Deer Sausage – Is adding MSG / sodium really necessary?

I’m having sausage made out of the deer I got, both summer sausage and sausage sticks. I’m very sodium-sensitive and I can tell when I get any food that’s laden with sodium. I need to stay on a low-sodium diet, so I’m always looking to cut salt and sodium.

A LOT of sausage I’ve tried in the past tastes like it’s just loaded with sodium and I know most commercial places add MSG to the meat.

Here’s my question for the experienced deer sausage makers out there: Is adding MSG or any preservative sodium really necessary?

Can I just tell the processor not to use ANY MSG? If not, what is the absolute minimum that can be used?

I plan to keep the sausage vac-packed and frozen, and I’m ok with doing small packages that will be quickly consumed after thawing/opening.

Can I just say no to MSG? Many thanks.

Grouse

2 oz of cure per 50# Batch is What I do

Shelf life afterbits thawed out is the big factor. I dont add any to the sticks i make. Down fall is the bag needs to be consumed in a few days

Cure is needed in any meat that gets smoked. The msg is not needed…but some places try to sell the customer on taste using it. Bunk.

Here is what I found. I don’t think I use it but maybe it’s in my recipes? I guess I never pay attention to some stuff?

What is it and is there a reason to use it in sausage?
Mar 3, 2016
#2
boykjo
Sausage maker
Staff member Moderator OTBS Member Group Lead
MSG is a flavor enhancer………..I’ve tried using MSG in many sausage recipes and my final conclusion is to leave it out. My results were better without it…….If you plan on using it I would recommend it only be used in game meat and at minimal amounts. it does help reduce the game flavor. “Accent” AKA MSG can be bought at your local grocery in the spice section

My 2 cents

Joe
Last edited: Mar 3, 2016

Mar 3, 2016
#3
chef jimmyj
chef jimmyj
Epic Pitmaster
Staff member Moderator OTBS Member SMF Premier Member Group Lead
MSG is an over 100 year old flavor enhancer extracted from various sources but originally from Kombu Kelp. Without going into all the science, it is chemically similar to Glutamate or Glutamic Acid, a naturally occurring Amino Acid in every living thing. Glutamate is responsible for that Savory Taste aka Umami, that you experience eating food High in Glutamate. Mushrooms, especially Shiitake, Cheeses especially Parm Reggiano, Tomatoes, Cured and Dried meats, anything Fermented like Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce and Yeast risen Bread. It is in Onions and Garlic AND…Wait for It…All Milk Products with Human Breast Milk having one of the higher amounts! It is ingrained in the Human DNA to crave Glutamate and seek it out from Birth. Having originally been formulated in Japan, MSG spread quickly to all the Asian countries and is not only cooked with but can be as common on the family table as S & P. It was just about in every American made processed food since the early 1900’s when an obscure article showed up, in a Medical Report, in the 70’s claiming that MSG is responsible for head aches, dizziness, heart palpitation and a host of other symptoms after eating Chinese Food. This was not based on any kind of testing, or even the medical expertise of the author, he had none, it was a loosely based theory. This report was picked up and furiously spread across the country by the News reporters. The result was a public uproar for MSG’s ban and the now common MSG FREE labels and Menus. Since the 70’s extensive multiple Double Blind Clinical Studies have been done and they can find no, none, zero, relationship between MSG and any symptoms that it is supposed to cause. Now before 20 guys jump on this thread and say, ” Well I, my Mom, my Wife, Brother, Son’s First Cousin on my Uncles side, gets Head Aches from MSG! ” ANYBODY can be effected by a whole host of Foods and Ingredients causing anything from discomfort to Death but ONLY MSG has been vilified and caused such a vocalized call for it’s discontinued use! People are made sick by Nitrate. Nitrite, Caffeine, Peanut Butter, Sugar, Eggs, Gluten, Seafood and a whole assortment of Life saving Medicines…If they can’t eat it, they don’t but nobody went to the effort to condemn these products, which Have been proven to cause illness Medically, like MSG that has NEVER been proven to do any more than make food taste better. PHEWWW! Ok, I’m off the Soapbox…In the last 4 decades MSG has been making a comeback because in food processing it can take poor quality ingredients and make them taste better. Adding MSG to good quality ingredients can make them taste unbelievably delicious! MSG is found in many national brand canned Soups, and Gravies and a whole variety of Sauces, Snacks and Convenience Heat and Eat Foods and Processed meats like Hot Dogs. MSG in products may be labeled directly as MSG or shows up in less purified forms like Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein or as a proprietary ingredient labeled Natural Flavor Enhancer, because well it is. Even in American Chinese Restaurants MSG is back! It is not used directly any more but is a main ingredient in the VERY COMMONLY used Chicken Base Powder like Knorr and Maggi. MSG added to food and Sausage makes them taste better adding that certain something that makes people say, ” Why is your Sausage better than any I have ever had!?! ” But be cautious, TOO MUCH can be bitter. A demonstration on a Food network show, years ago, was done where two groups of people, who claimed they were sensitive to MSG, were fed Chinese food and told it may or may not contain MSG. The group that ” Did Not ” get MSG claimed Illness after the meal at a much higher rate than those that actually ate the food with MSG. So goes to show…In America, if the Media says,” The Sky is Falling! ” loud enough and long enough…People will Rally, Protest, Write their Congressmen and call for the SKY to be Removed!!! Have a great Day!…JJ
Last edited: Mar 3, 2016

