bacteria.  Doubling every 20 to 30 minutes, bacteria populations grow rapidly and exponentially given the proper conditions.  What every can be done to protect meat from thermal abuse and from the introduction of bacteria are going to greatly enhance shelf life.  General sanitation of hands and utensils, keeping all items that come in contact with the meat at a low temperature, and common sense will go a long way in this regard.  Sometimes the best approach is small batches, freezing, cooking and smoking.

 

In recent years there has been a move to spice extractives.  These are highly concentrated, easily stored and handled, low bacteria preparations that are standardized with regard to color and flavor.  The advantages to fresh sausage shelf life are clear, and Con Yeager Spice use spice extractives everywhere they are indicated.

 

Sodium Lactate

Sodium Lactate (abbreviated SL-75) is a solution (60%) of sodium lactate in water.  It is used at the rate of 2 percent sodium lactate in the finished product to enhance shelf life by inhibiting bacterial growth in meat and poultry products, in addition to increasing yields and lowering water activity. Since it is available in a 60% solution, this equals 3.3 pounds of 60% sodium lactate in 100 pounds of meat to meet the 2% limit.

 

 

Curing Principles and Curing Methods

 

Curing agents impart that distinctive color and flavor to hams, bacons, bolognas, wieners, and the like.  Those agents are sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate, and potassium nitrite.  Sodium nitrate and nitrite are common to the USA, while potassium nitrate and nitrite are still used in Europe and not used significantly in the USA.  The compound potassium nitrate is commonly called saltpeter.  This ingredient is sometimes called for in old family recipes, but is expensive, hard to find, and readily replaced with either sodium nitrite (common) or sodium nitrate (less common).

 

These curing agents are rarely used directly because they are needed in such small amounts, but are mixed with salt and other ingredients to make up a curing salt.  Curing salts are by far easier and safer to use, as most people would not be able to measure out the tiny amounts of pure curing agent required.  By diluting the power of the curing agent with salt, they become much easier to handle, more accurate to measure, and safer to store.  Pure sodium nitrate is a white powder, like sugar, and an extremely powerful and reactive chemical that has killed when used by people who mistakenly thought that it was sugar.

 

One important action of these curing agents is to prevent the growth of unwanted pathogens at the lower temperatures during smoking.  This leads to a general rule of thumb:  What meats you plan to smoke, you should first cure.

 

The chemical reaction during the curing process can be described as follows:  Sodium nitrate must first be converted to sodium nitrite.  This is a relatively slow process and can take days, which is why cures made with sodium nitrite are sometimes called “fast cures”.  The sodium nitrite changes further into nitric oxide, which is a brown colored gas.  The nitric oxide gas dissolves nicely in cold curing brine, and reacts quickly with the meat to form a complex known as Complex 1, which is gray in color.  With the absorption of heat Complex 1 converts to Complex 2, which is more stable and happens to be red in color.   The red color of ham and other cured meats is due to the presence of Complex 2.

 

Normally we wouldn’t bore you with the reaction sequence, except for a couple of important notes:

1. If you dissolve curing salt in warm water, you will essentially kill the curing action of the brine.  Why?  Because the reaction sequence is hastened by the heat, and nitric oxide gas does not dissolve well in warm water.  The same principle applies to carbon dioxide in soda pop when it warms up.  The nitric oxide goes bubbling off into the atmosphere and is not in the curing brine where it belongs.
2. The formation of Complex 1 takes place in just a few minutes.  The meat looks like it’s 3 weeks old because of its gray appearance, and it can be alarming.  Do not fear, everything is going according to plan.  When it is smoked and cooked, it will have the typical red appearance of cured meat.

 

The best temperature for curing meat in brine is 38 to 42 degrees F.  If the brine temperature gets too cold, curing will slow, practically halting at freezing temperatures.  The time it takes is also a function of temperature, as the curing agents must diffuse (by osmosis) throughout the piece of meat, penetrating to the center.  The pH (acidity) of the brine is also a consideration in curing rates, increasing with slightly with lower pH.  However, most curing brines contain food grade meat phosphates to help keep the moisture in while the meat is cooking, and as an added effect, buffer or stabilize the pH of the curing brine.

 

The larger the piece of meat (ham, for example), the longer curing takes, and the increased need to pump the curing brine into it.  Pumping is done to get more uniform curing, and to assure that the center of the ham will cure before it spoils.  It seems there is always a race between the curing agents and the bacteria to the center of a ham, particularly bone-in hams.  Hams are usually pumped to 10 percent of its weight.  A 20 lb. ham would be pumped until it weighed 22 lb.

