Why 152 Degrees.

[Mjb]

I am curious why i see so many suggestions to bring the internal temperature of the sausage to 152 degrees. If using cure #1... could a person just smoke the sausage for a few hours at 170 and then freeze? Thank you so much for any and all insight. Mike

 

[jimmyinsd]

The rule is no more than 4 hours between 40 and 140, so if you can smoke it, and get it cooled back down and into a frozen state in less than 4 hours you would likely be ok....buy why not just use cure and be safe in case something doesn't go just perfect ?

 

[daveomak]

Cure #1 does not kill all pathogens... Smoking at 170 wakes up the pathogens and they start to grow.. They need to be killed before you do anything else with the meat.... [152 kills most.. 165 kills salmonella... Poultry needs 165... I even take ground beef to 165 because if may have been contaminated with salmonella...] If they are not killed, they continue to grow until the temp is back around 40 F.. They have seriously multiplied... bad for eating..

 

[indaswamp]

The ONLY way IMO to do it is cold smoke with refrigeration keeping the meat under 34*...

Then you can smoke for a few hours and freeze.

Not everyone has a set up to do it properly and keep the meat cold.

 

[jwilson48]

Cure #1 does not kill all pathogens... Smoking at 170 wakes up the pathogens and they start to grow.. They need to be killed before you do anything else with the meat.... [152 kills most.. 165 kills salmonella... Poultry needs 165... I even take ground beef to 165 because if may have been contaminated with salmonella...] If they are not killed, they continue to grow until the temp is back around 40 F.. They have seriously multiplied... bad for eating..

I've seen you post several times on pasteurization and smoking at 150 for 24 hours or so but no mention of it here. Have you decided against that or is that still okay. Was planning on doing another 5 lb batch of summer sausage with this method and now I'm not sure

 

[chef jimmyj]

Salmonella and all active food pathogens stop growing around 125° and are killed in around 3 minutes at 150°F, +/- 5° Botulinum Spores can survive temps up to about 250°F hence the use of Nitrite Cure to kill them before we even start smoking. It is important to smoke sausage to a safe IT, as above, to kill any bacteria the first time heat is applied. We don't partially cook meat and freeze it. This is because surviving bacteria will begin to multiply again as the sausage cools, some making heat stable toxins, go dormant in the freezer, then multiply more during defrosting with more toxin. Additionally with repeated heating and cooling bacteria can develop a tolerance for temps that would otherwise inhibit it's growth or kill it. So for these reasons Partial Cooking is risky business...JJ

 

[chef jimmyj]

Just a Note: Dave's Pasteurization Charts are of great value for those with a good understanding of Food Safety, how bacteria multiply and temps to manage them. For guaranteed safety, following USDA Guidelines for IT, like cooking poultry to 165°F instantly killing Salmonella, is assurance that illness from chicken will never be an issue...JJ

 

[Mjb]

Thank you all very much for your responses. I think i have it straight in my head now. Even if i plan on reheating well over 152 after the freezer, it is still prudent to bring it too 152 prior. Thanks again. Mike

 

[pineywoods]

The ONLY way IMO to do it is cold smoke with refrigeration keeping the meat under 34*...

Then you can smoke for a few hours and freeze.

Not everyone has a set up to do it properly and keep the meat cold.

If we are talking meat that has been cured the rules change and it can be smoked for longer periods in the "danger zone"

 

[indaswamp]

If we are talking meat that has been cured the rules change and it can be smoked for longer periods in the "danger zone"

This is true, I should have been more clear in my post. But the rules are different for ground meat with cure vs. whole cuts like bacon with cure. The OP had a question about ground meat with cure.
Ground meat with cure should not be stopped during the smoking process in an attempt to finish it later, which is done with bacon....