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Submitted by: SmokerBill

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You're right about the fact that curing the sausage makes it safer. The chemicals in the curing salt prevent bacterial growth, which is especially important when smoking ground meat products at the low temp sausages need to be smoked at. Smoking whole meats isn't as much of a problem, since the bacteria, if any present, is on the surface and is exposed directly to the heat. However, when the meat is ground and packed into casings, the bacteria is distributed throughout the sausage. When smoked, the internal temperature rises slowly, during which it's at the prime temp for bacterial growth. Another factor is that any bacteria within the sausage is in an oxygen free environment. The worst of the bacteria, Clostridium Botulinum (source of the deadly botulism toxin) thrives in a moist, warm, oxygen free environment. And even when the sausage reaches its safe, done temperature and the botulin bacteria is killed, the poisons the bacteria produced while multiplying is still present. Heat doesn't remove the toxins, even though it kills the bacteria. So yes, I feel strongly that you should use the cure, and follow the recipe just as it's written. Also, besides the safety issue, the cure affects the final flavor and texture of the sausage.

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