Can slow cooked sausages still look pink inside?

I followed a slow cooker recipe for curried sausages. I cut the sausages into smaller pieces (less than an inch approx) and left them to cook with the spices/stock on high for over 5hrs then froze into portions.
I heated a portion up today and the sausages looked pink inside. Could this be because they were slow cooked? Or are they still raw? I only at a few pieces then tossed the rest. I have 4 more portions and don't like wasting food.
I think they sausages were beef or pork. They had been frozen but I defrosted them prior to cooking.
Thanks.

SJBlack
  • Posted by: SJBlack
  • February 16, 2020
  • 14298 views
  • 1 Comment

1 Comment

HalfPint
HalfPint February 17, 2020
Yes, it can look pink. Since these are cured sausages, there will be some nitrites that prevent the sausage from browning, keeping it pink. So it is perfectly safe to eat :)

ps. even if the label has "uncured" or "nitrite-free" and the sausage is a nice pink/red color, it still has nitrites/nitrates due if they use celery powder/extract, which has a lot of naturally occurring nitrite. Totally deceptive marketing but it's legal. Ok, off my soapbox. Enjoy your sausage!
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52