Ground pork safety opinions

[zzerru]

Had a buddy over to make about 20lbs of kielbasa, but he flaked out after 10lbs (it was getting very late) and took off. Now I have 10lbs of ground pork not seasoned/stuffed.

We ground the meat at about 9pm last night and I just bagged it in a couple ziptops and tossed it in the freezer. Any reason that this meat should be thrown out? Or should it be good for future sausage making?

 

[tasunkawitko]

i see no reason why it shouldn't be OK.

 

[ddave]

Depends on what temperature the meat was kept at while you were working with it and how you plan to finish it.

This may help some.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/showthread.php?t=72852

Dave

 

[hog warden]

Assuming you took care of it promptly (less than an hour?) and nothing else going on, why not whip it into some breakfast sausage?

Recipe for 3 pounds (If you have 10 pounds, either split it up or multiply times 3)

3# Ground Pork
3 tsp coarse (kosher) salt
3/4 tsp white pepper (finely ground)
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1 1/2 tsp ground dried sage
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Just mix it well by hand, press it into patties and fry it up!
You can split these up into small plastic tubs of about 1 pound each if you can't eat it that fast and freeze. (Fatty optional)

Option 2: (Italian Sausage)

5 Pounds Ground Pork
5 tsp coarse salt
3 tsp fresh black, coarsely ground black pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
2 1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp anise
1 tsp crushed red pepper

Same thing. Just mix in the spices, save it in tub in bulk and work from there. The tubs will keep in the fridge about a week. (Fatty Optional)

This is for pizza and pasta sauces or I like to fry little wads of it for breakfast. Add some red bell pepper, chopped onion and cherry tomatoes to the skillet while it's frying. When it's all browned, put that on a plate and cover with cheese. Two eggs, over easy on top of that. Don't forget the Chalula hot sauce.

Strong coffee will help prevent passing out when all that settles in.

 

[bassman]

Like Dave says, if it wasn't out too long you should be fine. Won't hurt the sausage flavor at all being re-thawed.

 

[pineywoods]

I agree if you handled the meat properly it will be fine freezing it

 

[t-bone tim]

like Bassman , says should be just fine ,as long as it was kept cold .... thaw it ...mix it .... and stuff it , don't throw it out .

 

[fire it up]

Like these guys said.
Absolutely do not throw it out. There is nothing wrong with that meat at all and when you thaw it it will be perfectly fine, just as long as it was wrapped/sealed tight, and no air in the bag. Air pockets will cause freezer burn rather quickly.

 

[bbally]

What time was the meat started at?

Was it out of cooler the whole duration of you working and grinding?

What was the total time it was above 40 F?

If it had more than 3 hours above 40 F... toss it.

If it had less than 2 hours above 40 F you can freeze and use it.

You want no more than 4 hours above 40 F prior to reaching kill temps or safe reefer temps. That includes the second working time!

 

[alx]

I agree you should be o.k.A big issue with food safety is people contminate the processing area with the raw meat and never adequately sterilize after the fact-there kitchen tops etc.

 

[nogoer]

The fact of freezing it in itself will reduce the risk of any baddies. A common practice for making dried pork sausage is to freeze the meat for a couple weeks to kill bacteria. Trichinosis(sp?) can't survive the deep freeze for extended periods of time.

I would also have to say that irregardless of the final use of the pork, as long as the resultant sausage is cooked fully there shouldn't be any issues. Besides, if theres anything to do harm in the future then it was already in there to do harm for the batch you were making with it.

My only question is would the final texture suffer? Although since many books suggest keeping the ground meat in the freezer during the points between grinding, stuffing, etc. then i doubt it would.

 

[fire it up]

Why not throw it in the smoker? That will kill a lot of microorganisms due to the smoke, then throw that meat into a pot and make some chili, the heat from cooking the chili would kill off any other bacteria, then send me a bowl in the mail and all is well.

 

[ddave]

Final cooking may kill the bacteria but not the toxins that they produce. It is the toxins that will get you.

For those of you not familiar with bbally, you should read this.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=72852

He knows that of which he speaks.

Better to listen to him than to end up looking like this

Or worse.

Dave