Eastman Outdoors Sausage Kits...

[Oyènkwara]

I was at Wal-Mart today looking in the sporting good section. They had a few Eastman Outdoor sausage kits on the clearance rack along with several packages of 32mm-35mm natural casings. I ended up picking up a smoked summer sausage kit with fiber casings and a variety pack (Italian, Beer & cheddar, and Bratwurst) with natural casings. They were marked down to 3 bucks a box. Each box makes up to 15 pounds of meat. The natural hog casings were a buck for an 8oz bag (enough for 25 pounds of sausage)

I did a search here and see our member "Jaeger" has used these kits. Does anyone have any advice for making them Bradley friendly? The instructions for the summer sausage kit is very vague (there really is no cooking instructions other that cook before eating)

Also, are there any special storage instructions for the natural casings? (They are dry packed -salt? in a sealed bag)

Thanks in advance

Tom

[jaeger]

Tom,
Here is a link to the latest discussion on smoking sausage.
http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2600&whichpage=1

As far as the casings, on the fibrous casings, just soak them in warm water for about 10 minutes before you are ready to stuff them. Only soak as many as you will need. I fill the casings and tie off the end with string. Just put your thumb at the end and twist the casing until it is tight and tie off with the string. (If you notice an air pocket, just take the tip of the knife and pin prick the casing allowing the air to escape.[;)]) I keep the other end of the string tied to a table leg and start tieing the first chub at the top of the string so I can add another 4-6 chubs to the same length of string. This way you can hold the twisted chub end with one hand and tie with the other hand. After you have filled one length of string, just cut the string between each chub.
On the natural casings, rinse off very good, soak in fresh water for 1/2 hour minimum and after that, run water through the casings and put them into a large bowl (with water) that you can use to transfer them to your stuffing table for stuffing. With your leftover casings, drain off the water and thoroughly mix in salt, put a layer of salt on top and store under refridgeration. They should last at least a couple of months.

Let us know how it turns out!



This is a 15# batch with the smaller length casings.




<font size="2"><b>Doug</b></font id="size2">

[iceman]

Bingo Doug. I've kept the natural casing for up to a year and it's still usable if salted and refrigerated properly. Now as far as posting pictures of your sausage--QUIT IT !!! Yer making me hungry as all get out!![:p][:p][:p] Just kidding.[;)] Good looking stuff buddy.

[Phone Guy]

I went to the local Walmart and learned they do not carry Eastman products in our store. I can tell you that properly packaged natural casings will last years. I'll find the link and post it here.

[Phone Guy]

Read through this for some information..

http://onestopjerkyshop.com/faq_about_casings.html

[Oyènkwara]

Thanks for the info...The natural casings have gone in the fridge until I get a chance to use them.

Sorry to hear that your local Wal-Mart does not carry the Eastman brand PhoneGuy. I went to another local Wal-Mart today to see if they had any other flavors. Unfortunately, they did not have any kits at all. This is the first time I had seen them at Wal-Mart, maybe this is an experiment for them in this area? (Or maybe I had never noticed them before?)

Jaeger, those sausages look really good! I'll use those as inspiration.

Anyway....Thanks again!

Tom