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

[islandgirl]

so I did my first attempt at sausage making. The casings came out of the freezer. I stuffed them and left them overnight in the fridge/ then smoked slowly raising the temp to 150 for about 3 hours. Then into the 155 deg. hot water for 10 mins once internal temp reached 155.. then into the cold water bath.. Overall I am very happy with the flavor.. BUT my casings are tough.

Anyone have any ideas why?

[GusRobin]

Maybe the freezing (just guessing) The ones I get come heavily salted and in a ziplock bag. I use what i need and just put in the fridge until next time. If I don't use a couple that I have taken out and rinsed, I just re-salt them and put them back in the bag. They seem to last forever.

[Sailor]

Could be several things.  Some casings are just plain tough.  If the casing is under stuffed it could cause them to be tough.  Adding a little lemon juice or vinegar can help to make them more tender.  How long did you soak the casings prior to stuffing.  Did you soak them in tepid water?  I have had some casings than were very tough even after soaking in vinegar.  I have also found that smoking vs grilling gives a different texture to the casing.  I have made a batch and smoked 1/2 and grilled the other 1/2 and the grilled seemed to have more of a tender casing. 

[islandgirl]

AHHHH
I missed the vinegar in the water!!
How much vinegar for next time??

[NePaSmoKer]

Never freeze your casings.

Rinse salt off casings inside and out.
Soak in lukewarm water with 1/2 tsp salt and 1 T white vinegar for about 30 to 60 mins prior to stuffing.

[Sailor]

I don't know if there is an exact measurement for vinegar.  I put a teaspoon in the dish that I have my casings soaking.  I have no idea how much water I have them soaking in so an exact ratio is unknown to me.  I am sure that someone that has more know how about this will be along to point us in the right direction.

Edit....I see that the sausage mentor chimed in while I was writing this.  I would take his advise.

[pikeman_95]

How large were the casings. Some of the larger casings come from older hogs and I have been told that they can be tougher. Our local sausage processor told me that he quit buying the larger casings for this reason. I have just acquired some so I guess I will find out. I agree that a understuffed casing might get tougher if it dries out more during the smoking process. You might have also smoked them too long before heading for the water bath.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi islandgirl;

I mentioned that in your other thread to use either white vinegar or lemon juice. But since you had frozen your casings, I suggested you forgo that; since vinegar or lemon juice also have a tendency to weaken the casings; if you use too much and/or soak them too long.

As pikeman pointed out it could be the source of the casings, but generally it is do to not rinsing inside the casings, and/or not soaking long enough in tepid water. If your casings were salted previous to freezing, and you do not remove the salt, your sausage will not only be salty but it will cause the casings to be tough. Also cooking them without gradually increasing the cabinet temperature will also cause tough casings, but this is not the case for your situation.

[islandgirl]

Thanks everyone
Lots of great info here..
One more question.
What would you recommend for binding the meat together in the sausage so it is not crumbly?
Mine turned out OK..but just barely..

[Sailor]

I use a medium grind plate for my sausage that I smoke.  I don't generally use a binder but if I do I use 1 1/2 oz of non fat dry milk per 5 lbs.

[pikeman_95]

snap a picture of a slice It would help to take a look at the color.  Did you use the correct amount of cure? A binder can be used but two times I have experienced this while smoking some sausage for friends. In both cases they had reduced the amount of cure because their wives had told them that she did not want to have so much cure in their sausage. This is a dangerous situation and I gave them both a stern talking to. I do not smoke anything for friends anymore unless I help them make the sausage.

kirby

[islandgirl]

Here is a pic.. I used allrecipes jalapeno cheddar sausage

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab21/fly-weight/PB250001.jpg

[pikeman_95]

I am not familiar with that recipe but the color looks fine but they do look a little loose. Probably needs a little binder. It also looks like it might have been ground with a larger plate. I have found a 3/16 plate works best for me. Though there are some sausages that are ground quite coarse and they still hold together. Let one of the others give you some better advice on the binder. How does it taste??

Kirby

[Habanero Smoker]

Another binder would be soy protein concentrate.

Best results are obtained around 3.5% of the green weight of the sausage (5% or higher you will alter the taste of your sausage). Use 5 ounces (about 1 cup) soy protein concentrate per 10 lbs. of meat - this will give you approximately 3% soy protein concentrate. If measuring by volume, do not pack!

[islandgirl]

Kirby... you are good !

I did use the largest hole plate I had for grinding.. since I always hated sausage that is like a mush!!
So that may be part of the problem! TY ;)

HS ..Where would I get soy protein concentrate? I live in small town Vancouver Island.. no sausage making store here..I have relied on casings from the local butcher.. etc.