I see that the hog casings are listed as edible ( along with others) but being the sausage noob , I am still not 100% sure. Do you eat them all the time , only on certain sausages , or mostly remove them? Thanks for not laughing out loud!!

yes, you eat them.

the come packed in salt and require rinsing and soaking. I like to soak them for a least an hour, I had tenderness issues once when I used them immediately after rinsing.

The casing will brown and provide a pleasing snap when cutting and eating.

Well as J said,and im a sausage making noob (1 try) but dont be afraid to soak them long(5h) before stuffing. And another tip is to keep everything as coold as possible during the making!

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Do you eat them all the time ,

The confusion I think stems from the fact that not all sausage is made in edible casings. For those that are, yes, one eats them in most cases. Sausages that are cooked (either before or after purchase (hot dogs, bratwurst, Italian sausage, kielbasa, et al.) are made with edible casings. Those that re purchased or made fresh (uncooked) can be squeezed out of their casings when desired, and cooked loosely or formed into patties, mixed with other ingredients for stuffings, etc., before cooking.

There are sausages made in inedible casings. Many of these are cured, dried sausages. The casing is meant to be removed before eating.

Second all of the above. Another tip: If you have a local butcher who makes his/her own fresh sausage, ask when the next batch will be made. If you come back that day, you may be able to get the casing already rinsed and soaked, saving a couple hours, at least.

I get my hog casings from the butcher at the local Whole F****s, who tends to turn over enough sausage daily that I can almost always get an already-rinsed/soaked casing.

Well i think you could eat all casings from the dryed italian/german/french its just a matter of taste. It can be tough to chew but its still safe to eat it. some of these sausage i will pull the casing but i wont be sick if i eat them. same as the aged cheese do you peel of the mold of a good aged cheese?

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the come packed in salt and require rinsing and soaking. I like to soak them for a least an hour, I had tenderness issues once when I used them immediately after rinsing.

Does soaking them make them a little less "tough"? There is a local comp that I enter every year as part of a pork industry trade show, the only bad comment that I got last year was that the casing was tough to bite through.

If I make a large batch and freeze some, does the same rule apply, or will freezing soften the casings?

Yes to your first question. For best results, rinse the casings of salt (if salt-packed) well, rinsing the interior as well. Soak the casings in water that starts out at 90˚F, overnight, in the fridge, uncovered (lightly cover with a piece of foil or Saran for protection).

Freezing doesn't have much effect.

You can acidify the soaking water with lemon juice, or add a little fresh pineapple juice, as a 'tenderizer', but I'd suggest the plain water overnight soak first, before going in that direction.

Cooking gently helps too, once you get around to cooking the sausages.

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Well i think you could eat all casings from the dryed italian/german/french its just a matter of taste.

Well, yes, but is more dependent on the casings used. Many dried cured sausages in the US are made with cellulose casings. You can eat them but they're like eating paper. 'Inedible' collagen casings (used for some dried and some cooked sausages) are rubbery/chewy though they can be eaten (they don't digest well).

Thanks Kevin