Meat for sausages curing question..

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dernektambura

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Oct 12, 2017
920
644
Kitchener, Ontario...
I have a question about curing a meat for sausages... Over the years I strictly followed my grandpa old recipe making hungarian smoked and dry cured sausages...
Ground and mince fresh meat, add spices and paprika... stuff them in a casings... cold smoke for about week and hang it in cold room for about month to mont and a half...
Now about my question:
What about curing the meat for 2 weeks before grinding it and making a sausages?
cut the meat in small chunks, add spices, salt and cure #2... Vacuum in bags and let it cure... Then smoke and continue with dry cure...Would it this way turn better tasting or doesn't really make any difference...
Thanks for guidance...
 
I too learned from my 'Grandpa' (and actually the Great Grandpa) methods for sausage, bacon, hams, and home canning.

BUT, science has stepped in, and there are some updated guidelines. I'd so some investigation on those dry curing methods with Cure #2 for salami and such. And proceed with a plan.
 
Good question. I re-read the chapter on smoking meats in "The Art of Making Fermented I". I question whether your Grandpa's recipe is a fermented sausage or not. It sound like it isn't. (therefor I deleted previous comments regarding fermentation). Cold smoking slows down the spoilage of fats which increases shelf life and inhibits bacterial/mold growth. It functions to dry the product as well. Those processes alone seem to be enough to make the product stable if I understand the text correctly. I don't know the answer to your question regarding salt curing prior to stuffing etc. primarily because I'm not quite sure of how your meats actually get from fresh meat to cured sausage, but I'm attaching a recipe from Marianski on Hungarian Sausage that uses steps that you may or may not do. You might find it interesting to compare the two. I strongly recommend the book if you don't already have it.
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Hungarian.jpg
 
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Curing before grinding means you have to cure longer for it to penetrate the meat. If you grind then cure it doesn't take nearly as long to cure. Is there a reason for curing first or is it to safely hold it until you're ready to grind and stuff? I wuld imagine if you're processing an entire animal by yourself it takes time to get through it all.
 
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