Hog casings


 

John Boehm

TVWBB Fan
I'm getting ready to try my hand at sausage making and have a few questions. What brand of natural hog casings do you use and where do you get them. Amazon has many products but the reviews for each vary widely. I have a kitchenaid mixer with grinder, but so far no stuffer. I'm thinking of getting the kitchenaid stuffer attachment since its cheap and Ive read that its fine for small batches. What are your stuffer opinions? Thanks
 
I got the Eastman Outdoor casing on Amazon. They come in a zip lock package and keep in the fridge for months. They soften nicely in warm water in about 30 minutes and don't blow out (unless you really overstuff them). Just today I made about 4 pounds of breakfast sausage and a little over 5 lbs of Texas style beef sausage (with about 20% pork rib trimmings for a little fat and flavor). If you cube the meat down to about 3/4" it will load into the Kitchen Aid easily. Also, it's much easier to mix the spices in with the cubes than to wait until the meat is ground. I spread the seasoned cubes out on a cookie sheet and put them into the freezer for about 1-1/2 hours until they are pretty firm. I also put the grinder attachment into the freezer. The KA grinds up 5 pounds in just a matter of minutes. If you try to put refrigerated meat through a room temp grinder, you're in for a long evening. If you put the KA bowl into a larger bowl of ice, the meat stays very cool throughout the process. The KA stuffer is just ok. Even coarsely ground meat is a pain to ram through. If it's finely ground, you're in for a workout. It's really a two-person job. I'm getting ready to start looking at a dedicated stuffer. I have no idea what they cost or how big they are. Sausage making is fun and the results are satisfying. One last piece of advice -- don't skimp on the fat content.

Jeff
 
I go to a market that makes their own sausage to get my casings. I have The Grizzly 5lb stuffer and it works flawlessly. It has they nylon gears but the Lem metal gears is a direct replacement if I ever break the nylon gears.
 
I've done a pound or two and decided its not a one person job. One to feed the meat in and the other to yell stop when the casing breaks and the meat starts "vesuviousing" out. You'll see what I mean soon enough.

Two people are needed.

Casing comes in different sizes so choose appropriately. I don't think brand matters, just size.
 
I use casings from Syracuse Casing. They are pricier than most but the quality excels also they are a product of North America. Can be purchased hanked or tubed, salt packed or preflushed for the same price. Also their sheep casings from New Zealand are great for hot dogs and snack sticks.
 
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If you use fresh casings, make sure they have not been frozen, freezing will create problems. 28-32 mm size will make a large hot dog, brat sized sausage. Also, most packages of natural casings are packed to do 100# of sausage, and most folks at home don't do that much at one time.

You might want to consider edible collagen, they come in two ways, one for fresh sausages, one for smoked sausages, but if kept cool, last a long time and can be kept on the shelf instead of refrigerated until stuffed.

A good source for either natural or collagen is Walton's in Wichita, KS. www.waltonsinc.com
 
I got the Eastman Outdoor casing on Amazon. They come in a zip lock package and keep in the fridge for months. They soften nicely in warm water in about 30 minutes and don't blow out (unless you really overstuff them). Just today I made about 4 pounds of breakfast sausage and a little over 5 lbs of Texas style beef sausage (with about 20% pork rib trimmings for a little fat and flavor). If you cube the meat down to about 3/4" it will load into the Kitchen Aid easily. Also, it's much easier to mix the spices in with the cubes than to wait until the meat is ground. I spread the seasoned cubes out on a cookie sheet and put them into the freezer for about 1-1/2 hours until they are pretty firm. I also put the grinder attachment into the freezer. The KA grinds up 5 pounds in just a matter of minutes. If you try to put refrigerated meat through a room temp grinder, you're in for a long evening. If you put the KA bowl into a larger bowl of ice, the meat stays very cool throughout the process. The KA stuffer is just ok. Even coarsely ground meat is a pain to ram through. If it's finely ground, you're in for a workout. It's really a two-person job. I'm getting ready to start looking at a dedicated stuffer. I have no idea what they cost or how big they are. Sausage making is fun and the results are satisfying. One last piece of advice -- don't skimp on the fat content. Jeff

Good information on technique. For casings and stuffing equipment, checkout the Sausagemaker.com located up north.
 
Thanks for all the great info. I found some 32mm casings at a local Academy Sports and picked them up. J, thanks for the technique, im still searching for a stuffer but will use your advice when i finally get one.
 
I cooked up some of the Texas sausage that I made last weekend and froze. My casings are probably 4 months old, but I kept them in the ziplok package in the fridge. I noticed that after cooking, the casings were tougher than prior uses. There was no taste issue, just toughness. I'd reckon that after the package has been open and refrigerated for 3 months or so, it would be best to get new casings. I like a little "snap" in a sausage, but this was a step or two over the line.
 
Threading natural casings on stuffing tubes is one of the biggest headaches for novice sausage makers. Natural casings are great, and I use natural casings that are pre-loaded on plastic sleeves making threading on stuffing tubes a snap. You'll still flush them and soak them as with any salted casing. The Sausage Maker sells them online, and believe me, they are worth the difference in price over non-loaded casings.
I really kinda like edible collagen casings too. I recently made a batch of wild boar breakfast sausages with these casings (22mm) and they were really good cooked up.
And please don't throw stones at me, but KA stuffers are really a joke. Nothing is easy about them, and if it was all I had to work with, I would simply not make sausages. I have a 5 lb LEM stuffer with various sized stuffing tubes, and this bad boy is what its all about. For $129, it is my best sausage tool of all.
 

 

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