Curing Problem?

[checkerfred]

I made up a batch of italian style slim jims.....I ground the meat while it was partially frozen, then put it back in the freezer to keep cold while I mixed up my spices....it somewhat froze but the meat would scatter like pellets when I mixed the spices in...they were semi hard...I could smash them but they were firm.  Anyway, I kept mixing the meat and it thawed more....again it wasn't completely frozen but was very firm....I used a lactic acid culture and fermented in the oven....well they turned pink from the cure but there are spots of dark meat and I'm wondering if they didn't cure properly.  It's a mixture of deer and pork fat and some of the deer had a brown color to it instead of red...the meat was good and didn't smell bad...Is it normal for off color meat to not turn pink?

PICS 

On the cut piece you can see the discolored meat speck on the end.....again, the meat was already a brownish instead of bright red color...the test patty I fried up tasted fine too

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• checkerfred
• Feb 15, 2013

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• checkerfred
• Feb 15, 2013

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• checkerfred
• Feb 15, 2013

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• checkerfred
• Feb 15, 2013

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• checkerfred
• Feb 15, 2013

 

[BGKYSmoker]

What culture did you use

and

What was your fermentation temp and how long?

 

[checkerfred]

LHP  90-95 degrees 90% humidity and about 12-14 hrs.  I've used it before the same way and had great results...I checked PH and it did drop down quite a bit.  Also fermented some summer sausage the same way and had the same ph drop.

 

[checkerfred]

Well I guess it was just the discoloration in the meat not turning it bright pink....it looked fine after smoking and I'm not sick yet :)

 

[checkerfred]

Well I guess it was just the discoloration in the meat not turning it bright pink....it looked fine after smoking and I'm not sick yet :)

 

[BGKYSmoker]

LHP  90-95 degrees 90% humidity and about 12-14 hrs.  I've used it before the same way and had great results...I checked PH and it did drop down quite a bit.  Also fermented some summer sausage the same way and had the same ph drop.

Bactoferm[emoji]8482[/emoji] LHP - Fast: 5.0 pH drop in 2 days) LHP is a freeze-dried culture well suited for all fermented sausages where extra fast acidification is desired. This culture is recommended for the production of fermented, dry sausages with a pronounced sourly flavor note needing about 3 weeks or less to complete..

Is this what your wanting to know about.

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• BGKYSmoker
• Feb 17, 2013

 

[checkerfred]

Is this what your wanting to know about.

no, the problem I was concerned about was the dark spots in the sausage.  I had some meat that had a brownish colored look to it on the outside when I took it out of the freezer...it was just a thin layer around the meat that was brown.  The meat smelled fine...but when I mixed and fermented my sausage, most of it had the pink, cured, color, except for some spots here and there that were a brownish red color.  I figured this was due to the meat already being discolored.