Cleanliness is next to... Staying Alive! Food prep tips and stuff

[ring sting]

I have started this thread so that we can discuss how to keep our homemade products as bacterial and germ free as possible.

If you're going pro or are particularly paranoid, seek professional advice. If you are a pro (or particularly paranoid) and have advice, please post it here!

 

[ring sting]

Botulism

All food preparation is associated with some risk of illness (do you raelly trust the minimum wage hot-plate jockey at the Krazy Klown?). What makes jerky especially prone is that it is done at low temperatures.

Personally I use sodium nitrate not so much as a preservative but to prevent botulism when drying/smoking at low temps.

Some info on botulism:
Makes some celebrities look like clowns. (See recent footage of Meg Ryan trying to speak. BLEAAAGH!)

I quickly skimmed to sources:
Source 1 Read this section, and also scroll down to page 500 as well to read about some other preservatives.
Source 2

Seriously, botulism may be fatal, and at best, may cause severe stomach upset.

A quick search reveals some stats on botulism infection, and that most cases occur due to poor hygiene in home preparation of ethnic (not my word) cuisine.
Whilst the use of nitrate and nitrites in food preparation will inhibit the growth of botulism, it will not prevent it.

Apparently, the use of NaCl (Sodium Chloride -- table salt) will also retard its growth. As will refrigeration (less than 4C) and freezing.

Remember: don't store jerky for months on end in the cupboard if you only use NaCl, freeze it, or better yet, just make enough for the week, etc.

RS

 

[hixs]

Hey great thread but---I`ve been making 5 lbs every week for the last 5 yrs or so.Before I had it made and carried it in the field while still a gunny in the corps - damn near 14 trs .If done right i`ve never had a prob with adding salt.I carried for months at a time so maybe might be a prob with this direction.Great for watching out for people . Have a good one.

 

[POTAWIE]

I never used nitrites when I first started making smoked sausage/jerky but I do now. Botulism is not just a stomach ache or a cleanliness issue, it is the deadiest form of food poisoning and it thrives where there is low oxygen, temps between 40F and 140F, and moisture.
I recommend the book "Great sausage recipes and meat curing" by Rytek Kutas. It is considered the bible of meat curing/sausage.
"To date, no substitute for nitrate has been discovered. No compound or treatment has been found that will produce the characteristic product that possesses nitrite's antibotulinal properties"

 

[hixs]

Thanks Pot and not arguing but i`ll send a sample to anyone and they can have it analyzed.I`m not a scientist just grunt but between somalia, iraq and south america it`s worked for many a year. Yall have a good one.

 

[ring sting]

Botulism is not just a stomach ache or a cleanliness issue, it is the deadiest form of food poisoning and it thrives where there is low oxygen, temps between 40F and 140F, and moisture.

Thanks Potawie, where do you get your nitrites from? What form are they in? Liquid, powder? Are they hard for the home cooker to get?

Cheers,

RS

 

[POTAWIE]

Once I started making smoked sausage I started using nitrite cures for my jerky as well.
You know there is actually way more nitrites in some common vegetables than in cured meats and wherever there's nitrogen there is nitrites. In the past, unrefined salts contained nitrite impurities and this is how cures began.

 

[POTAWIE]

Nitrites usually come labeled as cure#1, pink cure or prague powder and are mixed with salt(used as a carrier). I order mine online from LEM or Thesausagemaker or you can try your local butcher.

 

[ring sting]

What ratios should a person use? eg. 1 gram per kilo? 1 oz. per pound?
For jerky?
for sausage?

Ty!

 

[POTAWIE]

I think 1 oz is good for 25 Lbs.
The Backwoods jerky seasoning I buy recommends 1/4 teaspoon/pound
It all confuses me as I'm a metric guy

 

[Sickmont]

The Backwoods jerky seasoning I buy recommends 1/4 teaspoon/pound
It all confuses me as I'm a metric guy

That would be .25 of the small spoon per 16 oz., dude, not the big spoon.

 

[imaguitargod]

I'm hugely allergic to nitrates and curse anyone who uses them!!!

 

[POTAWIE]

Nitrates are used for dry cured sausage(cure#2) and they break down into nitrites over time and then most of the nitites also break down(up to 75%)

 

[imaguitargod]

Ya know, I was thinking about this. I'm a veterine of over 900+ hot products (sauces, bbq sauces, salsas, dry rubs, etc etc) sampled. Not once have I gotten sick from them (not including allergic reaction to ingredients....happens alot actually but I am a reviewer and it's my job so I have to grin and bare it).

That's quite amazing that not one company has screwed up and had a spoiled/contaiminated product that I've received.

 

[texas blues]

When in doubt..there is the old 3 second rule....

Cheers, TB.

 

[huvason]

Some quickies.....

1. Clean everything thoroughly prior to use.
2. Keep all pets away from kitchen when cooking
3. Invest in a cheap PH meter (you can get them on eBay), make sure you PH is proper (below 4.0)
4. Make sure you bring the temp up to 195 for 15 minutes before you bottle.....

 

[stillmanz]

have a basic understanding of cooking is a real leg up.

Hot sauce
Firstly read up as much as you can
bottle hot 80 celcius minimum is a must and seal direct.
Did you know bottulism is found more often in Orange juice than any other product.
Also watch out for onions.
check your ph but look at your recipe as well. there has to be some acidification vineger, citric acid etc.
other wise you get the volcano in the bottle.
TRy not to double handle things to much.