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Started By
Message
Andouille - No Nitrites
Posted on 8/14/25 at 11:12 am
Posted on 8/14/25 at 11:12 am
I am a fan of Andouille sausage and working on making my own. I find Wayne Jacobs has some of the best so I would like to mimic theres.
There are numerous videos online at Wayne Jacobs and they are big on not using nitrites, but they also let their andouille dry at room temperature and smoke the sausage for ~8hrs.
How are they doing this safely without nitrites? I can't figure this out. It goes against everything in smoked sausage making, but obviously it is good and works fine for them. How do they do this?
There are numerous videos online at Wayne Jacobs and they are big on not using nitrites, but they also let their andouille dry at room temperature and smoke the sausage for ~8hrs.
How are they doing this safely without nitrites? I can't figure this out. It goes against everything in smoked sausage making, but obviously it is good and works fine for them. How do they do this?
3
Posted on 8/14/25 at 11:43 am to Tadey
This dude is from La too and is a must follow for anything smoked or cured.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 11:45 am to RadRob
Andouille
Posted on 8/14/25 at 12:26 pm to Tadey
quote:there is no such thing as "no nitrates". The term means they don't add artificial nitrates. Meat has naturally ocurring nitrate. In addition, they can use celery juice/powder (or something similar) as a natural nitrate additive. Some places will also just use more salt (as has been done for the history of meat curing).
How are they doing this safely without nitrites? I can't figure this out. It goes against everything in smoked sausage making, but obviously it is good and works fine for them. How do they do this?
They can do this and still call it "nitrate-free" or "uncured."
My guess is that they are using some "natural" nitrate additives and just playing word games.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 1:02 pm to hashtag
quote:
there is no such thing as "no nitrates". The term means they don't add artificial nitrates. Meat has naturally ocurring nitrate. In addition, they can use celery juice/powder (or something similar) as a natural nitrate additive. Some places will also just use more salt (as has been done for the history of meat curing).
They can do this and still call it "nitrate-free" or "uncured."
My guess is that they are using some "natural" nitrate additives and just playing word games.
This! They may add celery juice or powder, which is high in nitrates, they're just playing with words since the nitrates are "natural." For example, the first video linked above uses Sausage Maker Ecocure #2. The ingredients for that product include "Natural Vegetable Extract" which is likely celery powder.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 2:05 pm to Tadey
Not sure how Wayne Jacobs does it. They may not use any curing method, I don't know. If they were not using nitrites 10 years ago, then I guarantee they have no curing agent (no nitrite nor celery).
Does anyone know how long their shelf life is? If there's no curing agent, the shelf life will be low, so that could help answer the question.
If they don't use a curing agent, then yes, bacteria may be an issue when slow cooking/drying. Doesn't mean it will be an issue. Also, smoking in a smokehouse may create an anaerobic environment which slows bacterial growth. This may be a factor as well if they are not using any curing agents.
As mentioned, celery contains nitrite. Instead of adding sodium nitrite (or a prague powder/cure - which is salt and sodium nitrite), processors can add celery and they have now introduced nitrite to the product for curing.
When nitrite is added to the meat, the meat and the nitrite react to create a chemical that prevents bacteria from growing, causes the pink color in cured meat, and changes the flavor of the product. The meat needs time before it is cooked for these conversions to happen (overnight/24 hours/etc.). To increase this reaction, processors use sodium erythorbate to speed up the curing process so they don't have to wait a day before cooking the meat. Cherry powder is used to replace sodium erythorbate in many of the "no nitrate added" products.
Does anyone know how long their shelf life is? If there's no curing agent, the shelf life will be low, so that could help answer the question.
If they don't use a curing agent, then yes, bacteria may be an issue when slow cooking/drying. Doesn't mean it will be an issue. Also, smoking in a smokehouse may create an anaerobic environment which slows bacterial growth. This may be a factor as well if they are not using any curing agents.
As mentioned, celery contains nitrite. Instead of adding sodium nitrite (or a prague powder/cure - which is salt and sodium nitrite), processors can add celery and they have now introduced nitrite to the product for curing.
When nitrite is added to the meat, the meat and the nitrite react to create a chemical that prevents bacteria from growing, causes the pink color in cured meat, and changes the flavor of the product. The meat needs time before it is cooked for these conversions to happen (overnight/24 hours/etc.). To increase this reaction, processors use sodium erythorbate to speed up the curing process so they don't have to wait a day before cooking the meat. Cherry powder is used to replace sodium erythorbate in many of the "no nitrate added" products.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 3:23 pm to SixthAndBarone
quote:
Not sure how Wayne Jacobs does it. They may not use any curing method, I don't know. If they were not using nitrites 10 years ago, then I guarantee they have no curing agent (no nitrite nor celery).
From Jacob's (not Wayne Jacob's) website: "Contains Less than 1% Sodium Nitrite (to maintain freshness)" Jacob's
From Wayne Jacob's website: " All smoked items that we offer for shipping are fully cooked and are shelf stable, vacuum sealed, and not refrigerated for up to 10 days from the date of smoke." Wayne Jacob's
I would imagine Wayne Jacob's has some form of nitrite added.
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