my real hog casings turned out a little tough..why?

[classicrockgriller]

Try www.alliedkenco.com

He will ship to you.

[Habanero Smoker]

There are many Canadian sausage makers that may provide that information better then me. I order mine from Sausage Maker

But as Sailor has pointed out, you can also use Powdered Non-fat Dry Milk. It was used prior to Soy Protein Concentrate came on the scene. The type for sausage making is ground differently then what you find in the local stores. You can use the Powdered Non-fat Dry Milk you buy at the grocery store, but it measures differently by volume, so you should measure by weight, or grind the store bought brand in a food processor or blender until it is the consistency of cornstarch, if you want to measure by volume. If you purchase the store type, and do not grind and just weigh it out, you may want to mix it with the water you are adding to the sausage to ensure it blends in well.

Powdered Non-fat Dry Milk:
Best results are obtained at around 3.5% of the green weight of the meat/fat. Amounts of 12% or higher will alter the taste of your sausage. Use at .5 ounce per pound, or 5 ounces (about 1 cup) per 10 pounds of meat/fat (1/2 cup per 5 pound); this will give you approximately 3.5%. If measuring by volume, do not pack!

[Mr Walleye]

Islandgirl

If I understand correctly the sausage is slightly dry/crumbly and the casings are slightly tough.

Here's my thoughts....

Casings
I would start by not freezing the casings. They will last indefinitely packed in salt and stored in the fridge. In your process you don't mention how long you allowed them to bloom after the cold water bath. I know the recommended bloom time is about an hour but my experience is I prefer about 2 hours. This time hanging at room temp allows the casing to dry which gives it that nice snap when you bit into it. It also takes on more color. I always vac pack my finished sausage and when I haven't allowed it to bloom long enough I sometimes experience tough or chewy casings.

Dry/crumbly
In your first post you didn't mention what meat you used and what meat to fat ratio you used. For my tastes I like to shoot for 80 to 85% meat to 15 to 20% fat ratio. Some like more fat some less but if you push the lean side you will end up with less flavor and more importantly, crumbly sausage. When I make venison sausage I usually use 50% venison which is pretty much 100% lean meat and 50% 70/30 pork. This results in a final blend around 85% meat to 15% fat.

Also, because you are in BC there is a great supplier right there. Here's a link to their site. They are located in Langley.
http://www.stuffers.com/

Mike

[islandgirl]

so it seems I  made quite a few mistakes..I am thankful they are still edible.. Everyone seems to think they taste good.. but I peel them..LOL :D
1)
Soak casings in water and Vinegar for 1 hour before using...Rinse
2)
Always add some fat even if the recipe does not call for it, i am using moosemeat
What kind is better PORK OR BEEF?
3)
After the cold water bath..I put my sausages in the fridge I did not want any nasty BOTULLISM  sp? I should have let them stay at room temp for 2 hours.
4)
I used regular cheese and not hi melt cheese..I am on Vancouver Island. Does anyone know of anywhere here I can get that type of cheese?
5)
I put my stuffed sausages overnight in the fridge prior to smoking.. Is this bad? I know they need to sit but for how long before smoking?
6)
I should gring twice.. larger holes then the next size down

[classicrockgriller]

Mike said there was a sausage supplier there in Vancouver.

http://www.stuffers.com/

Or www.alliedkenco.com has what you need.

After stuffing you can put your sausage in the fridge for 12 to 24 hrs,

before smoking them.

[islandgirl]

I am 6  each hours and a 200 $ ferry ride to Vancouver..LOL
Shipping hi melt cheese will be kind tough I think but I will look into it..The rest of it should ship fine

[pikeman_95]

Use pork shoulder to pick up your fat content. With Moose meat I would consider going 50/50 with pork shoulder [pork butt] Look up one of my post where I demonstrate a process where I do not finish the sausage in the smoker but take it to 155 IT in a 160 degree hot water bath. I believe at the first of your post you might have mentioned that you did that but you might have kept in the smoke too long. I do not worry about the IT when I am in the smoking stage I just try to pour all the smoke to it that I can in the shortest amount of time. Once I have a good smoke color it comes out to be finished in the hot water bath. This might help with the tough casings. The pork fat will also help gel the sausage together. I make most of my venison sausage with 50/50 Costco pork butt. They are trimmed so the fat content is not too high. It also makes your wild meat go farther and makes the sausage more tender. I still think you sausage looks great for a first try.

Kirby

[Sailor]

nuttin wrong with letting your sausage rest in the fridge overnight.  I always stuff then let them hibernate for 12 to 24.  I like to let the seasonings marry up a bit.  As for grinding.  I just use my med plate.  I only grind once.  I have never ground up moose so I don't know if you need to grind it twice but with pork shoulder I have never had a problem grinding it once using the med plate.

[classicrockgriller]

nuttin wrong with letting your sausage rest in the fridge overnight.  I always stuff then let them hibernate for 12 to 24.  I like to let the seasonings marry up a bit.  As for grinding.  I just use my med plate.  I only grind once.  I have never ground up moose so I don't know if you need to grind it twice but with pork shoulder I have never had a problem grinding it once using the med plate.

Grind once, mix well and stuff?

[Sailor]

I may be doing it wrong but I just cut the meat in strips and grind once through a med plate.  If I want a finer grind I use the small plate.  Never used the large plate.  My grinder eats it up.  I mix my stuff in the water and then pour it on the meat, mix it up.  Then stuff.  I have never had a problem with the texture of the meat.

[bundy]

I'm thinking the same as Mr. Walley I.G. I ended up with 200# of trimmed moose meat from Alberta this year and have been working on it real hard the last 3 weeks. I have been taking 15# trim ed moose ( thinking 90% lean ) and mixing with 80/20 pork trim. It is still a little lean for me so have been adding about 3# of 50/50 pork trim to get it the way I like it. I'm kinda of the fat lover so you have to get it the way you like it. I fry a piece first to see if the mix is right before stuffing.