Getting back to the original post. I think it has to do primarily with the season. Tradition dates back to the days prior to modern refrigeration and the growing season. The hogs were at the end of the summer season where feed was plentiful. I am not so certain it applies to the times we live in today.
Even so, I do most of my sausage making in the late fall through early spring. I can work outside on the back patio without needing to make a mess of Mrs. Solaryellow's kitchen and no concern of bugs and excessive temps that could cause troubles throughout the process. I also find smoker temps easier to control in the mild Carolina winter than the hot humid summer.
I live about 30-35 miles west of you..I seldom post but I felt obliged to help beat this horse some more.. Nitrates ARE poison. So is OXYGEN in pure form. It also is a pain when welding. corrodes the metal something awful. We can't do without Oxygen. We are unable to eliminate nitrates in total also.
Nowadays U can make sausage at any time of the year because we can keep the temp.where we need it to be a LOT easier than we could
back inna day.
When I was a boy in the mountains of NC. [andrews-murphy] we did not have the ways to keep the meat at a safe temp for any length of time, especially the amount that a hog produces.. My folks did not have electricity until the mid sixtys. Could have got it sooner but can U say
STUBBORN ?
I ain't postin this to step on no toes.. Just that I remember the times being discussed.
We always waited until after the first frost and started gettin the stuff together.. When we started butchering alla the neighbors helped to do it QUICK
Basicly because of the cold weather was a help and the feeding of the stock, the weight of the pigs and so forth. Just about ALL the reasons
stated came into play.
My part in it was being a goffer. U guessed it.. Goffer this, goffer that.. My main job was helpin Mom And Granny make liver mush in that
monster size caldron. A slap onna back of the head made me stir that stuff till my arms about fell off. The next few days we would help the neighbors. No such thing as ''too busy'' ''ain't got time'' not more than once anyhow.. Just about all the reasons stated are true to some extent.