Made Kabanosy and find skin kind of tough after smoking

[Edward176]

Hi all, just throwing this problem out to the general public and hoping someone has some advise or suggestions for me. I made Kabanosy (long and thin Polish sausage 20-22mm diameter) for the third time and find that the skin/casing is a little tough after smoking. I was wondering if there is something I'm doing or not doing that is creating this tough skin? The first 2 batches I made the Kabanosy with 21mm fresh LEM collagen casing and for the third batch I used 20-22mm sheep casings for Pork Sausages. Here is what I did, stuffed the casing with my ground meat and let the stuffed raw sausages dry for 1-2 hours at room temperature. I then hung them in my preheated (120'F) Bradley Digital 6 rack smoker and applied smoke for 1 hour with vent fully open. I had a digital thermometer inserted in one of the sausages in the back row seeing that they receive more heat then the row in front of them. After the initial 1 hour smoke I increased the temperature to 200'F and in about another 2 hours (3 hours in total) the internal temperature reached 160'F. I removed the back row and quickly submerged them in cold ice water for 5-10 minutes till the sausages were cooled off. I then hung them in the garage on a stick to blossom for and hour. I repeated this procedure for the second row when IT reached 160'F as well.
This is the procedure I used all 3 times with the exception of the second batch, which my wife said the sausage meat was still a tad raw, and I placed them in a preheated oven 200'F on a cookie sheet with my thermometer and cooked to IT of 160'F again and cooled them down in cold water. Overall the Kabanosy are exceptional tasting and everyone loves them and can't keep them in the houses more then a few days (around 4 kg of meat). Its just that the casings are a little tough and wondering if there is something I need to do. Thank You     

[Habanero Smoker]

If I understand your post correctly, the tough casings are the lamb casing, or is the problem with collagen casings also?

Sometimes it is the casing itself. The animals that the casings came from may be naturally tougher.

Where you using casings packed in salt? You may not had soaked them long enough, and/or you didn't rinse the insides good enough. You can add a little vinegar to the water you are soaking the casing in. I use about a tablespoon or white vinegar per cup of water. That makes the casing more tender and clearer.

Other causes can be, the environment they were cooked in was too dry, under stuffing the sausage can also cause tough casings. Tough casings can also be caused by cooking too fast and at too high of a temperature. Maybe try to gradually bring the temperature up from 150°F to 200°F

[Edward176]

Hello  Habanero, The first 2 batches were Collagen casings, and the first batch was very tough to the point we peeled the casing off as we ate the sausage. The second batch was much better and not nearly as tough (This is the batch I reheated in the oven after my wife tasted and said it seems a tad raw) but now after reading your reply I suspect that I may have stuffed the sausages too loosely giving the impression and taste of raw sausage.  My third attempt was with the salted sheep casings, which I didn't flush out the insides, just rinsed them and soaked them for a couple of hours. I also didn't stuff them firmly enough judging by what you wrote and on sampling them. I might have to invest in a sausage stuffer and get away from stuffing with my meat grinder. 

Thank You

[cathouse willy]

A bit off the topic but Princess auto has a few models of vertical stuffers.
I Looked for one with metal gears as I've heard the the plastic gears can strip.

[Edward176]

LOL, I've had my eye on that one from Princess Auto, just waiting for it to go on sale. Thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

Here are some useful links that may be helpful:

Sausage Casings 101

Natural Casings FAQs

Collagen Casings FAQs

[Salmonsmoker]

Edward176, After flushing the insides of the casings, I soak them in warm water for 1/2 hour before stuffing them. Seems to help tenderize them and also gives that nice little snap when biting through.

[Edward176]

Thank You everyone for your advise and technical expertise. My next batch I'll put a lot of your advise to practice. I was wondering if a PID would make much of a difference with making sausage?

[Habanero Smoker]

A PID would definitely help. It would keep the cabinet temperature more stable, and you would be better able to control a gradual increase in the cabinet temperature.