I'm making some pork and beef sausage links. I kept it simple.. pork, beef salt, coarse pepper and insta-cure.

The only thing that I did different was... I mixed the meat and seasonings and refrigerated it for a day before putting it in the casings. The meat turned light brown but has no odor. My question is, why did it do that, is that normal and is it safe to smoke and eat? I'm smoking them now and want to make sure that they are safe. As I stated I did use Prague Powder #1 at the rate of one teaspoon per five pounds of meat.

Phillip
  • Posted by: Phillip
  • July 20, 2019
  • 1867 views
  • 2 Comments

2 Comments

Lori T.
Lori T. July 21, 2019
Did you mix your spices into the meat with water, so you get good distribution? Meat turns brown because of a lack of oxygen exposure, as well as age/temperature- but since you added the curing salt it should have turned pink. The meat itself should be fine, providing it was kept cold and was not old to begin with. In the future, you just want to take a little more time mixing in the spices and be sure to add in water to help distribute the curing salt evenly. It sounds counter-intuitive to add water, I know. But the meat will absorb it and your sausages will end up nice and juicy, and you will know the cure was even throughout.
 
Phillip
Phillip July 22, 2019
Thank you Lori. I appreciate your response to my question. I do add a few tablespoons of water and I always grind and mix the sausage in a steel bowl chilled over ice. That makes it very cold for mixing with my hands. I may have rushed through the mixing process for that reason and didn't get it mixed as thoroughly as I should have. I'll try to do better next time. Thank You... Phillip
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52