# how do you decide between natural casings and collagen?



## stevensondrive (Jan 21, 2013)

I am just getting into sausage making.  I made a batch of breakfast sausage and chorizo last weekend.  I made the breakfast into patties and the chorizo into small bags. 

I want my next batches to be italian sausage and smoked kielbasa.  is there any reason I can't use the collagen casings for both??

What are the advantages of each?

Thanks! I love this site  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Steve


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## daveomak (Jan 21, 2013)

Steve, morning...  I like natural casings for andouille, kielbasa and brats, etc...  I like the "old world" snap in the casings.... reminds me of growing up....    collagen for the slim jim type and salamis....   Of course bkfast patties is a no brainer...  I pack a 1 quart bag and roll flat with a rolling pin and freeze....   cut into quarters for 4 patties....  simple and good....   Personal preference is what matters most....   I have heard some folks say they would never eat natural because it is from offal ????

Dave


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## fagesbp (Jan 21, 2013)

For regular sized sausages like brats, andouille, etc I tried both collagen and natural hog casings and found I like the natural better because of texture mainly. It seems to me like the collagen are a bit thicker too but the natural are tougher and more forgiving. The main positive I saw in the collagen was they don't stretch and you end up with perfectly even sausage. It takes a bit of practice to do that with natural casings. Still, I've only bought collagen once and always keep natural hog casings on hand.


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## diggingdogfarm (Jan 21, 2013)

Collagen casings SUCK!!!!!!!!
I only use them for some snack sticks!


~Martin


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## shannon127 (Jan 21, 2013)

Oh no, I have to disagree with Martin.  Usually I just find my self repeating Martin.  I will agree with Martin that some collagen casings suck.  I use natural casings for most everything.  There are collagen casings which are very good, very thin and with a good snap.  Most of these you will not find at Gander Mountain or Bass Pro.....  The ones I am referring to are the commercial ones.  I use Naturin collagen casings for Kabanosy and Landjager.  They fill very easily, smoke nicely and they dry well.  I have used Lem collagen casings and they do suck.


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## diggingdogfarm (Jan 21, 2013)

It's a matter of personal preference, we all have different likes and dislikes.
I had, up until recently, only ever used natural casings, for years and years, but since the cost of sheep casings has gotten so high, I've tried collagen casings from Sausage Maker. I'm so used to natural casings that the collagen just seem to suck in many ways.
Kind of like switching from natural vanilla extract to artificial, after using the natural all your life. :biggrin:
Does anybody sell the Naturin collagen casings in less than case quantities?


~Martin


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 21, 2013)

DiggingDogFarm said:


> It's a matter of personal preference, we all have different likes and dislikes.
> I had, up until recently, only ever used natural casings, for years and years, but since the cost of sheep casings has gotten so high, I've tried collagen casings from Sausage Maker. I'm so used to natural casings that the collagen just seem to suck in many ways.
> Kind of like switching from natural vanilla extract to artificial, after using the natural all your life.
> 
> ...


Martin

I buy my collagen caddy boxes at Dupey Equipment in Clive Iowa. Google them and give them a call and see if they can help you with Naturin.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 21, 2013)

These are the collagen caddy cases i buy, never had any problems so far with the 5 caddys i went thru.













caddycol.JPG



__ BGKYSmoker
__ Jan 21, 2013


















caddycol1.jpg



__ BGKYSmoker
__ Jan 21, 2013


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## shoneyboy (Jan 21, 2013)

nepas said:


> These are the collagen caddy cases i buy, never had any problems so far with the 5 caddys i went thru.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nepas, If you don't mind where do you get them and (again if you don't mind) how much do they cost ?


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## stevensondrive (Jan 21, 2013)

that's a bummer that you guys say LEM sucks.  I can get that her locally pretty easy.  it seems that is quite a bit of debate which is better: natural or collagen.  I wish I had done a poll. 