 

Cure accelerators

Sodium Erythorbate and Ascorbic Acid (yes, vitamin C) or Sodium Ascorbate are used to accelerate the curing process.  Their action is to increase the conversion of sodium nitrite to nitric oxide, which then reacts quickly with the meat as described above.  Erythorbate is generally cheaper than ascorbic, and for this reason is much more commonly used.  Erythorbate and ascorbate are stereoisomers of one another.  That is, they are identical as to their chemical composition, but different in their 3-dimensional configuration.  It is this 3-D configuration that explains why ascorbate has vitamin activity and erythorbate does not.  Vitamin activity doesn’t count here, in the case of curing meat, as their chemical activity, not biological activity, is at work.

 

Important note:  Because the human brain is sometimes a twisted thing, I have heard the rumor over the years that sodium erythorbate is made from earthworms, or is powdered earthworms.  This is patently false.  I guess this idea comes from the remote similarity of the two words, but the rumor has persisted.  I know of no other possible connection between the two.  I guess it shows that some people will believe anything.

 

The big benefit of using sodium erythorbate in curing is that it provides for more uniform curing, and prevents the large, uncured spots that you sometimes see in the cut cross section of large, cured muscle products, like ham.  These spots are brown in color, because they are, essentially, uncured pork that has been cooked, just like a cooked pork roast is brown.  In short, sodium erythorbate is widely used and comes highly recommended.  A little goes a long way, as 7/8^th of an ounce will take care of 100 pounds of meat when used in bologna, etc.

 

Sodium Phosphate

Food grade phosphates, also known as sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate, are used in cured meats to bind (or hold) water, especially while cooking.  So, it improves yield and prevents dryness.  It also improves texture, and prevents the shorting out (or “fatting-out”, when meat and fat separate in the casing while cooking) when a marginal meat block is used.  The sodium phosphate will also increase the pH of the system, and improve the water binding capacity of the proteins.  Since many smoked products are fully cooked, they would have a tendency to become dry and leathery when reheated by the consumer.  By keeping the meat product juicy, you will have a better palatability and greater customer acceptance.  The use of phosphates in bacon also reduces spatter and curling while frying.

 

The following table shows some food phosphates (by their brand name) and general use.

 

 

 

Choosing a Curing Salt

A curing salt consists mainly of salt, sugar, and sodium nitrite (and sometimes sodium nitrate). Choice of cure is dependent upon desired amount of added ingredients and machinery used for curing.  Some folks have a tumbler for curing meat; others have only a plastic barrel.  Shown below are some popular curing brine formulas and how to use them.  These curing brines are used for hams, pork loins, beef rounds, beef briskets (for corned beef) and poultry.  The Con Yeager Spice Company item numbers are shown as an aid in ordering.

 

Maple Cure 1047 or Brown Sugar Cure 1066

These cures contain 1.5% sodium nitrite, and are used when a lower salt level is desired.

 

Ingredient	Weight	Item number
Water	85.00 pounds
Cure	10.00 pounds	1047 or 1066
Curaphos	4.46 pounds	2801
Sodium Erythorbate	0.54 pounds	685
Total weight	100 pounds

 

 

 

Maple Cure 901

            This cure contain 0.85% sodium nitrite, and are used a 15% pump rate.

 

Ingredient	Weight	Item number
Water	84.87 pounds
Cure	11.80 pounds	901
Curaphos	2.97 pounds	2801
Sodium Erythorbate	0.36 pounds	685
Total weight	100 pounds

 

 

Maple Cure 764 or Brown Sugar Cure 783

            These cures contain 0.75% sodium nitrite, and would be used at a 20% pump rate.

 

Ingredient	Weight	Item number
Water	87.50 pounds
Cure	10.00 pounds	764 or 783
Curaphos	2.53 pounds	2801
Sodium Erythorbate	0.27 pounds	685
Total weight	100 pounds

 

 

Pumping, soaking, or vacuum tumbler processing procedure

1.       Weigh out all the ingredients: water, curing salt, curaphos, and sodium erythorbate.

2.       Dissolve the curaphos in the water first.  It is hard to dissolve, and takes stirring time, but make sure that it is completely dissolved before adding any other ingredients.  DO NOT use warm water to speed this process.

