Smoking bear sausage low and slow. Any risk?

[Belleau]

Hi everyone!

I just came back from a successful bear hunt and it's my first one! So happy right now!!

I looked at a lot of threads here about how to cook bear meat and trichinosis. I'm sorry if it sounds redundent to you, but my question is on low and slow smoking.

I would like to do some smoked texas style sausages but I'm not sure if there's any risk cooking them with an internal pit temperature of 150-160. Is there a risk that bacterial increases at low tempeture? Or it doesn't matter and as soon as the sausage meet 160 it will be all good?

Thank you very much!!

 

[TSAMP]

I recall the FDA updating the documents on this recently and have this on my phone. It seems lower Temps for longer durations performs similarly as high Temps for short cooks at killing off bacteria. That said I still got my bear summer sausage to 160 before removing it.

 

[Belleau]

I recall the FDA updating the documents on this recently and have this on my phone. It seems lower Temps for longer durations performs similarly as high Temps for short cooks at killing off bacteria. That said I still got my bear summer sausage to 160 before removing it.
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Thank you!! I'm just not sure if keeping meet at low temps under 160 for a long period of time could spread bacterias... could it turn bad before it reach 160? I don't know, but maybe I'm thinking too much here..

 

[BigCam47]

Thank you!! I'm just not sure if keeping meet at low temps under 160 for a long period of time could spread bacterias... could it turn bad before it reach 160? I don't know, but maybe I'm thinking too much here..

It won’t turn bad as heat generally increases to your target temp. Per the FDA data table you’re still getting effective kill at 120F. The effectiveness increases as temp goes up (higher kill rate) which is why you see a lower target time requirement.

 

[roosiebull]

I recall the FDA updating the documents on this recently and have this on my phone. It seems lower Temps for longer durations performs similarly as high Temps for short cooks at killing off bacteria. That said I still got my bear summer sausage to 160 before removing it.
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Excellent resource, thanks!!

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

Thank you!! I'm just not sure if keeping meet at low temps under 160 for a long period of time could spread bacterias... could it turn bad before it reach 160? I don't know, but maybe I'm thinking too much here..

1000% Any Sausage is susceptible to being very dangerous when cooked over a prolonged period of time. You must use Sodium Nitrate for smoking any sausage, not just Bear.

 

[92xj]

With no curing agent, I get my bear sausage out of the “danger zone” of sub 140 degrees in 4 hours, then make sure I hit an internal temp of 160 before pulling and eating. No one has died and no one has pooped water.

 

[z987k]

For bear I use a meat thermometer and go to 165 just to be extra safe. I'll do the whole smoke at 160, because that's as low as my smoker goes, and then at the end set it to 180 for the last few degrees.

For what it's worth Trichinosis is not caused by bacteria. It's a parasitic worm.

 

[Belleau]

So I gathered all of you guys info and here's what I ended up doing. I kept everything cold, I used pink salt for bacterias and smoked it at 165 until it reach 165 internal. I then plunged them in ice cold water and frozen them sous vide. Everytime I'm cooking some I reach 165 for safety and everyone is fine! Thanks again! I did the recipe from chuds bbq channel. Turns out great!

 

[444Marlin]

I do all my bear steaks sous vide at 140 for an hour plus and it's been adequate to kill trichinosis. No problems. I trust it enough to feed it to my kids. If I was to do smoked bear sausage I'd be perfectly fine going to 140 internal temp.

 

[Marbles]

I recall the FDA updating the documents on this recently and have this on my phone. It seems lower Temps for longer durations performs similarly as high Temps for short cooks at killing off bacteria. That said I still got my bear summer sausage to 160 before removing it.
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Nailed it. Thanks.

 

[frozentexan]

I recall the FDA updating the documents on this recently and have this on my phone. It seems lower Temps for longer durations performs similarly as high Temps for short cooks at killing off bacteria. That said I still got my bear summer sausage to 160 before removing it.
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this is how i've done mine as well. Get internal temp to 160 degrees over the course of several hours and then into a water bath to stop cooking process, then eat!