ECA - Sausage and Hot Sticks

[wibigfish]

Looking to start adding ECA to my sticks and summer. In terms of mixing, I'd like to grind/mix the product (omitting the ECA) and then let rest overnight, next day add the ECA with a bit of water, lightly mix, and then stuff and smoke. I'm assuming this will be just fine.

I was researching and ECA needs heat to breakdown and become an "accelerator", I cold smoke most of my sausages for 8 hours then finish in SV. Being that I'm cold smoking, the eca wouldn't be activated as an accelerator while the meat is technically in the danger zone. Hence why I was going to mix and let meat cure and add ECA next day and stuff/smoke.

I'm not able to get sodium erythrobate currently, othewise I'd do it all in one day using that.

Just curious if I'm overthinking this or if I'm correct in my approach.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

You're on the right tract but dont add water with the ECA. The coating of the ECA starts to dissolve to release the CA around the 130* mark so you will need to have heat to do that. IMHO I would not cold smoke then SV, you may not get the results from the ECA you are looking for.

 

[Culinary Otter]

I'm not able to get sodium erythrobate currently, othewise I'd do it all in one day using that.

Do you have a pharmacy nearby? You can crush up vitamin C tablets that will act the same as NaE.

 

[DougE]

I use ECA in one sausage I make but it is not smoked. It gets stuffed into fibrous casings and directly finished in SV. It works fine in this way.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

I'm not going to tell you how to make your sausage but if you crush up Vid C tablets and you add too much you're going to have mushy yuk and might as well throw it away........Thank me later.

 

[Culinary Otter]

if you crush up Vid C tablets and you add too much you're going to have mushy yuk

Fair point.

 

[wibigfish]

Thanks everyone for the help appreciate it.