Im still trying to resolve a problem

[scotty]

I have made about 4 batches of italian sausage this year.
I use colageen casings and they always split at various pointh in the link when i'm cookong them.

We have been very carefull to mix the meat thoroughly and also to avoid overstuffing the casings.

I'm using a 1 HP cabellas meat grinder to stuff the casings.


NOW FOR MY QUESTION
Do any of you think that a tapered stuffing tube could be the problem????

I have tapered sausage horns and was thinking that the tapered ones ((as oposed to un tapered ones)) might be compressing the mix just enough to cause it to expand after the casing is stuffed.

I'm postponing getting a vertical stuffer till i can eliminate as many possibilities for the splitting when using my meat grinder as a stuffer.

 

[mossymo]

I do not think the tubes are your problem. If the taper effected anything I believe you would see it when you are putting the colagen casing on the tube by it cracking.

I have used cologen casings before and personaly prefer natural casings. They are more work to prepare and more difficult to get on the stuffer tube but have more flexability and when they are smoked/cooked seem to be more natural to the sausage itself (IMHO).

 

[scotty]

My left hand is impaired

 

[deejaydebi]

I use collagen but then I won't eat the casings on any sausages just one of those weird things - I've always peeled my sausages before eatting them since I was a kid even store bought ones.

 

[minn.bill]

i just bought 40$ worth of 22mm calogen casings for snack stix. has anyone had the problem with them? i would hate to split them.

 

[salmonclubber]

scotty

i use the colligen casing for snack stix i know that they make two types one is for fresh sausage and the other is for smoked sausage i bought some of the fresh sausage casings once by mistake they kept on splitting and breaking when i stuffed them i went back to using the ones for smoked sausage and they are a better casing

 

[scotty]

thats interesting info

 

[mossymo]

I think salmonclubber may have a remedy to your problem, sounds like he knows his colagen. Good job salmonclubber !!!

 

[scotty]

Mine only split when i cook them. Fry them

 

[deejaydebi]

Gee I didn't even think of that, but they usually say when you buy them what they're good for and the protein lined usually cost more so you'd know if you bought the wrong ones.

Doesn't your supplier list what they are for when you order them?

 

[salmonclubber]

yes deb they do list the two different casings it was my mistake i ordered the wrong ones i must have been in a hurry when i ordered them it just took a while for me to figure out why they kept on breaking

 

[deejaydebi]

Yeah that can happen. I've run out and used the wrong ones but it doesn't matter if I'm keeping them only when I give them away.

 

[goat]

I just bought $165 worth of 16mm casings and the wrong size tube. I did not know it until I was ready to stuff the slim jims tonight. Pics tomorrow.

 

[scotty]

I have the casings that say they are edible and for italian sausages. i am trying larger diameters each time. next batch as soon as we get the corned beef and the pastramis cooked and a few carboys of wine into bottles.

 

[bombo80]

When I use collagen casings, I only make beer sticks, pepperoni sticks and the like. Even when I was making sausage professionally, we only used collagen casings for sticks like that.

Everything else goes in some kind of natural casing. Wieners in sheep casings, brats, polish, italian, smoked, fresh all go into hog casings. Ring bolo goes into beef casings.

Summer sausage, and other types of sausage like it, go into varying sizes of artificial casings. Yes, sometimes you can get natural casings for these too. I would wager that they are much more expensive though.

Just my .02 on this issue

 

[scotty]

Could you tell me if the natural casings that you used were packed in a manner that allowed easy installation on the stuffer tube or did you have to mess with the tangled intestines that i see in the natural casing packs.
My left hand does not have sufficient feel to cope with those tangels