Sausage Casings

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  Sausage Casings 101 - Sausage Casings Basics
  • Jonathon

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  One method I have been using lately, in addition to poking holes, is to fire up my smoker at 225 and cooking them (with or without smoke) until they hit an internal temp of around 150-155 (about an hour) and then finishing them on the grill to add some color until they reach 165.

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  Sausage Casings 102 - Choosing The Right Casing
  • Jonathon

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  @tinagh Sometimes it’s good to have more people than just answering because I would have told you no, I wouldn’t boil collagen at all! However, in this case, @Parksider really is an expert in boiling meat products! He finishes up his summer sausages (and maybe other products) in hot water, so if he says it should work I would trust him BUT keep it at 170 or below, collagen casings won’t stand up to a true boiling.

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  Sausage Casings 103 - Preparing Your Casings
  • Jonathon

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  Sausage Casings 103 - Preparing Your Casings

  Attend this entry level class from Meatgistics University by watching the video, reading the article and post any questions you have!

  Preparing Casings

  These casings are all made from different materials, are best suited for different products and have different preparation requirements.

  Edible Collagen

  Most types of collagen are edible and require no preparation or cleaning before being ready for use. All you have to do is take them out of the package, put them on the stuffing tube and stuff them, the moisture from the meat will rehydrate them during the cooking process so they will not have that tough dry texture that they do before being used.

  Inedible Collagen

  For nonedible collagen, the rule of 15s comes into play. They must be soaked for 15 minutes in a 15% salt solution that is 15° C (59° F) before they can be used for stuffing. With any type of collagen blowouts are of medium concern, you need to make sure you don’t overstuff your casings or you will have blowouts either during stuffing or when linking.

  Cellulose Casings

  Cellulose Casings are made from plant material and are ready for use right out of the package, just put them on the stuffing tube and begin stuffing. These casings are inedible and must be removed either before or after the cooking process. Luckily they have a thick black stripe down them to allow you to easily determine if the casing has been removed or not. These casings are very strong and blowouts are not a concern.

  Fibrous Casings

  Fibrous Casings are a dried paper-like casing that needs to be rehydrated before they are suitable for use. To do this fill a bowl with 80-100° and let them soak for 30-60 minutes. When they are ready for use they should be pliable but not soggy. We recommend that you only soak as many casings as you will need but if you do soak too many you can simply allow extras to dry out and then use them again in the future. Fibrous Casings are very strong and blowouts should not be a concern.

  Natural Hog or Sheep Casings

  100 Yard “Hank” - If you purchased the 100-yard hank of hog or sheep casings you only need to rinse the outside and then soak the casings in hot water for an hour, there is no need to flush them. Natural casings are a natural casing and therefore they are prone to blowouts, you need to be careful not to overstuff the casings or you can have blowouts either when stuffing or when linking.

  Home Pack - If you purchased home pack hog or sheep casings they will be in a bag and packed with salt. You will need to flush these casings by allowing water to run all the way through them, then you will need to rinse any salt off of the outside of the casing and then soak them in hot water for 1 hour prior to stuffing.

  Tubed Natural Casing - If you have the tubed sheep or hog casings they only need to be soaked as well as they have been flushed already. When loading these onto the stuffing tubes you will place the plastic sleeve over the tube and then thread the rest of the casing on. Once your casing is fully loaded you need to grab the plastic sleeve and pull it out from between the casing and the tube, it should all come out fairly easily.

  Shop waltonsinc.com for Collagen Casings Shop waltonsinc.com for Fibrous Casings Shop waltonsinc.com for Natural Casings
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  Sausage Casings 104 - Shelf Life & Storage
  • Jonathon

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  Sausage Casings 104 - Shelf Life & Storage

  Attend this entry level class from Meatgistics University by watching the video, reading the article and post any questions you have!

  Natural Hog and Sheep Casings

  Shelf-Life - If they are unopened and stored in a refrigerator or cooler you can expect to get 12 months from these casings but remember, these are a natural product, not a manufactured one so times can vary. The casings might have an unpleasant smell to them but that is to be expected if however the smell is truly rancid then the casings have gone bad and should be disposed of. The difference in smell between the slightly unpleasant normal smell of these casings and spoiled casings is unmistakable.

  How To Store - These will be sent to you either packed in salt, if you purchased the home pack, or kept in a salt solution if you purchased the 100-yard hank. The salt will keep the casings fresh throughout the shipping process but they should be stored in a cooler or refrigerator when you receive them until they are ready for use. Once you have taken them out of the package and rinsed and cleaned them they can be put back into the salt or salt solution and vacuum packed again at which point they will have the original shelf life.

  Collagen Casings

  Shelf-Life - Collagen casings should have a shelf life of between 12-24 months depending on how they are stored. If the casing feels excessively brittle when you are putting it on the stuffing tube or you are experiencing an unusual number of blowouts your casings might have gone bad and should be disposed of. You can slightly rehydrate older collagen casings by taking them out of there package and storing them in the refrigerator the night before they are going to be used. Once you have used how much you need you can reseal them in a bag. Do not vacuum pack them though as this will crush the casings

  How To Store - They should be kept in a dry place that is between 40-60° F and left in the original packaging until they are ready for use. Once they have been opened you should reseal the casings and always store them in an airtight container. The older the casing is the more brittle and prone to blowouts it will become.

  Fibrous Casings

  Shelf-Life - These casings do not really go bad, you should get at least a few years out of them if stored correctly.

  How To Store - They should be kept in a cool dry environment and out of direct sunlight.

  Cellulose Casings

  Shelf-Life - These casings do not really go bad, you should get at least a few years out of them if stored correctly.

  How To Store - They should be kept in a cool dry environment and out of direct sunlight.

  Shop waltonsinc.com for Collagen Casings Shop waltonsinc.com for Fibrous Casings Shop waltonsinc.com for Natural Casings