ZOMG! I Have Met The Enemy and He Won!!

foamheart · Nov 18, 2014

Casings! 46MM casings! I no longer feel a newbie, but not a pro either. But tonight I started unwraping a 46MM casing, that sucker was a country mile long. Seriously! Well I will guarantee it was 50 ft.+. AND I cut it off after unwrapping it for 45 mins with not a single knot or problem!

This has to be the granddaddy of all pork casings, I am thinking about taking it to a taxidermist and getting it stuffed. I decided to keep it and stuff part of it myself! It would take a case of cryo-pac'd butts to fill this sucker up! I never ever considered something this long possible, and I cut it off. I didn't see the end!

It took so long tonight unwrapping, I am gonna wait till tomorrow to stuff. My arm is sore.

I know, I know, only 300 yards to a hank, but I wasn't expecting one casing to make the whole hank!

It needs to soak a bit, if its full of holes tomorrow when I wash out and check for holes I'll be going nuts.

More later I am just totally flabbergasted.

venture · Nov 18, 2014

I can feel your surprise.

I use smaller diameter casings and buy them from a local deli. They are already cut to a reasonable length tho I cut them a little shorter to make them workable.

Never having dealt with a hank?

I can only imagine what you encountered!

Fire hose anyone?

Good luck and good smoking.

darwin101 · Nov 18, 2014

I remember fighting with knotted hanks when I has a chef,not fun. I think I would have gotten frustrated and cut that thing. I never found one that long, call Guinness!

daveomak · Nov 18, 2014

Take a picture.....

mdboatbum · Nov 18, 2014

Ha!! I had a wrestling match with pork casings this week myself. In anticipation of making my andouille I went to the local super high end butcher shop, being the only local place that sells casings, and asked for my usual 12 feet. In the years I've been buying sausage casings there, each and every time asking for 12 feet, it's always been an adventure. I've gotten as little as 8 feet, for which they charged me $9.50, and this last time I'm guessing it was somewhere in the 40 foot range, for which I paid the princely sum of $4.50. The thing is though, there has never been a knot, or a hole, or anything other than absolutely perfect casing. It's all a uniform size, and always in one long (ish) piece. It's worth the random lengths to get perfect casing every time. And the advertised price is $29.95/lb, though $9.50 is the most I've ever been charged.

Rafter H BBQ · Nov 18, 2014

Wow Foam, sounds like kind of a rough day at the office ! Hang in there, you'll show it who's boss ! Hope the stuffing goes smooth for ya !

:beercheer:

foamheart · Nov 18, 2014

Venture said:
I can feel your surprise.

I use smaller diameter casings and buy them from a local deli. They are already cut to a reasonable length tho I cut them a little shorter to make them workable.

Never having dealt with a hank?

I can only imagine what you encountered!

Fire hose anyone?

Good luck and good smoking.

Fire hose! ROFLMAO Thats exactly what its like.

Darwin101 said:
I remember fighting with knotted hanks when I has a chef,not fun. I think I would have gotten frustrated and cut that thing. I never found one that long, call Guinness!

There wasn't a knot, amazing, It wasn't even a pain to keep removing one circle after the next. Each circle was about the size of the circumfrence of a 5 gallon pall. Seemed to be and endless amount of loops.

DaveOmak said:
Take a picture.....

I cut it, I never saw the end. I think it was in a black hole where time and distance mean nothing.

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foamheart
Nov 18, 2014

You can't see how many are in there!

Mdboatbum said:
Ha!! I had a wrestling match with pork casings this week myself. In anticipation of making my andouille I went to the local super high end butcher shop, being the only local place that sells casings, and asked for my usual 12 feet. In the years I've been buying sausage casings there, each and every time asking for 12 feet, it's always been an adventure. I've gotten as little as 8 feet, for which they charged me $9.50, and this last time I'm guessing it was somewhere in the 40 foot range, for which I paid the princely sum of $4.50. The thing is though, there has never been a knot, or a hole, or anything other than absolutely perfect casing. It's all a uniform size, and always in one long (ish) piece. It's worth the random lengths to get perfect casing every time. And the advertised price is $29.95/lb, though $9.50 is the most I've ever been charged.