I sure appreciate the feedback


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## s2k9k (Jan 21, 2013)

I bought some Lem collagen on Sat. just because I had a last minute idea to stuff some snack sticks. The sticks came out pretty good but I'm not crazy about the casings. They are kind of thick and seem to have a flavor to them. I used a Lem seasoning which I have used before with caseless sticks but these have a different flavor and I think it's the casings. Almost a plastic taste. Hard to describe.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 21, 2013)

Shoneyboy said:


> Nepas, If you don't mind where do you get them and (again if you don't mind) how much do they cost ?


Dupey Equipment in Clive Iowa. This caddy was like $189 or something like that.


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## stevensondrive (Jan 21, 2013)

S2K9K said:


> I bought some Lem collagen on Sat. just because I had a last minute idea to stuff some snack sticks. The sticks came out pretty good but I'm not crazy about the casings. They are kind of thick and seem to have a flavor to them. I used a Lem seasoning which I have used before with caseless sticks but these have a different flavor and I think it's the casings. Almost a plastic taste. Hard to describe.


I GREATLY appreciate the details


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## s2k9k (Jan 21, 2013)

Oh BTW they were the mahogany casings and they left a red stain on my hanging sticks and when I pulled them from the smoker I plunged them in an cool bath and they turned the water a little red, so that tells me they have a dye in them, could be where the flavor came from.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 21, 2013)

S2K9K said:


> Oh BTW they were the mahogany casings and they left a red stain on my hanging sticks and when I pulled them from the smoker I plunged them in an cool bath and they turned the water a little red, so that tells me they have a dye in them, could be where the flavor came from.


Dave

The red in the water is from the smoke on the casing.
[h3]Collagen[/h3]
Collagen casings are mainly produced from the collagen in beef or pig hides, and the bones and tendons. It can also be derived from poultry and fish. They have been made for more than 50 years and their share of the market has been increasing. Usually the cost to produce sausages in collagen is significantly lower than making sausages in gut because of higher production speeds and lower labor requirements.

The collagen for artificial casings is processed extensively and, as a raw material, it is similar to bread dough prior to final production. It is then extruded through a die to the desired diameter, dried and shirred into short sticks up to 41 cm long that contain as much as 50m of casing. In a newer process, a form of dough is coextruded with the meat blend, and a coating is formed by treating the outside with a calcium solution to set the coating.

The latest generation of collagen casings are usually more tender than natural casings but do not exhibit the “snap” or “bite” of natural casing sausages. The biggest volume of collagen casings are edible, but a special form of thicker collagen casings is used for salamis and large caliber sausages where the casing is usually peeled off the sausage by the consumer. Collagen casings are permeable to smoke and moisture, are less expensive to use, give better weight and size control, and are easier to run when compared to natural casings.


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## stevensondrive (Jan 22, 2013)

> [h3]Collagen[/h3]
> The latest generation of collagen casings are usually more tender than natural casings but do not exhibit the “snap” or “bite” of natural casing sausages. The biggest volume of collagen casings are edible, but a special form of thicker collagen casings is used for salamis and large caliber sausages where the casing is usually peeled off the sausage by the consumer. Collagen casings are permeable to smoke and moisture, are less expensive to use, give better weight and size control, and are easier to run when compared to natural casings.


how do I know what generation of collagen I'm buying??


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## lnmnmarty (Jan 22, 2013)

Steve, I think it's referring to the latest technology in collagen casing production. If your supplier of casings has an "older generation" of casings you might want to get them somewhere else 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   

Here's what I buy













file-12.jpg



__ lnmnmarty
__ Jan 22, 2013






Here's where I get them

https://www.bunzlpd.com/product.php?productid=214912&cat=99485&page=1

I think I will quit buying the mahogany casings because I smoke them myself. I believe they are dyed to give unsmoked sausage a smoked look. And they have stained the countertop while sitting in some water. The clear casings are cheaper to.

      Marty


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## LanceR (Jan 22, 2013)

Marty, do they sell them in less than box lots?

Lance


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## lnmnmarty (Jan 22, 2013)

LanceR said:


> Marty, do they sell them in less than box lots?
> 
> Lance


Not that I know of.


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## LanceR (Jan 23, 2013)

Thanks

Lance


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## chkn chsr (Jan 23, 2013)

Waltons (formerly Midwestern Research)  out of Kansas has smaller lots of casings of all sizes!!!!!


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