Uxbal and Tom, I outlined why I think that it is not safe to ferment sausage using indigenous bacteria in a haphazard environment, leaving it open to contamination by a variety of pathogens that will make you seriously ill, and not just give you a case of the runs. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonell...

I have concerns as to frying and tasting with fresh nitrates and bactoferm in the mix. Do you fry it up, then after tasting, add and mix your instacure and bactoferm last? I do also already understand that the bactoferm needs to be diluted using distilled water to "wake it up", so no need to remind...

Salt in itself is not needed for fermentation which is what you stated in your previous post. And I understand that people have been been fermenting foods for millenia without understanding the science behind it. Now we have a whole body if scientific evidence that helps us better understand the fe...

I'm always amazed at how the old meat curers came up with the processes they did. Like this lady, she probably couldn't explain why she added the wine other than "for the bugs". Maybe its just me. Maybe I'm just easily amazed, but when I see old recipes validated by science I am just amazed at how ...

Uxbal313, your statements a are totally incorrect. I suggest you do a bit of homework before posting such fallacious meanderings. To begin with, salt has nothing to do with fermentation. It is just that lactic bacteria are tolerant of it, some even at 15%. The sour taste that developed in your saus...

Threw it out to the dump. Some mold I could not say was good or not. Better safe than sorry. At least I am still here answering your post so all is good :) What a shame. Was the mold just on the surface and what was the color? If it was on the surface, it can just be scraped off and the meat inside...

Well, I wish my dad was still around so I had the opportunity to ask these questions. Unfortunately, he is no longer living and when the family was making 300 pounds at one time, I was too busy partying and could care less about making sausage and soppressata. At any rate, I do know they used to ma...

oh i forgot wine does contain sugar in the form of fructose. Some wines they add plain sugar. Meat also contain trace sugars.

Uxbal: Thank you so much for the additional advice. Brandy! I'll need to try that one day. Curious as to what that might taste like... I didn't end up putting sugar and come to think of it, that is a bit odd, as every other recipe calls for at least a little sugar or dextrose to feed the bacteria. ...

2. I know that fermentation is HIGHLY recommended in this group and other hobby groups. And I understand the reasons why. And I'll do it next time (I promise). But I'd like to know if anyone here has any experience drying venison sausages simply using kosher salt, wine, and cure#2 in a recipe and w...

I advise investing in a meter, or at the very least, using test strips. Lowering the pH is an important hurdle and can be tricky, so we need to know what the heck is going on. Even in Italy they check the pH, and look for that drop even though they don't use starter cultures. We simply don't have t...