mold in sausage casings

[unclejhim]

I have 2 separate hanks of natural hog casing in my fridge. When I am finished using them I store them in container, drained  with 1/2 cup salt and a cap full of vinegar.

Today went to get them and one container had 2 small pieces of mold floating on top. The water was also murky. No smell and no discoloration. I rinsed them several times and the water cleared up. The other container was fine.

What may have caused this? It's a new hank that I flushed several weeks ago. My first guess  is the container was/is not air tight.

Also do y'all think they are safe to use?

 

[crazymoon]

UJ, I store my casings in a salt slurry and have never seen mold. I wouldn't use the moldy ones !

 

[chef jimmyj]

Maybe getting air. I would not sweat the mold. Harmless mold grows in high salt and acid, like fermenting pickles and sauerkraut. If the casing don't stink they are fine...JJ

 

[BGKYSmoker]

I bet they are still fine to use, if you can pack in more salt, skip the vinegar and use non iodized, kosher or pure salt.

 

[unclejhim]

Thanks all,

I've been rinsing several time and they look and smell fine. Well pack them with more iodine free salt and skip the vinegar.