Toggle sidebar

Do you keep casings on?

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
Remove the Ads for LIFE - 50% Off!
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
buccosnation

buccosnation

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 9, 2015
27
10
Pennsylvania
This may be a dumb question but this is my first attempt at sausage. When making venison/pork breakfast sausage and snack sticks do you leave the calogen casings on after smoking/cooking it. The sausage I am making will be fresh so I won't be smoking it. I'm just wondering if the calogen casings will be noticeable when eating. And as for the snack sticks I will be smoking them. So once cooked do I just cut to the length I want and remove the casing? Thanks in advance.
 
For breakfast sausage I would use hog casings, or just forget the casings & make patties.

For the sticks I store them with the casings on & then peel the casings off before eating them.

Al
 
What Al said.

Also the sticks after smoking and cooled if your collagen won't peel you can run cold water on them and the casing will peel off.
 
Last edited:
Can anybody recommend the best place to buy hog casings? Being new to this I was really surprised at how expensive they are. The few sites I found were roughly 50-60$
 
nepas said:
 
What Al said.

Also the sticks after smoking and cooled if your collagen won't peel you can run cold water on them and the casing will peel off.
Click to expand...
Buccosnation said:
Can anybody recommend the best place to buy hog casings? Being new to this I was really surprised at how expensive they are. The few sites I found were roughly 50-60$
Click to expand...
BCCO, The Sausagemaker(plus others) have home packs for  a lot cheaper than the prices you are stating. They aren't full length but you can get a good charge of sausage made for a reasonable price.
 
Last edited:
Buccosnation said:
Can anybody recommend the best place to buy hog casings? Being new to this I was really surprised at how expensive they are. The few sites I found were roughly 50-60$
Click to expand...
I'm buy mine from http://www.makincasing.com/ .

I've heard all the horror stories of trying to thread casings onto a stuffer and found these "preloaded" casings. Takes all of 2 seconds for me to load my casings onto the stuffing tube.
 
Syracuse casing company....   Butcher and Packer......   Walton's...  Michlitch / Spokane Spice Company....  All have casings...   

I do not recommend purchasing "Home Paks" of casings...   Usually they are a  mix of odds and ends...  maybe even holes in the casings....  In any case, they will probably make your life miserable trying to stuff...  compared to first class casings you get in a 100 yard hank...

Syracuse is All American stuff...  Don't know about the others...  haven't looked...     Anywho, there are sellers that sell from overseas suppliers...  you can't be sure if their casings have been refrigerated and cleaned properly...   There is no inspection, that I know of, on pig or sheep guts..   Soooooo, I only shop American.....  the price may be a bit higher but the cleanliness is important to me...

EDIT>    I eat the casings that I stuff......
 
Last edited:
According to Syracuse casings web site they claim that sheep casings are best for links. However, a few of you have said hog casings for breakfast sausage. What's the big difference and which would you recommend?
 
Hog casings are easier to work with than sheep.

I have used collagen casings to make breakfast links and I remove the casing during or after cooking.

Another option if you want links is to go caseless. I assume you are using a stuffer or jerky gun. Fill up the stuffer and run the meat out onto parchment paper cut the meat into whatever lengths you want. Freeze the cut links on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Then vac-pac or whatever you want to do to store them. To cook pull from freezer and right into a heated pan on medium.
 
Thank you dirtsailor I really like that idea. Have you tried this before? Did it turn out well? My fear would be that they do not hold together well and when you would cook them they would just fall apart in basically burger.
 
Your in PA.? I'm sure you can find them locally. Ask around some butcher shops. A hank or 100 yards  of hogs should be anywhere between 13.00 and 30 dollars. I get them locally for about 23 dollars a hank right now. it depends on the market price for pigs. I used to get them for 13 dollars a few years ago...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/159729/how-to-handle-natural-casings

Boykjo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Similar threads

C
Snack sticks
Replies
6
Views
337
General Discussion
BGKYSmoker
BGKYSmoker
Flash Burn
Speaking of casings...
Replies
11
Views
1K
Sausage
Flash Burn
Flash Burn
G
Post your bad batches of snack sticks! What worked what didn't. (Also on "good" wrinkles vs. bad)
Replies
4
Views
371
Sausage
geostriata
G
indaswamp
Porkapalooza!!!!
Replies
62
Views
2K
Sausage
indaswamp
indaswamp
PapaRed
I need help with casings
Replies
19
Views
2K
Sausage
Dustin Dorsey
Dustin Dorsey
PapaRed
Snack Stick Issues
Replies
12
Views
1K
Sausage
PapaRed
PapaRed
uncle eddie
Chicken Sausage and Vegetarian Casings for someone with Alfa-Gal Syndrome
Replies
10
Views
1K
Sausage
Gonna Smoke
Gonna Smoke
G
Mysliwska - Hunter's Sausage (Snack Stick Version)
Replies
22
Views
675
Sausage
geostriata
G

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Top Bottom
Back
Clicky