OT- meat preparation question

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45-70-
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OT- meat preparation question

Post by 45-70- »

I have heard different answers and wanted to hear from you guys what you thought.

I have 4 large wild pig shoulders that were frozen as whole shoulders. I want to cut them up, grind them and make sausage. Can I re-freeze it after processing it into sausage? I have been told no and yes.

Some of the meat I am processing fell at the hands of the trusty Browning 1895 30-40 Krag :D
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gcs
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Post by gcs »

Are you cooking/smoking, the sausage before you re-freeze? then definitely yes, Raw, I'm not so sure, but I don't see why not.
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RIHMFIRE
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Post by RIHMFIRE »

Its not a really good idea...to re freeze meat.
Always butcher and prepare the cuts you want before freezing
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Post by Bigahh »

I was always told Pork cannot be re-frozen
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FWiedner
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Post by FWiedner »

This from askthemeatman.com:
Refreezing Meat Guidelines
Occasionally, frozen foods are partially or completely thawed because of delays in storing food, a power outage, or a change of plans for cooking the food.

The basis for determining safety in refreezing foods is how long and at what temperature they have been held. Look closely at frozen foods you thawed partially or completely to determine whether you should refreeze them.

Refreezing needs to be done quickly. Clean the freezer before refilling. If the freezer has an adjustable temperature control, turn it to the coldest position.

Check each package or container of food. Non-rigid containers can often be checked without opening by squeezing to feel for ice crystals. If they need to be opened, they should be carefully rewrapped.

Certain foods may be safely refrozen if they still contain ice crystals, or if they are still cold--about 35 to 40 F--and if you held them no longer than one or two days at that temperature. Put the relabeled packages in the coldest part of the freezer leaving space for circulation, and use within two or three months as quality is diminished.

Any signs of spoilage, off odors or color in any food indicates the food should be disposed of without tasting.

Meats such as beef, pork, veal, lamb and poultry can be refrozen when they are still firm with ice crystals. Meat still safe to eat can be cooked and refrozen. Discard meats if any signs of spoilage are present.
So what this says to me is WORK FAST.

Assuming that the frozen stuff is in good shape to begin with, have your ingredients ready to go, don't let your pork get too warm, don't dilly-dally, and you should be good.


:)
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45-70-
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Post by 45-70- »

I checked the shoulders, they are still half frozen. What I wanted to do is cube them, grind them, stuff them and refreeze the raw links? My wife seems to think so since we are changing composition. I dont know, I just dont want to make anyone sick.
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FWiedner
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Post by FWiedner »

Thaw it, cut it, grind it, but keep it cold.

Don't leave it sitting out to get warm (if you don't have to), between steps in your process.

:)
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A professional's perspective:

Post by Billy Boy »

From the standpoint of a professional food handler- If all products are kept below 40 degrees during preparation it's not that big a deal. It would be preferred to smoke them first(hot). Keeping the product below 40 degrees keeps the product out of the temperature danger zone of 40 to 145 degrees in which bacteria grows most readily. Try putting the grinder head in the freezer for a half hour before precessing the meat like butchers do. Otherwise the meat can absorb heat from the walls of the grinder.
The real problem with the refreezing of said product is that when we freeze meats; the liquids therein form crystals which slice through tissues and can resultantly have somewhat of a tenderizing effect. Too much of a good thing however, can cause irreperable damage to the product in the long run.
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Last edited by Billy Boy on Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by .45colt »

I would do 1 shoulder at a time and use as fresh sausage. It is Not worth the worry or risk getting sick. Jim.
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El Chivo
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Post by El Chivo »

If they're half-thawed now I would have a big barbecue and use it all up.

My venison was getting nasty towards the end (1 year) due to the freezer thawing and re-freezing. It was fine in the middle but some brown, stinky layers on the outside had to be cut off.