Looks like it’s a good read?

MSG will increase the “apparent” saltiness of foods that contain it, so if you’re sensitive to the salty taste of foods, don’t use it. Lots of today’s foods contain MSG, but then as many are available that use none of it. I add salt at the table if I think I need more. All MSG does is make whatever taste much saltier and does zip for flavor unless the MSG is flavored itself..

The cure is another story altogether and is necessary in foods that will get smoked but kept at relatively low temps in doing the smoking. All of my venison summer sausage, jerky, ring bologna, and wieners/polish sausage get cure and get some smoke ,but certainly not enough heat to eat safely. I do finish all these meats in the oven and they’ll get heated to no less than 152degrees, which will kill any bacteria the cure doesn’t kill at lower temps.
Because cure is a sodium nitrate/sodium nitrite product, it too will make meats saltier. When I use cure I use no other salt unless it is found in the seasoning blend.

So what I think I’m understanding here is:

MSG – I can totally say “no” to MSG. No real need for it at all.

Cure – Required, but… Can I tell the place to use the absolute minimum required? Is there a “per pound” number here that I can tell them not to exceed?

Obviously, I’ll tell them to minimize salt/sodium any way they can. Hopefully, I can look at the seasonings they intend to use and make sure no salt is added to those.

Any other ways I can cut salt/sodium out of processed venison sausage?

Grouse

Most shops combine scrap meat to make sausage, use the same cure and seasoning across all customers’ meat. Since getting lazy, I get back cut meat (chops, steaks, roasts) from my dear and sausage/ground from the kitty based on the weight of scrap meat from the deer.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

MSG – I can totally say “no” to MSG. No real need for it at all.

Cure – Required, but… Can I tell the place to use the absolute minimum required? Is there a “per pound” number here that I can tell them not to exceed?

Obviously, I’ll tell them to minimize salt/sodium any way they can. Hopefully, I can look at the seasonings they intend to use and make sure no salt is added to those.

Any other ways I can cut salt/sodium out of processed venison sausage?

I admit I’ve never had sausage made for me but this is what I understand about MSG and cure.

MSG has some good evidence that it can cause some people some serious side effects. It is simply a seasoning and doesn’t not need to be added to anything.

Nitrites and nitrates are there mainly for color. It helps preserve the red color in your meat and I believe it helps with shelf life. There is a definitely correlation with cancer and there is a mechanism that could cause it but it has not been proven to cause it. Nitrates are found naturally occurring in other foods and is produced by your body. I but sausage and kielbasa uncured all the time and it is fantastic. I say it’s not needed at all.

