Sausage not pink in middle

[Lord Montgomery von Agoho]

I’ve been smoking a medvurst for the past 4 hours at around 160-170 f. Just cut through the test sausage. Nice and pink on the outside but grey on the inside. Anyone know why? I’ve added .25% curing salt. It’s at 160 f so ready to pull out but I’m thinking to let it stay in longer hoping it’s the smoke that gives it colour.

 

[DanMcG]

Are they all like that? and did you mix in the cure along with the other spices, then mix the meat.

 

[Lord Montgomery von Agoho]

that was the test pice so haven't checked all. the rest are still smoking or maturing.
i ground the beef twice, then mixed the cure plus dry spices (already mixed) for about 10 min, then for about 20 min i mixed in porter beer and congnac, stuffed and let hang for one hour then smoke.

the single one has been out for an hour, the remaining 2 ill take out now and see what happens....

 

[BGKYSmoker]

20 mins of mixing is too much. looks like you may have killed the cure with the added alcohol from 2 sources.
How many pounds did you make.

 

[Lord Montgomery von Agoho]

fundador is the Cognac, all measurements are in grams (sorry im European).

since nitrite is a chemical how can alcohol kill it?

im sorry im a newbie at all of this. any and all help appreciated. ill cut open the other sausage tomorrow and hopefully they will be nice.

 

[indaswamp]

I agree with Rick.

And no problem with metric system when dealing with sausage recipes, It is actually preferred for ease of measurement.
Beer is slightly acidic and acids will react with the cure. Not sure about the Cognac, but it probably has some acids in it as well.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Didnt say you DID kill it. Stated you MAY have.

Carry on.

 

[SmokinEdge]

1 hour of hang time isn’t enough time for the cure to work properly. Typically you would refrigerate the mix over night at minimum. Then stuff and smoke.
If I’m going to stuff and smoke right away, I always use a cure accelerator. Sodium erythorbate. The nitrite converting to nitric oxide and then bonding with the myoglobin in the meat causes the pink color.

 

[indaswamp]

1 hour of hang time isn’t enough time for the cure to work properly. Typically you would refrigerate the mix over night at minimum. Then stuff and smoke.
If I’m going to stuff and smoke right away, I always use a cure accelerator. Sodium erythorbate. The nitrite converting to nitric oxide and then bonding with the myoglobin in the meat causes the pink color.

I think the point Rick was trying to make is that with the addition of the acids in the beer and Cognac, and the long mixing time, the beer and Cognac may have acted as cure accelerators and used up active cure prior to stuffing; and the Nitrous Oxide gas diffused into the air instead of reacting with the meat.

 

[daveomak]

I’ve been smoking a medvurst for the past 4 hours at around 160-170 f. Just cut through the test sausage. Nice and pink on the outside but grey on the inside. Anyone know why? I’ve added .25% curing salt. It’s at 160 f so ready to pull out but I’m thinking to let it stay in longer hoping it’s the smoke that gives it colour.

Morning.... Is there a specific recipe you followed ??? Could you post it here or link to it....
Or did you wing it...

 

[SmokinEdge]

View attachment 482244

fundador is the Cognac, all measurements are in grams (sorry im European).

since nitrite is a chemical how can alcohol kill it?

im sorry im a newbie at all of this. any and all help appreciated. ill cut open the other sausage tomorrow and hopefully they will be nice.

Curious now if you used Cure #1 containing 6.25% nitrite? Or European cure salt which has 0.5% nitrite?

 

[DanMcG]

I'd like to see some more sample cuts. with the one you showed it could very well be a small bit of farce that somehow didn't get any cure incorporated into it.

 

[PolishDeli]

Sounds like the spices, cure, meat, and liquid were all mixed very thoroughly.
Also seems like the sausage reached a safe temperature (unless your thermometer is way off?)

Seems pretty much impossible that you could have gotten a non-uniform cure in the meat. Even if the acidity of the alcohol resulted in a weakening of the cure, it would not manifest in radialy symmetric discolorations. That would only happen if you tried curing the sausage by immersion after stuffing.

To me it looks like that may be a smoke ring. These are caused by carbon monoxide, a byproduct of wood combustion. CO reacts with myoglobin (the same way NO from the NaNO2 reacts with myoglobin) and results in a pink color. This does not pose a danger.

I'm interested in what others think about this possibility. And, yes; post more pictures of other slices.

 

[indaswamp]

@PolishDeli
It is my understanding that combustion of wood produces NO gas in small concentration and that prolonged exposure of meat to smoke allows the NO gas to absorb into the meat, thus producing the smoke ring. I have not heard of CO gas producing the same result...not saying it does not happen, I've just never heard of it.
Kingsford Charcoal briquettes actually adds sodium nitrite to the charcoal to produce a smoke ring in the meat when it is use for grilling/smoking....

 

[chef jimmyj]

What is the possibility that the Cure #1 DIDN'T get added. That would give a Pink exterior from a Smoke Ring and a Gray center, this would make more sense if all the ropes are the same way. Just a wild guess..JJ

@indaswamp Both you and @PolishDeli are correct...

What is carbon monoxide and why is it used in foods?

Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, odorless, flammable and highly toxic gas. It is a major product of the incomplete combustion of carbon and carbon-containing compounds.

Carbon monoxide binds hemoglobin in much the same way that oxygen does, only 200x stronger. In fact CO will displace oxygen from hemoglobin (or myoglobin) because it has such great affinity for hemoglobin. It is a known fact that carbon monoxide is used in processed meats and fish to keep the color of blood red for long periods of time. This keeps the meat looking fresh red for a long time.

Note: Oxygen and Carbon monoxide are not the only molecules to bind hemoglobin (or myoglobin). Nitric Oxide also does the same thing. Nitric Oxide can be formed from Nitrates. Nitrites are the reason cured meat is pink or red. Nitrites turn into Nitric Oxide, which reacts with the oxygen-binding proteins in the meat. Without the nitrites the cured meat would turn brown quickly.

Why does some meat and fish contain carbon monoxide?

Why are food companies using carbon monoxide in fish and meat?

www.scienceofcooking.com

 

[indaswamp]

Good to know chef jj... thanks for posting.

 

[Lord Montgomery von Agoho]

the cure was 6.25%. the other sausages i cut the following morning and they looked fine. but they were smoked for 2 more hours. which makes me wonder if i really did forget the curing salt (i don't think so but anything is a possibility) and the pink is just the smoke ring. the taste was fine but the fat slices were too big....