Question on Not Freezing Raw Sausage for Cooking Later....

[HowlingDog]

Rather than derail the thread by kawakx125, I thought I would start a new one. One of the comments I saw, by chef jimmy j, stated "we do not recommend freezing raw to be cooked later", and I would like to ask for additional information on Why? I did a quick search and it appears that it is more of a quality/texture issue than a safety issue, at least if using cure.

I generally make Polish, Italian and Breakfast (at the moment, although I do want to learn to do others). I DO use cure #1 in all sausage, but I will freeze raw, mixed, cured sausage in smaller packages for later cooking, such as pan frying before making lasagna or frying on the griddle for breakfast and Polish sausage.

I do stuff both Polish and Italian, warm smoke them within a day or two, then freeze for later grilling. I bring the IT up to about 165 - 170 during the smoke as I am being over cautious even though I use cure. Longest I have left them on the smoker is 5.5 hours. I KNOW I can smoke longer and they are fine since they are cured, but I tend to the over cautious side......

But, chef jimmy j's comment about not freezing raw has me curious. I would have sent a PM, but must be slow tonight and couldn't figure it out.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Not freezing....Cold Smoked...Sausages that are raw.
Depending on the smoker temp, even with Cure, it leaves room for bacteria that is not affected by Nitrite to grow. Would you make a batch of your sausage, even with cure, and leave it out on the counter for 4, 6, 8 hours on a 90° or 110° day? No, you get your sausage in the refer to be smoked or packaged and frozen, ASAP.
We want to keep ALL sausage Cold until we smoke it to a Safe Temp and/or Freeze it to be smoked another time.
This is what I was talking about.
Example : If you mix up a batch of Kielbasa, you keep it refrigerated until...1) You smoke to a pasteurizing temp then freeze...Or... 2) Freeze it to be smoked, to a pasteurizing temp, at a later date...JJ

BTW...Good Question. I edited my response in the other thread for clarity.

Question regarding sausage temp

I generally make a large batch of smoked Polish at once and freeze for later, always boiling to reheat. Given that, is it necessary to take sausage to 152 if it is not going to be consumed immediately? It takes FOREVER to get it to 152 in the smoker, to date have given up after about 8hrs each...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[daveomak]

HowlingDog, morning.... May I suggest, when citing a questionable statement by someone on this or any forum, you "COPY AND PASTE" the "ENTIRE STATEMENT" for clarity so there can be no confusion as to what was said...
I read JJ's statement earlier, within minutes of when it was posted.... I understood his meaning..
I knew what his intent was, because I'm familiar with the question of partially cooking/smoking and freezing meats...
What has me confused ??? When I read it, did I mentally add words that were not in print ??? Did I mentally interpret what was not stated and let it pass ??? If I did that, it scares me that I may have let an unsafe practice go unnoticed and someone could have become ill...
I realize age is creeping up and with that some mental acuity is waning...
So, for myself and others in the same boat, anything you could do to help us would be appreciated...

"we do not recommend freezing raw to be cooked later"

I would bet JJ did not make the above statement... maybe something very close to that... I'm hoping I would have caught that statement.. That's where I need and am asking for help in the future....
Dave


..

 

[chef jimmyj]

Good morning Dave. You're still sharp as a tack! My original statement...

We do not recommend Cold Smoking and Freezing Raw to be cooked later...JJ

And the Edited statement with more detail...

We do not recommend Cold Smoking, at temps within the Danger Zone and Freezing Raw to be cooked later...JJ

Looks like the words, " Cold Smoking " didn't register with HowlingDog. Totally understandable. I frequently have to read a post 2 or 3 time to let what's being said sink in...JJ

 

[HowlingDog]

Thank you Both for your comments and clarification, and I apologize for how I phrased the quote, no intent other than my own confusion.

I did see the "cold smoking" part, my error was mis-interpreting the "and". In my mind, I saw a comma....

Dave, I will do a better job of using the quote feature, I appreciate your advice. I have learned much from this forum, and both of you and Thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom to everyone.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Anytime my friend. I read no ill will into your inquiry. And, like Dave, am here to help...JJ

 

[daveomak]

All members are here to help everyone... We all learn daily.... Enjoy the forum...