sausage casing slightly rubbery

[orsmokerinaz]

Hi All,  just did my first batch of sausage.  Polish ala the 10 spice recipe w/ jalapenos and salami with red pepper, jalapeno and garlic.  Very pleased with salami and polish is very tasty but the casings are slightly rubbery.  Edible but not as tender as I would like.

During the smoke process I found it took a LOT longer than the books said to get to 152 in the meat.   I had 2 hrs dry at 100-110 and then 1 1/2 at 130 - 11/2 at 140 then 1hr at 160 and 1 hr at 170.  Smoke wood was citrus with a bit of mesquite thrown in.

Any Comments are appreciated.  However I a REAL happy for my first time smoke.

Cheers and Merry Christmas to all

 

[themule69]

Are you sure that your temps are correct? Also you need to give the casings a good soak.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[mdboatbum]

What kind of casings? And did you follow the WHOLE recipe exactly? Like David said there is a soaking and blooming process, both of which I believe are pretty important to getting the right casing texture. I'm no expert by any manner of means, but I have found the only way I get a "snap" in any of the fresh sausage I've made is to saute in a little butter or put on a blazing hot grill. Otherwise, if I just poach or smoke them, the skins are a little rubbery.

 

[rgautheir20420]

2 things I've found to be very important in getting that perfect casing texture is a full 1 day soak in water and a splash of vinegar for the casings and a 2 day uncovered hangout in the fridge. The 1 day soak makes them very pliable and tender and the fridge time actually shrinks the sausage just a bit removing just a touch of moisture from the texture and giving them a nice snap when biting into.

 

[orsmokerinaz]

Hi All thanks for the tips.    Looks like I was a bit anxious when I finished.  I showered with Ice water as noted but I did not do the bloom as mentioned.  Just put in refer for the night and they were moist in the AM.   I was planning to Vac pack today.   Is it too late to let them air dry for a bit?? say a few hours or so in the smoker box??   I have cure in them and they did reach 152 degrees.

Sausages are plump and the salami is a little bit wrinkled but the tst e is still great

Thanks All

 

[mr b]

Hello there....
I just smoke mine 1st hr on 130 to dry them....after that straight to 170 for 5 to 6 hrs.....after smoking...cold bath to get temp down to 100 or 110....let air dry to get blooming going for 2hrs....the refrigerator...that how i do mine... look at my forum...mr b

 

[mr b]

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