Sausage Using Garden Ingredients?

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:03

Hi Folks! This is Brochothrix Thermosphacta. It is a spoilage bacteria, not generally considered to be pathogenic. However, it can really mess up your day if you consume it because you may spend all your time on the great white throne! So, avoid it in your home made sausage! Here's how.

Sausage Using Garden Ingredients?

There is quite a controversy regarding this subject. Perhaps until you experience the speed at which either a pathogenic or spoilage bacteria affects a batch of your favorite comminuted sausage, you won`t have an opinion. Some years ago, I ground up twenty pounds of pork butt, added Cure #1, salt, a few signature ingredients and some of my proudly-raised, award-winning, fresh garden basil.

Everything looked and smelled great - that is, until about eight hours later as I removed it from the refrigerator. It stunk like my great uncle George`s never-washed gym socks! - the ones he used to store his Limburger Cheese in! Wheeeew!

Can you say... P.U.?

Whenever bacteria breaks down meat, acids and other waste products are created in the process. While the bacteria itself may or may not be harmful, the waste products may be unpleasant to taste or may even be harmful to one's health. And where does the slimy feel come from? It`s the actual cells of the spoilage bacteria. For this reason, sausage containing fresh garden ingredients is not usually smoked and stored for any length of time. On the other hand, if "sterilized" spices or herbs are used in the recipe, along with the proper cure and amount of salt, it is quite possible to make a cured-smoked-cooked product or even a semi-dry or fully dry-cured product.

My point is this - if you add fresh garden ingredients to your "fresh"-type sausage, do it only if you are going to consume the sausage immediately. Otherwise, use only sterilized spices or herbs, obtained from a commercial supply company or trusted market.

Salciccia Barese
(Fresh Italian Sausage With Pecorino Cheese)

Is anyone in the mood for some great, sweet Italian sausage with pecorino cheese? Made with tomato paste, this sausage also contains fresh basil and parsley from your garden. But because home-grown basil and parsley are not sterilized, you may find that it can turn your sausage rancid within just a few hours. Overnight in the fridge is quite enough time for bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Moraxella spp. to do their damage.

5 lbs. - (1000.0 grams) - pork butt
1 cup - (100.0 grams) - Pecorino cheese
6 Tblspns. - (54.0 grams) - tomato paste
5-1/2 tspns. - (40.0 grams) - salt
1/2 cup - (25.0 grams) - basil (fresh - chopped)
1/4 cup - (10.0 grams) - parsley (fresh - chopped)
2 tspns. - (4.2 grams) - black pepper (coarse grind)
1/2 cup - (125 ml.) - ice water

Directions: Grate the cheese and chop the basil and parsley. Mix the tomato paste with the water then add the remaining ingredients and mix well until the texture becomes sticky.
Please remember... It is recommended that this sausage NOT be cased unless it is cooked and eaten immediately, as it contains freshly chopped basil and parsley (possibly carrying pathogenic or spoilage bacteria). For smoked-cooked type sausage, use only sterilized spices and 1 level teaspoon of Cure #1 per 5 pounds of sausage. Stuff the sausage into 34mm hog casings and link 8" sausages. Refrigerate 24 hours to develop flavors. Never smoke fresh sausage without adding an actual sodium nitrite curing agent such as pink salt, Instacure, Prague Powder, Peklosol etc.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:43

CW, could fresh herbs be sterilized with grain alcohol? Just the quantity that will be used and after they are chopped.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:22

Ross, the answer is no. Bacterial endospores are most resistant to disinfectants. Additionally, some viruses and bacteria also possess some tolerance. Disinfectants work by destroying the cell wall of microbes or interfering with the metabolism, but... disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores.

Antibiotics destroy microorganisms within the body, and antiseptics (such as alcohol) destroy microorganisms on living tissue. Sterilization, is an extreme physical or chemical process that kills all types of life. Sanitisers are substances that simultaneously clean and disinfect. Then there are biocides - intended to destroy all forms of life, not just microorganisms - a little tough for our purposes.

If you are going to use your own garden herbs in fermented or smoke-cooked sausage, then you'll have to build your own gamma-ray sterilization chamber in your basement, although I really wouldn't recommend it!

Shucks pal, just go buy some sterilized herbs and spices at your local grocery.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 14:44

That is the answer we needed! Thanks.

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 23:17

What if we instead drank the grain alcohol and then ate the sausage, would we be safe then?

Or maybe we won't be safe but we just won't care....

ursula · Post by **ursula** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 05:33

You're so funny, Jerbear

Made my day.
Ursula

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 06:11

Thanks Ursula, I have my moments.

In all seriousness, what about things like dried fruit (cherries, apples, etc) or nuts? Thoughts CW?

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 07:17

Hi Jer, you ol` scoundrel!
You wrote:

what about things like dried fruit (cherries, apples, etc) or nuts?

Bacteria and even some viruses are surprisingly quite tolerant to alcohol, but endospores are the most resistant of all. These are the inactive form of certain bacteria tolerant to extreme conditions such as temperature, dryness, lack of food, etc. The bacterium develops a waterproof cell wall that protects it from being dried out or damaged. It`s the ultimate survival mechanism. Some bacteria have been known to remain alive (but dormant) in endosporium form for extended periods of time - thousands of years even! Alcohol has little effect on these tough microorganisms.

So, sterilization by hooch might be a great idea, but it just isn't practical... (darn it!)

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 07:19

Just to confirm, fresh veg not the best idea but dried? Ok, not ok?

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 08:53

Jer, it`s just my opinion, but myself, I wouldn`t use any substance in my sausages that has not been sterilized as part of the manufacturing process. Chances are you would never have a problem with your own dried fruit (below Aw 0.86) where the threat of staphylococcus aureus is eliminated, but we should remember any substance or organic material may contain clostridium botulinum. Additionally, berries, fruit, nuts, and other substances may contain the cyclospora cayetanensis parasite - not a bacteria, but a living organism. .. a protozoa of the sub-class coccidia. Note that although companies in the USA have had the alternative of using irradiation since 1997, most still prefer to use a heat-moisture sterilization technique to render certain foods safe.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 14:22

Thanks, disappointing but good to know.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 15:08

grind, mix, stuff, cook, eat in the same afternoon and you will be alright. I stuff a whole chicken with fresh herbs and roast it. The herbs are less than 20 minutes from the garden to the oven.
Edit to add: Remember that all of the leafy stuff that we grow is by diffinition herbs. I am not sure where fresh garlic lands here.

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 16:07

I typically prefer to avoid fresh garlic due to concerns of botulism (at least with sausages)...

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 16:51

We see recipes for sausage with fresh parsley, spinach, onions and garlic. I grow sage , tarragon, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, onions and garlic in the same patch. I haven't used fresh in sausage except for garlic.

markjass · Post by **markjass** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 00:24

Last night I had a simple meal out. It was Italian meatballs with pasta. The meatballs were so simple, pork (top notch it tasted lovely), fresh sage (oh lovely), onions (had been soffened), salt, pepper and egg to bind. The sauce was lovely. I washed it down with a glass of my fav Central Otago Pinot Noir.

This got me thinking. I have not made a basic fresh pork sausage for a while. When I do I use dried and rubbed sage. THe taste of this is naf compaired to fresh sage. I am tempted to use fresh sage, but having re-read this posting am rethinking about this.

My sage bushes did not like being moved (they died). I had to move them so that the geo-tec guys could get a drilling rig into my garden to do soil samples (no more news on my house - have been told that I will be told within three months. Since a year last January.

Anyway back to the point. I would have to use sage from the local supermarket and I suspect that there is no more/no less chance of spoiling resulting from using that.