Why does my summer sausage taste like chlorine?

Todd · Post by **Todd** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 14:04

So I basically followed Stan and Adam's recipe for summer sausages, although I used a lot of dried chile powders instead of their suggested spices. Texture, Aw and color was good, but had a strong chlorine taste. What is the cause of this?

Post by **Bob K** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 16:00

Todd-
Welcome to our forum!

Did you use this recipe, keeping the sugar and dextrose levels the same, using F-LC , and just changing the spice mix?

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... er-sausage

Todd · Post by **Todd** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 02:07

Hi Bob

Thanks for the quick response!

I am following the recipe exactly, just changing the spice mix. However, I use another brand of culture from Italy as I'm currently working in China and cannot obtain the Bactoferm. It should be more or less very similar and it is for fast fermented sausage.

LOUSANTELLO · Post by **LOUSANTELLO** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 03:49

Is it really a bleachy taste or ammonia taste?

Todd · Post by **Todd** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 04:29

More bleach-like. Just like drinking a tablespoon of chlorine

Post by **redzed** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 05:31

Hey Todd! Well your sausage is not exactly "summer sausage" since you used a totally different spice blend. However, that is not the issue here. I suspect that the reason for the chlorine taste probably could be traced to the meat. In some plants chlorinated water is used to wash carcasses and even cuts of meat to prevent e. coli poisoning. Two other possible reasons that come to mind, are an unseasoned smoker, that is it was not brought to a high temperature for at least an hour if it was not used for a long time, and the the other might have been the type of wood you used for smoking.

Todd · Post by **Todd** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 06:32

Redzed

Thanks! Interesting. I know for sure the meat is not washed in chlorinated water. I kinda suspected it may have something to do with the smoker/smoke. What type of wood do you recommend?
Could it also be a result of under-fermentation/high ph? I have ph strips but not exactly sure they are giving an accurate reading.

Post by **Bob K** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 13:34

Todd-
Are you sure its an alkaline taste like chlorine or could it be an acidic/sour taste ?

Usually with that much sugar per kilo (1.5%) and the high fermentation temp 30° C (86° F) it has a low Ph, below 4.5.
That's the experience I had with that recipe, I thought it was way too sour, on the other hand other folks liked it

Other than that I would go with the off taste you get with an unseasoned/ unused in a while smoker that Redzed mentioned.

Todd · Post by **Todd** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 01:48

Hi Bob

Most definitely a chlorine taste. A friend said exactly the same thing when I gave him a try. I didn't think they were that sour. Maybe under-fermented?

I'll give a try on seasoning the smoker and reduce the initial smoke time. Hard to believe it would be the wood chips. They're hickory chips from the US.

Post by **Bob K** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 12:38

Todd wrote:Maybe under-fermented?

The only way to know for certain was to check the ph.

Todd wrote:Hard to believe it would be the wood chips. They're hickory chips from the US.

Its not necessarily the chips. Try pre-heating your smoker on high for an hour or so. It burns off the stale smell that causes an off taste