3.       Add the other ingredients in random order and stir until dissolved.  This is your complete curing brine, and will be used to both pump and soak the meat.

4.       Pump the meat to the appropriate percentage.  A 20 pound ham, pumped to 10% of it’s weight, will have a pumped weight of 22 pounds, it’s target weight.  Stated mathematically,

Item Weight x percent pump ¸ 100 = Added Weight

Item Weight + Added Weight = Target Weight

5.       If you are going to pump and soak, the target weight will be your final weight.  Place the pumped meat in the curing brine and keep submerged.

6.       If you are going to pump and vacuum tumble (or tumble without pumping), place the meat in the tumbler and add enough of the curing brine to reach the target weight for each piece.  For example, if you have 10 fresh hams each weighing 20 pounds and your percent pump is 10%, your target weight is 22 pounds for each ham.  You may pump the hams with 1.5 pounds of brine, and then add the remaining 0.5 pounds of brine for each ham, times 10 hams = 5 pounds total added to the vacuum tumbler.  Stated mathematically,

Target weight – actual pumped weight = amount to be added to the tumbler.

7.       If using the soaking method, soak hams and beef briskets for 7 to 10 days.  Soak turkeys for 2 to 3 days.

8.       If using a vacuum tumbler, run the tumbler for 2 hours at 12-14 rpm and 22-25 mm Hg.  Let rest under vacuum overnight, and then tumble again at the same settings in the morning.

9.       Put hams in stockinettes with the shank end in first, and hang on smoke truck.

10.   If tumbled, hams will need to be washed clean with cold water after netting.  This will keep the netting from sticking to the lean portions of the ham.

 

 

Old Fashion Pump and Rub Method

 

Golden Sweet Cure 1318

            This cure contains 0.85% sodium nitrite used at a 15% pump rate.

 

 

After pumping the hams 15 percent of their “green” or fresh weight, rub the outside of the ham with the Golden Sweet curing salt.  Place the hams in plastic barrels and allow curing for 10 to 14 days at 38 to 42 degrees F.  After the ham is cured, soak in cold water (60 degrees F.) for 4 hours, then place in warm (90 degree F.) water and scrub the meat with a plastic bristle brush to remove the salt coating.  After smoking/cooking to an internal temperature of at least 138 degrees F., shower the hams with hot water to remove any excess salt that may have appeared during smoking.

 

When using Golden Sweet Cure 1318 for the pump and soak method, follow the directions shown for Maple Cure 901.

 

Maple Cure 1542

This cure is used for dry curing bacons.  Rub onto fresh pork bellies at the rate of 7 pounds of curing salt to 100 pounds of bellies.  Allow curing for 7 days at 40 degrees F.  Rinse with cold water and hang the bellies on a bacon hanger in the smokehouse.  Smoke as usual.

 

Tinted Curing Salt 813

This cure is used as an internal cure.  That is, directly in the meat, at the rate of 4 ounces per 100 pounds of meat.  It is most commonly used in bologna, wieners, Kolbassi, summer sausage, and any other ground meat product that is smoked.  Tinted cure contains sodium nitrite at the rate of 6.25%, and can be used to make up your own curing brine using the following formula for 156-ppm nitrite ingoing:

 

 

With the 10 percent pump you should see a cook-shrink of 12 to 15 percent, and a yield of 93.5 to 96.8 percent.  With the 20 percent pump, you should have a cook-shrink of 12 to 15 percent, and a yield of 102 to 105.6 percent.

 

Corned Beef

Use beef briskets, use a curing brine formula for a 10 percent pump, and soak the un-pumped briskets for 21 days.  There is no need to pump the briskets because they are not very thick, and will soak up about 10% of the brine naturally.  Add 1 pound of whole mixed pickling spices and 10 ounces of garlic powder to every 100 pounds of brine (about 11 gallons).

If you use beef eye of rounds, or beef top rounds, use a 20% pumping brine, and pump these pieces before soaking for 21 days.  Pump brine that does not have mixed pickling spices or garlic in it, because they will clog the pumping tools.

The eye of round and the top rounds can be cooked in the smokehouse to an internal temperature of 156 degrees (fully cooked).  Briskets should be boiled until tender, then baked or grilled if browning is desired.

 

Smoking Procedure

 

The following table is a smoking procedure for general use.

 

 

 

Table of recommended finished, internal temperatures: