please help sausage issue

[capo]

hello this is my first time in a forum i hope some one can help me 

i have smoked salmon for years and ppl seem to love it and never any issues but i am new to smoking meat 

i have deer meat that i brought to my butcher and he made me sausage mixed with fresh pork he added to it 

i asked him to leave some longer links for smoking now this is where my problem is i left them in the smoker  from 

11.45am for about 6 hours and not sure what the temp was but the inside where still raw it looked like so i decided to add more heat by turning on the propane grill and puting the wood chips on the flame  and then befor i actually tock them off the grill i layed them on the bbq just to make sure BUT AT NO TIME DID CHECK THE INTERAL TEMP I cut of a pce and ate it and i feel fine but as for the others i did not know about puting them in a cold bath i put them in vacume pack bags and threw them in the freezer while they where still hot thinking that if they were in the bags hot with no air it would keep the moistness please tell me what to do as i dont want to get friends any family sick as i said i alrady ate one and shared is with my wife and mom and they loved it and nothing but i dont know what to do but if i where to say it after 4 hours they where still half raw-ish 

hopfully you guys can help im sure that when i put them in the freezer  they where cooked 

totalk time start to finish was 11;45 to 6 pm in the freezer

 

[mossymo]

If the butcher did not put cure in to the sausage when he made the sausage I would get rid of the sausage you smoked as without cure you are seriously ricking botulism which you can get very sick from and risk death. I am not trying to sound rude, just stating a fact.

If the butcher did use cure you should be safe.

 

[chef jimmyj]

You have no idea what the internal temp was during the 6 hours and the next couple hours until cooked through. You have no idea if a cure was added...So, there is a risk of Botulism and it is not something to mess with. Additionally, in this case there is a high risk of food poisoning because you also have no idea of the type and level of Bacteria that was in the Butchers work area and grinder. I would toss this batch, unless it was made with Cure, too risky...JJ

 

[pineywoods]

You need to find out from the butcher if he added cure when he made the sausage

 

[capo]

ok so i just called the butcher and he no he did not add curing salt to it he said he would not worry to much if i tossed them right into the freezer but i still valuse the opinin of you guys more so maybe ill just toss them it sucks cuase they costed me money but health is more important of course and the good thing is it was a very small batch 

so would anyone be able to give me a run down and what to do as soon as i get home i want to do another batch 

i am going to go buy a prob thermomiter now and make sure i know what whats int need to know stuff about smoking fresh sausage 

please and thanks  you friends :)

 

[reinhard]

Capo, I agree with the others here. Wish we had more information like what kind of sausage did he make for you.  Was it fresh-unsmoked sausage?  This is what I would guess since you didn't ask him to smoke it, but it's only a guess.  What temp did you smoke the sausage at for six hours?  You said it looked still raw, so it must of been a low temp.  Doing that without a cure is a huge no-no in sausage making as you can tell by the advice so far.  From the information given it would be my advice to throw the links you smoked unless a cure was used.  My guess would be no cure was used since you asked him to save some links for you to smoke [the longer links you talked about from the same batch]..   Reinhard

 

[chef jimmyj]

Smoking fresh un-cured sausage is as easy as it gets. Take anything you like, I have smoked a lot of Brats, and Hot smoke them at 225° or higher. You are looking for the IT to get to 165°F. They will be a nice mahogany color, plump and juicy. At this point they are done and ready to eat. Eat them right away, refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months...JJ

 

[capo]

Well friends I did what you all suggested and tossed out the first batch went out and bought a prob thermometer and these bad boys came out at 165 degrees after 4 hours

image.jpg

• capo
• May 10, 2014

and needless to say they taste amazing
Thanks again everyone

 

[boykjo]

I cant believe the butcher told you "I wouldnt worry too much"........ I have had food poisoning from sausage made by a butcher and it wasnt pretty.... You did the right thing. The new stuff looks great........

Joe

 

[reinhard]

Capo, I'm glad the sausage turned out great for you.  You will find the best help here on this site.  I also wonder about your "butchers" advice he gave to you.  As a retired butcher of over 35 years, I would of explained about the different sausages I would make for you and the difference in preparation to cook them.  Someday give it a try making your own at home.  Reinhard

 

[weisswurst]

If I were you I would get a definitive book on sausage making. Not a recipe book... a text emphasizing food safety. Once you have the actual knowledge of sausage making you can be creative and do your thing.There are many good books. I started with the Sausage Maker by Reytek Kutas .He wrote about the safety aspects as well as temps , potential problems then he offered recipes. I would consider yourself lucky in your first attempt. However , please from now on be a little more aware. There are some very knowledgeable people in this forum. Having said that I would do a lot of research before I proceeded. And I tend to disregard those that say things like . " My grandfather did it this way for years and it never hurt anyone. That is insubstantiated lore. For example some one might say that grand dad never used cure and it turned out ok. Well , I bought Amish made Summer Sausage in Ontario Can. Amish country years ago. The sign said , no cure , no additives. The SS was so salty it was inedible. Kosher or pickling salt is a cure.Not the same as what we call pink cure salt but cure in a little different form. And grand dad may have used K salt and the child did not know or see the K salt as a  cure form. A lot of people who smoke fish use K salt in the brine.  The point is , please gain a little more knowledge before you go on. And I second the person who questioned your butchers remark " don't worry about it " Sorry for rambling. Happy safe SM Weisswurst