Quality natural hog casings

Started by STLstyle, September 12, 2013, 05:13:42 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

STLstyle

Question for you sausage pros.  Where can I get quality natural brat casings?  All this spicy brat talk got me lookin in the freezer an I discovered I have 10lbs of ground deer/pork and I think I'm ready.  Is all casings created equal or should I order from sausage maker.com or something similar.  Thanks in advance.
DBS 6 Rack
Dual 500W Element Mod
BBQ Guru DigiQ / Raptor Combo

ragweed

Can't say who to order from since I get mine from a local commercial sausage maker.  But I can tell you for sure that all casings are not created equal.  Don't buy the cheap ones.  Been there.

Habanero Smoker

I have purchased various size hog casings and sheep casings from Sausage Maker, and always receive great quality casings. The next time I place an order I'm going to try the pretubed hog casings. For brats I will use 32 - 35mm hog casings, or 22 - 24mm sheep casings. Sheep casing are a little more difficult to work with.



     I
         don't
                   inhale.
  ::)

NePaSmoKer

Best i have use are from http://www.dewied.com
Located in San Antonio and are always fresh and stuff very good.

Old Frenchie

Quote from: NePaSmoKer on September 13, 2013, 05:19:34 AM
Best i have use are from http://www.dewied.com
Located in San Antonio and are always fresh and stuff very good.

Glad to hear that Rick !! ... Last week I ordered a hank from Allied and this is what they sent me  ;D   ;D   ;D  These are a lot nicer that any of the "Home Pak"s I used to buy.

Original 4-Rack Bradley Electric Smoker
Brinkman Electric Smoker
Weston 3/4hp Grinder (575 watts)
Grizzly 5lb Vertical Stuffer
1st sausage made: April 2012

pjplovedog

I had always purchased my casings from Kenco, and had great results, high quality.  Recently, though, I wanted to try the pre-tubed casing I saw at the Sausagemaker.com  so I tried those in two different batches of sausage. 
The pre-tubed casings were super easy to use.  I soaked them overnight in warm water.  The first batch were smoked andouille, and I thought I did everything right, I dried them, then brought them up to temp very slowly using my Maverick dual temp probe. 
Then I ice bathed them when they hit the IT of 152. 
The casings are super tough.  I was so disappointed. 
I did a batch of fresh bangers and fresh chicken with sundried tomato/basil and these were not smoked.  I followed my usual procedure and ended up with really tough casings after cooking the way I always cook my fresh sausages.  I've never had a problem before and I am wondering if this is somehow due to the pre-tubed casings?  Anybody else have any experience with this?

Habanero Smoker

I've always have good results with the casings I purchase from Sausage Maker. I know people who use the pre-tube casings and don't have a problem with toughness, but they did not purchase theirs from Sausage Maker. I also use a little bit of white vinegar in my soak during the last 30 minutes to an hour at the end of the soak. This makes the casing more clearer, and a little bit more tender. Also I generally do not smoke my sausage, so that makes a big difference in how they turn out after they are fully cooked.

I have never tried pre-tubed, but Sausage Maker is offering free shipping for a limited time, so I was about to place an order. Part of the order will be for the pre-tubed. What size casing did you purchase?

Here is a link to Sausage Maker's FAQ, but they don't address the pre-tubes directly.

You can also contact them, a specialist will reply to you email. Make sure in the subject heading you make it clear what the problem is.



     I
         don't
                   inhale.
  ::)

STLstyle

I bought the pre-tubed casings from sausage maker.com.  I hope their not tough but I'll report back...
DBS 6 Rack
Dual 500W Element Mod
BBQ Guru DigiQ / Raptor Combo

pjplovedog

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on September 25, 2013, 02:14:43 AM
I've always have good results with the casings I purchase from Sausage Maker. I know people who use the pre-tube casings and don't have a problem with toughness, but they did not purchase theirs from Sausage Maker. I also use a little bit of white vinegar in my soak during the last 30 minutes to an hour at the end of the soak. This makes the casing more clearer, and a little bit more tender. Also I generally do not smoke my sausage, so that makes a big difference in how they turn out after they are fully cooked.

I have never tried pre-tubed, but Sausage Maker is offering free shipping for a limited time, so I was about to place an order. Part of the order will be for the pre-tubed. What size casing did you purchase?

Here is a link to Sausage Maker's FAQ, but they don't address the pre-tubes directly.

You can also contact them, a specialist will reply to you email. Make sure in the subject heading you make it clear what the problem is.

I purchased the pre-tubed casings in the 29-32 mm size.  I thought they were about right for the bangers and the chicken sausages that we did.  I like the hint to add vinegar to the soak, I will definitely try that next time.  I really love the pre-tubed casings as I tend to be all thumbs with casings and it made the process go so much faster!  Thanks for the feedback.