Not an expert but that's what happened with me.
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Post by Leverdude »

When I butcher a deer I do it on the kitchen table. All the steaks & roasts get wrapped & frozen. The front shoulders, neck & other trim I freeze in @ one pound packages. I try & grind them half frozen but regularly leave them freeze solid & let them partially defrost before grinding. I'v refroze ground venison & it was fine a year later. I'v had steaks 3 years old come out fine.
I think its how you wrap it thats the most important.
I wouldn't refreeze steaks or big pieces but ground meat dont matter. IMHO of course.
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Post by dr walker »

I have done it before with no noticable ill effects. We thawed out wild boar shoulders, made sausage, cooked some of them right then, put the rest in the freezer. It never crossed my mind anything was wrong. Other than using too much sage in the mix, all of the sausage was great.
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Post by jbm1968 »

My grandmother (she passed about 15 years ago) also told me to only thaw what you planned to eat, she had a baby brother die from diarrhea (as she put it) in 1909, so I take her advice on anything related to food. Her background as the only nurse during the depression a rural Southern Farming community with no doctor leads me to respect her opinion. That being said, You would probably be ok to refreeze and I have no real scientific evidence to back up what I just wrote, I just believe it. Hows that for a non answer...
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Post by Comal Forge »

I can only relate from personal experience - I grew up in a Central Texas German family and we still make sausage every year. Knock on wood, so far we haven't gotten sick from what we produced. In fact, I made smoked venison links today and they are hanging here in the house to dry - about 5 feet from where I'm typing. The smell is heavenly.

We will often freeze a piece of pork, thaw it later, cut and grind it, and finally make sausage that is refrozen - which is what I think you are asking. However, we do try to keep it just above frozen so it never gets to room temp. Treat your sausage like it was a fine steak. Keep it cold when you grind it and you shouldn't have any problems. I've heard all kinds of crazy stories about people hanging smoked sausage in the boathouse for 6 months in 90 degree heat and then wondering why it's green and smelly. For my personal use, I make up 10-20 lbs at a time and consume it, then make more. I freeze the smoked sausage and then thaw it out as we eat it - and it is not cooked beyond the smoking and drying process. The end product is high quality and I've never had anyone spit it out.

Freezing, thawing and refreezing will break down the tissues in a piece of meat, which is why it will eventually get mushy. It's not unsafe to eat but isn't very palatable. I might also mention that raw unseasoned pork will turn rancid after a while in the freezer so try to eat it in 6 months or less.

People died in years past from all sorts of bacterial diseases. I'm sure salmonella killed a lot of folks who ate bad chicken and e.coli probably killed just as many in ground meat that wasn't processed properly. For example, if you don't put "cure" (sodium nitrate) in meat that is to be smoked, there is a good chance that it will develop botulism. We'll never know how many folks didn't know that and made sausage that harmed someone.
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Post by Rusty »

AS Billy Boy said the important thing is to keep things cool. Several years ago there was a case of meat contamination from a plant that used bad water to make the ice that they put in with the meat while grinding it. that should give you an idea of what the pros do to keep things cold.
You can also take a tip from my wife and cook everything till it's dead, dead, dead, as well.
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45-70-
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Post by 45-70- »

Thanks for all the info guys. I made some links up and every thing seemed to go pretty well. It was my first time using casing and it was really easy.
Comal Forge, we made Italian sausage and the recipe didnt call for any "cure" I used fenel seeds, ground pepper, salt and chopped parsley. Will the little bit of salt work as a cure? This was then vaccum sealed and frozen. I think it will be OK. Since it is pork it will be well cooked when the time comes to use it.

I was having too much fun telling my wife to come "hold my sausage" :shock: while it was coming out of the funnel. After about the 10th time she let me know she was tired of hearing it.
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Post by Comal Forge »

Cure is used only when you plan to smoke meat. It's added because smoking is a low temp process and encourages botulism; the cure outgases and kills the bad bugs. It's not necessary in a fresh sausage.

There is a little book called, "Venison Sausage Recipes and Smoking Fish and Wild Fowl" by Rytek Kutas, which I highly recommend if you can find it in print. In addition, you might want to visit the website of Allied Kenco: www.alliedkenco.com

They have a lot of good stuff related to sausage making, including seasonings, equipment, recipes, etc.
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Post by TomF »

I have worked thawed meat for 30+ years without an incident or spoilage. When working cold meat be sure to pay close attention to where your fingers are while deboning!!

TomF
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