Kielbasa using CELLULOSE casings

[Sailor]

Kielbasa using CELLULOSE casings

I have made many loads of Kielbasa using hog casing and collagen casings.  While I personally like the "bite" of the hog casing over the collagen casing, my wife peels whatever casing I use.  She said why can't you make the Kielbasa with the texture that you get from Hillshire Kielbasa?  She said the Hillshire Kielbasa can't compare to the taste of yours but I "hate" the texture of your Kielbasa.  OK I says!  I have been challenged and the mission is clear.  Make a Kielbasa with the "skinless" texture that will not be "butchered" if you try to peel the collagen or hog casing.

I think I found the answer!  I ordered some cellulose casings and from what I read, they will take smoke and will peel very easily.  Yesterday I mixed up 10 pounds of Kielbasa and stuffed into the cellulose casings.  I cut 19 inch strips and stuffed 18 inches of the 32 sized cellulose casing which gave me ½ inch on each end to tie off and make a ½ round.  I could not hang all 10 pounds of the ½ rounds so I put a tray in the OBS under the hanging sausage and loaded it and then took another tray and inverted it on top of the filled tray and put the rest of the ½ rounds on top.  Got all 10 pounds in the OBS and put 3 hrs of smoke on.  Sorry guys but I did not take any photos of the smoking or how I loaded the sausage.

After the smoke I brought them in to give them a hot water bath of 160 degrees.  Pulled them from the bath at an IT of 153 and bloomed for 2 hours.  I was very impressed at the color and with the smoothness of the casing.  I did do a link using collagen casing to have a baseline and to be able to compare.

After the bloom I put them in the fridge for an overnight rest to let the flavors marry.  This morning I pulled them from the fridge and they did not look anywhere as good as they went in.  When they went in the fridge the casings were like glass and the meat color was fantastic compared to the collagen link, which seemed dull.

Here is what they look like coming out of the fridge.  They look pretty wrinkled and I was thinking that I really screwed this up.


Comparing the collagen on the left and the cellulose on the right.


I peel one and was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice looking sausage under the casing.  Comparing a peel link to an unpeeled link.


They were so easy to peel and the casing came off with no chunks of skin or meat clinging to the casing.


Was disappointed to see "fat" between the casing and the meat.


I think this fat will melt off under a stream of warm tap water.  Yep, just melted off and no traces of fat left.


All the links peeled and rinsed in warm water and back in the tub and ready to be vac sealed.


Money shot of one the victims.  This was taken prior to the warm water rinse.


I was very happy with the smoke flavor that the cellulose casing gave.  Smoke seemed to penetrate just fine!

Called my wife to the kitchen for a test and to see if the texture was what she was looking for.   She took a piece and looked it over with a critical eye and probed the skin her fingers and with hesitation and apprehension placed it in her mouth.  Eyes opened wide and a smile on her face and uttered the words "perfect".   No more peeled casings on her plate when eating Kielbasa as the skinless Kielbasa has been perfected in our household.

For those in the forum that have not tried the cellulose casing, I would recommend you try it.  I have made hot dogs using hog casing and collagen casings and was just not happy with the end product.  I think the cellulose casing would work fantastic doing dogs.  It will take a bit more time to peel than using hog casing.  I have used collagen casings in a bath with dogs and they seem to come apart and not produce the perfect skin.  I think the next batch of dogs I will be using cellulose.

Sorry for being wordy but I was so excited about the finished product.  I don't remember reading anything in the forum from anyone that has used cellulose so I wanted to share my results. 

[SamuelG]

Great info.  I've had the same issue before. 

Thanks for taking the time to post.


SamuelG

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ghost9mm]

Really great information to have, we love good kielbasa in this house...well done..

[viper125]

Good reading! Wasn't even aware of cellulose casings. I have tried the rest with varying  degrees of success. Will try those next time. Which recipe your wife prefer or is it a secret? Do you smoke for 3-4 hours then water bath?

