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Role of fermento in slim jim sausage?

Posted By: TC
Date: Monday, February 21, 2005 at 6:58 p.m.

Is it just for tang? I have been tinkering for a few years now making slim jim style sausage using a modified version of the basic recipe from Rytek's book. I am ready for a change! The last batch had too much tang and was a little sweet for my taste. The 10lb recipe calls for the standard 2tsp of #1 cure, 4Tb salt, 1 1/2cups fermento and 4 1/2 Tb sugar. (Plus all the other typical flavor spices) I was thinking about cutting the fermento in half and probably the sugar as well. Are there other roles the fermento and sugar perform that would compromise the sausage?

I have a 2nd question: Does a #1 cure have a shelf life? I was given a 25lb box when I bought my used smoker and it's just kept in a platic bag lined box with a twist tie. Since this is a lifetime supply for me I was thinking about vacuum sealing in seperate smaller bags. Is there any need for this?

Thanks for any and all input!
Tom