Casings

marauder11 · November 11, 2009, 08:29:12 PM

OK i know this is a topic that has been beaten to death. I am wondering if anybody can just give me some advice or knowledge they have learned over the years. I am comfortable with natural casings but not so much collagen. Any advice on any type of casing is appreciated.

KevinG · November 11, 2009, 08:47:22 PM

I've always used natural casings, they are cheap, easy to find, and good enough for home use. Collagen casings are usually used by big packing plants because the size is more uniform, so it's easier to price the meat. Both are edible, so it doesn't really matter in that sense. The only other option is synthetic/fibrous - these are the cheapest but not edible, they are uniform in size but have a tendency to not shrink with the meat unless you get specially made ones with a coat of protein on the inside. Hope this helps

Habanero Smoker · November 12, 2009, 02:00:22 AM

Hi marauder11,

Welcome to the forum. Here is a link that helps explains the difference among casings. While at the site check out the different casings. They now have pretubed and preflushed natural casing that will just slip right over the horn, out of the package, and a new vegetable collagen casing.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/frequentlyaskedquestions.aspx

marauder11 · November 12, 2009, 08:16:39 PM

I was told by a friends grandfather to add white vinegar to my casings while they soak. This makes them light in color and softens them. is there any truth to this?

Habanero Smoker · November 13, 2009, 02:03:57 AM

I believe it is true. I do it all the time, just don't soak too long. It seems if you soak too long it weakens the casing, and they tend to break more during stuffing. I generally don't soak more then 30 minutes (but have gone up to an hour); and I generally will time my soaking period after I have thoroughly rinsed the salt off. I don't measure, but if I were to guess, I would say I use about a tablespoon per pint of water.

Roadking · November 13, 2009, 07:24:57 AM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on November 13, 2009, 02:03:57 AM
I believe it is true. I do it all the time, just don't soak too long. It seems if you soak too long it weakens the casing, and they tend to break more during stuffing. I generally don't soak more then 30 minutes (but have gone up to an hour); and I generally will time my soaking period after I have thoroughly rinsed the salt off. I don't measure, but if I were to guess, I would say I use about a tablespoon per pint of water.

Agree. You can also use lemon juice if your going to smoke. Suppose to help with the smoking process.

there's a very good DVD out called "Easy Home Sausage Making" by The Deer Masters. It can be found at www.sausagemakingdvd.com

Tenpoint5 · November 13, 2009, 03:33:35 PM

I myself have always used natural casings but I just purchased a couple of sticks of collagen casings 32mm to give them a try to see how they work with making some kielbasa rings.

Piker · November 13, 2009, 04:35:37 PM

I used to use nothing but naturals but had a lot of trouble putting them on the tubes,untangling them which usually ended up with different lenghts and they were not very strong all in all very difficult for a one person operation. so I went to edible collegen for my sausage. Easy to work with,you do not have to soak them,they are very strong hard to burst and easy to twist into links. They tend to be a little tough but all around I think they are the best. Piker

anderson5420 · November 14, 2009, 08:21:39 AM

For bigger stuff where I am going to peel the casing off anyway, I prefer fibrous synthetiic casings. They are great for your big salamis, coppa and stuff like that. They are about as strong as stainless steel and last forever - I still have a few that I probably bought 10 years ago.

For everything else I used hog casings until this week (see below!). I first got them from a local supermarket in a cottage cheese size container, they were packed in salt. Kept in the fridge, these do last virtually forever, but they can end up a tangled mess (personal experience) and of course soaking in a couple of changes of water is necessary. And they can tend to have weak spots and break, which is irritating. Still, they are the old standby. More recently, I could not find a single supermarket that still sold hog casings. The last supermarket that used to make its own sausage where I used to get hog casings no longer makes sausage, hence no casings. Fortunately there is a great meat market in the next town over and I started getting hog casings on the little plastic do-hinkeys that just slip right on to your stuffing horn, about a buck apiece. I hope this company stays in business a long time (Fisher's Meat Market, Issaquah, WA).

When I bought the synthetic fibrous casings years ago, however, I also bought one package each of smoked sausage collagen casings and fresh sausage collagen casings. They just sat in the fridge for all those years. I thought about using them but just stuck with my hog casings.

Then Veteran's Day last Wednesday was a day off, and pork was cheap at the local supermarket ($0.99 a pound for Farmland pork shoulders, running 5 - 7 pounds apiece, I bought 8). Veteran's Day was sausage day at the Andersons! Did a 10 lb batch of Grandpa Jumbo's Polish, and decided what the heck, let's give the smoked sausage collagen casings a try. I am now a CONVERT and am here to PROSELYTIZE! These puppies are the way to go for smoked sausage where you would usually use hog casings. They quite evidently last forever under refrigeration, and are so convenient to use, you just dip in water and slip onto your stuffing horn. The are strong - you would have a tough time breaking them. Best of all (and kind of surprising), they are very tender, way more tender than hog casings on Polish.

I am going to use the fresh sausage collagen on my Christmas korva (Swedish potato sausage, a recipe from my wife's family but I am now the one carrying on the tradition, an Irish Native American!). I can hardly wait. Maybe I will make a trial batch sooner just to make sure the fresh sausage collagens are up to the task as well!

Tenpoint5 · November 14, 2009, 10:17:30 AM

Anderson,
If you share the Swedish Potato Sausage recipe with us, I for one would be willing to help carry on the family recipe!!! ;D

anderson5420 · November 14, 2009, 05:03:43 PM

OK, here you go. Swedish potato sausage: 2 lbs coarse ground beef, 2 lbs coarse ground pork, 2 lbs grated or finely minced potatoes, 1 finely minced onion, 2 tbsp coarse salt, 2 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp allspice, 1 cup ice water. Mix well and stuff in hog casings (or fresh sausage collagen casings!). Cook immediately, or vacuum pack and freeze. My wife's family, being Swedish, boiled the crap out of it. I prefer to put in a frying pan with a small amount of water and cover with a lid. When the water boils, I removed the lid, and continue to pan fry until nicely browned on all side. This is a real treat. We make it at Christmas, you could make it any time of course!

Quote from: Tenpoint5 on November 14, 2009, 10:17:30 AM
Anderson,
If you share the Swedish Potato Sausage recipe with us, I for one would be willing to help carry on the family recipe!!! ;D

marauder11 · November 14, 2009, 05:58:21 PM

Man am i hungry after reading this

Tenpoint5 · November 14, 2009, 07:38:30 PM

Sounds great Anderson Thanks for sharing.

marauder11 · November 15, 2009, 07:27:29 PM

Well i used some collagen casings today. They well take some getting use to. I had about 3 blow outs.

Habanero Smoker · November 16, 2009, 02:01:32 AM

Quote from: marauder11 on November 15, 2009, 07:27:29 PM
Well i used some collagen casings today. They well take some getting use to. I had about 3 blow outs.

It must be the moon phase. :) I had several blowouts this weekend using sheep, 35mm hog casings, and I even blew out 60mm hog middle. Never had that many problems with natural casings in the past.