My first time with sausage I bought a hank of casing from my butcher friend, I really like them although buying from the butcher is a bit extravagant! Lots of places, and I have a special bucket I keep in the reefer all the time now with all my different casings.

BTW I get mine from Butchers and Packs, no problems as long as you do't talk to CSR....LOL They kind of have an attitude, course it might be I am just from the south too....LOL

themule69 · Nov 19, 2014

I look forward to seeing your monster sausage. I couldn't afford to fill it up.

Happy smoken.

David

foamheart · Nov 19, 2014

themule69 said:
I look forward to seeing your monster sausage. I couldn't afford to fill it up.

Happy smoken.

David

LOL.... David I couldn't even get it all on the tube, maybe half! And since I am making only 10 pounds on my first batch it doesn't look like I even used any.

This is/was a serious casing! When they cleaned the casing out this hog, must have been 2 or 300 pounds. My Pop is still laughing at me, he wasn't laughing last night when supper was almost and hour lat cause I was uncoiling that sucker of the hank...LOL

reinhard · Nov 19, 2014

What are you making with those big casings? Cant wait to see it. I've handled many hanks and some are a mess but they are cheaper for the most part. Reinhard

mike w · Nov 19, 2014

Ditto, I'm looking forward to seeing what you make!

chef willie · Nov 19, 2014

I hear ya Foam....I ordered a hank of 38/42 MM from Waltons and when I cracked into it I couldn't believe how long those casings were. I also had to cut it as a 5 pound batch of Andouille was no match for it. However, I will say, that was the cleanest and easiest casing to work with I've had the pleasure of stuffing. I'm thinking I will go down a notch to 32/35's IF I ever use these up.....Willie

foamheart · Nov 19, 2014

Reinhard said:
What are you making with those big casings? Cant wait to see it. I've handled many hanks and some are a mess but they are cheaper for the most part. Reinhard

The hank was beautiful, not a single problem with it. I just kept unwinding and unwinding and unwinding..... That casing was like the energizer bunny, it went on forever. I cut it off! I completely loaded the stuffing tube FULL! Then cut it off again cause I couldn't get it all on there. Then after the sausage was made you can't even tell any of the casings were used off the tube. I didn't have the heart to pull it off the tube so I put the tube loaded in a ziplock full of water and its in the reefer still, and the tupperware has still got probably a bit less than half in it.

Instead of beef middles, which were not normally butchered with the pork, I always saw 'em use the biggest casing from the hog. So since I tryed hog bungs before, and I can't see that happening, its the 46MM for andouille. Thats if you can save them from the chittlin pile.

foamheart · Nov 19, 2014

Mike W said:
Ditto, I'm looking forward to seeing what you make!

I made some andouille, I tryed something different in proceedures this tiime, just seeing if I could be wrong. I have not cut into one yet to see how it goes.

Chef Willie said:
I hear ya Foam....I ordered a hank of 38/42 MM from Waltons and when I cracked into it I couldn't believe how long those casings were. I also had to cut it as a 5 pound batch of Andouille was no match for it. However, I will say, that was the cleanest and easiest casing to work with I've had the pleasure of stuffing. I'm thinking I will go down a notch to 32/35's IF I ever use these up.....Willie

I loved these so easy to unwind......... But its just ...... well I don't normally stuff 100 lbs in one sitting ROFLMAO

themule69 · Nov 19, 2014

What is the shelf life of a casing

Happy smoken.

David

reinhard · Nov 19, 2014

Thanks Foam, I'll be looking forward to looking at that casing filled with all the goodness. Should make for a nice money shot. Reinhard

ZOMG! I Have Met The Enemy and He Won!!

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