[pikeman_95]

Sailor

Great results and great post. Thanks for the info. I am using 1.5" cellulose casings for my summer sausage which stuffed more like 2" when stuffed tight. I chose them because they had a pre-tied 30 inch length which just fits in my smoker. I had no trouble getting a 60 pound batch in my smoker. I think I could hold more like 90 pounds. My water bath tank will also hold 90 pounds. Now that would be a good sized load.  I was very happy with the results using the cellulose casings. I am going to look into the smaller casings for the Kielbasa type of sausages. I liked the hot water rinse idea. It made them look so good.

Thanks again Kirby.

[Sailor]

Sailor

Great results and great post. Thanks for the info. I am using 1.5" cellulose casings for my summer sausage which stuffed more like 2" when stuffed tight. I chose them because they had a pre-tied 30 inch length which just fits in my smoker. I had no trouble getting a 60 pound batch in my smoker. I think I could hold more like 90 pounds. My water bath tank will also hold 90 pounds. Now that would be a good sized load.  I was very happy with the results using the cellulose casings. I am going to look into the smaller casings for the Kielbasa type of sausages. I liked the hot water rinse idea. It made them look so good.

Thanks again Kirby.

Kirby, I think a size 38 to 40 cellulose would give you the size you are looking for your Ritz cracker.  I know you have done SS in that size to fit the crackers.

[Sailor]

Viper, the recipe is Mike's that I modified a slight bit to fit my taste.  He did not use the non-fat milk but I wanted a binder to get a nice skin.

Kielbasa for a 10 pound batch.  For 5 pounds just cut in half.

5 pounds pork butt   (grind through medium plate)
5 pounds 80/20 beef

4 TBS Kosher salt
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp Marjoram
2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 ½ TBS Course Black Pepper
1 ½ tsp Granulated Garlic
2 oz Non Fat Dry Milk
2 tsp Cure #1
1 ½ cup cold water

I dissolve the cure in the water then dissolve the salt.  Stir until all are dissolved.  Then I add the sugar and dissolve it.  Then the Marjoram, cayenne, black pepper and garlic go in.  Once those ingredients are blended in the water I add the non fat dry milk and stir out the lumps.  Since I would be peeling the cellulose I wanted a nice firm skin on the sausage and that is why I used the non fat milk as a binder.

I used 32mm cellulose casings that I cut to 19 inches.  You can stuff the cellulose pretty firm without a bust out.   I used butchers twine to tie off an end and stuff to 18 inches and then use the other end of the twine to tie off the other end giving me room to hang on the bar.  I did find that the cellulose did not wick much water to the exterior so I did not have to dry the casing much before I rolled smoke.

I hung most of the ½ rounds but I had just as good of luck with the ones that I laid flat in the tray.

Rolled 3 hours of Hickory at 140 degrees and after the smoke I put them in a 160-degree hot water bath.  Pulled when IT was 153 and bloomed for 2 hrs.  I put them in the fridge over night before peeling.  I did have some congealed fat between the casing and the skin but this washed off with warm water and a bit of rubbing. 

I am totally sold on the cellulose casings and will be ordering some smaller mm to do dogs.  I think I will order some 38 to 40 to do some SS with as well. 

[SouthernSmoked]

Niiiiiiice!

[cobra6223]

Go ahead be wordy all you want!! ;D Those look very nice, Thnaks for sharing.
Tim

[NePaSmoKer]

Nice lookin keeeebasa there.

[SouthernSmoked]

Some good looking Kielbasa there Sailor!!!

[classicrockgriller]

Oh Dang! Something else to try. Geez! ;D

Excellent post.

Good to see ya.

[Caribou]

Great post, didn't even know cellulose casings existed.
The kielbasa look like they came out great :)
Carolyn

[viper125]

Thank you Sailor lokks great!

[OU812]

The Kielbasa looks great and a nice wright up too.