collagen casing issue

[Mschmidt]

Love using Collagen casings but think I might still be using them wrong. Stuff great but can’t figure out how to twist them and when we cook them the casing splits off. They do keep their shape when cooking. Thoughts or suggestions would be great. ![20201214_121001.jpg]

[Chef]

Mschmidt From my experience, could be too tight of a pack or too hot a grill. Both can cause splitting from my years of learning (still learning). Been using sheep and hog for 30 years. Your uncooked product looks great. I find that I can stuff them as tight that allows me to pinch between two fingers at whatever given length I want. The pinch is then the point of twisting. I pinch both ends and twist in one direction then the next link in the opposite direction.

Hopes that is of some help

[Mschmidt]

Thanks. I was in a hurry when I cooked these in cast iron pan so may have been to hot of heat.

[Tex_77]

I would say cooking in cast iron that is to hot is causing them to split. Also remember collagen won’t hold a twist.

[Chef]

Mschmidt Missed the collagen thing. sorry, Tex_77 is absolutely correct on both points. It’s one of the reasons I try to only use sheeps and hog.

[Mschmidt]

Tex_77 do you cut collagen casing then?

[Tex_77]

You can twist the collagen casings, then freeze and they will hold some what, then you can cut them. Or you can cut and freeze.

[cdavis]

Mschmidt too hot to fast IMO

[opah73]

i think using a good 3 point sausage pricker helps with spliting problem also. i poke mine every inch or so before packaging. seems to vent pressure/fat…might help

[KenfromMI]

Natural casings and a low heat.

[jroby]

last time i used collagen casings to make brats. was not able to twist kept blowing out, maybe stuffed too much. what
I did do was tie the links with butcher twine, smoked them and then cut into links. this worked well.

[Daniel Nolte]

i found that cooking at a low heat works great

[TexLaw]

I agree that you probably cooked too hot and fast. Whenever I cook cased sausages of any sort on cast iron, I do it slowly (medium heat at the most) until they are plumped through. If I want some browning on the outside, I crank it up at the end.

[PapaSop]

Only use natural casings here but perhaps simmer in some water to get to temp then just brown them a bit.