I wonder if your salt/sodium intolerance is actually an intolerance for MSG. Medications can also affect your sensitivity to salt.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Cure – Required, but… Can I tell the place to use the absolute minimum required? Is there a “per pound” number here that I can tell them not to exceed?

Tom and Randy nailed it. Cure is only required for low temp smoking and/or storing long term. You can make sausage and sticks without cure, you just need to eat sooner, so you would be fine without it if you do small batches and eat it right away. You can also play with recipes on your own, or find a butcher that is willing to adjust his seasoning mixes for ones with less or no salt.

MSG you can do without. Some companies offer celery juice and celery powder as a natural preservative to eliminate sodium nitrates. I have not but I will when I use up my current supplies.

MSG, like most everyone is saying is just a flavor enhancer. Pink cure or nitrates as it is called is to preserve the product you are smoking. In smoking, there is a 4hr/140* rule. If you do not get the internal temp of the product you are smoking, above 140 degrees in four hours or less, it can possibly develop a strain of botulism. I know of a guy who left out the pink cure in a batch of summer sausage and the whole batch exploded in the smoker. No processor will use more than 4 oz. of cure per 100 lbs. That is the minimum for safe handling.

The pink cure should not make the product too salty.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Obviously, I’ll tell them to minimize salt/sodium any way they can. Hopefully, I can look at the seasonings they intend to use and make sure no salt is added to those.

RKD is spot on with the cure and minimums. 1 oz. per 25 pounds or 4 oz per 100 is the standard and no licensed meat handler will vary from that.

RKD is also spot on with the 4hr/140 rule if smoking is done without any cure being added.

About the seasonings Grouse….most of thee places use pre-batched seasonings and have no control over how much salt is in the seasonings, UNLESS they mix their own seasoning blend. If they whip up their own blend they may make an exception on the salt upon request.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

About the seasonings Grouse….most of thee places use pre-batched seasonings and have no control over how much salt is in the seasonings, UNLESS they mix their own seasoning blend. If they whip up their own blend they may make an exception on the salt upon request.

A little FYI too, MSGs can be hidden inside seasoning blends and not be listed as MSG on the label or ingredient list. It can simply be called natural flavor or spices. There are also other things that create MSGs in the process of creating the ingredient. Yeast extract and hydrolized soy protein are examples of that.

Unless you personally know your processor or do it yourself the odds of you even getting your actual deer meat are slim to none. I’d strongly recommend investing in the equipment to do it yourself over the next few years. Have some buddies chip in and make it an event. It’s extremely satisfying and you KNOW what went in the meat and how it was taken care of. My 2 cents

There’s been such a pile of crap regarding MSG in the recent years that I think its a requirement to show if its used in ANY portion of a product, either directly or as a part of an ingredient. I don’t know about the soy and yeast. Every seasoning blend from the company I order from has MSG listed if its included anywhere in the blend.

Might be a dumb question,why can’t the processor add liquid smoke while mixing the meat, stuff the sausage raw and cut it into usable portions.
From there you could cook it as needed,no msg,no cure,and no salt other than what’s on the seasonings.

Tom, the information I found says that it doesn’t have to be listed as mono sodium glutamate. They can call it anything I listed above because technically in the process of creating those ingredients, MSG is inherently produced.

Because it hasn’t technically been linked to any health problems, I’m sure some companies are just fine with putting it on the label as is. Although, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence for the Mayo Clinic to suspect a link to health problems.

This country is very soft compared to other countries regarding what is put in our food and how it is declared on labels and ingredient lists. My new philosophy is that if I don’t recognize it as food, I don’t eat it, period. I learned the hard way with my digestive problems.

Thanks Gill. Now back to the question….no you don’t need MSG in the sausage and you can tell them to omit it.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Might be a dumb question,why can’t the processor add liquid smoke while mixing the meat, stuff the sausage raw and cut it into usable portions.
From there you could cook it as needed,no msg,no cure,and no salt other than what’s on the seasonings.

I’m sure that is something you can do yourself but processors have to hot water bath everything they produce according to law so there are no food born pathogens in the product they produce.

That being said, liquid smoke is just nasty!!!!!!!!!