Cheddar Smokies

[nlife]

Made another batch of Cheddar Smokies today. It was a long day dealing with 7.75kg, especially when it seemed like nothing wanted to go right.

I wanted to try natural casings, so I soaked them for a few hours. Then the fun began. Sweet fancy Moses trying to untangle that mess was nothing short of trying to untangle 5 10' strands of Christmas lights that were rolled into a ball. Once I finally got them sorted, I ran water through them to rinse the insides. I was happy that I got them separated, but I couldn't get them into the horn to save my life.

A bit of oil on a stainless steel horn didn't help. It stuck. I tried putting some water in the casing, but it still stuck. I tried a different strand and still no luck. I gave up and resorted to collagen casings so I could get it done.

Ground and into the bin.

Help with mixing the spices before going into the KitchenAid mixer to emulsify the meat.

Just off the smoker and ready for the hot water dunk.

Cooled and ready for packing.

I need to do a bit more reading in order to figure out how to use the natural casings. Right now they are in a bowl of water, in the fridge for the night. I also had a number of air pockets in the casing despite really punching the mix into the stuffer.

I'm almost done. I have a few more links to smoke tomorrow.

---------------------------------------------

Recipe and source - Duncan Henry Youtube channel

Jalapeno Cheddar Smokies​

Ingredients are in grams per-Kilogram.

• 1kg regular ground meat
• 750g pork (pork shoulder)
• 250g beef (store bought or trimmings)
• 15g Salt
• 3g Pepper – Coarse Ground Black
• 0.7g Cayenne
• 3.5g Garlic
• 1g Marjoram
• 1g Smoked Paprika (I added this)
• 2.5g Cure #1
• 0.5g Sodium Erythorbate*
• 130g Cheddar (Old/Sharp or Sunspun processed ribbon cheese)
• 70g Fresh Jalapeno**
• 10g Binder***
• 100g Water
• 23mm or similar size casings (collagen or natural)

Optional

• Sodium Erythorbate 0.5g (not needed if letting cure sit in meat overnight)*
• If you want plain cheddar smokies, leave out the jalapeno.**
• Binder 10g (I didn't use any, just make sure you get good protein extraction).***

 

[DanMcG]

Sounds like your stuffing tube was to large for your casings.
Your links look good, care to share the recipe?

 

[slavikborisov]

Made another batch of Cheddar Smokies today. It was a long day dealing with 7.75kg, especially when it seemed like nothing wanted to go right.

I wanted to try natural casings, so I soaked them for a few hours. Then the fun began. Sweet fancy Moses trying to untangle that mess was nothing short of trying to untangle 5 10' strands of Christmas lights that were rolled into a ball. Once I finally got them sorted, I ran water through them to rinse the insides. I was happy that I got them separated, but I couldn't get them into the horn to save my life.

A bit of oil on a stainless steel horn didn't help. It stuck. I tried putting some water in the casing, but it still stuck. I tried a different strand and still no luck. I gave up and resorted to collagen casings so I could get it done.

Ground and into the bin.

View attachment 682020

Help with mixing the spices before going into the KitchenAid mixer to emulsify the meat.

View attachment 682024

Just off the smoker and ready for the hot water dunk.

View attachment 682021

Cooled and ready for packing.

View attachment 682023

I need to do a bit more reading in order to figure out how to use the natural casings. Right now they are in a bowl of water, in the fridge for the night. I also had a number of air pockets in the casing despite really punching the mix into the stuffer.

I'm almost done. I have a few more links to smoke tomorrow.

First read boykjo posts on handle natural
Casing …. Also Add baking soda to your water it will make them slippery and easy to load on the horn…make sure you soak Your casings for a while before you Want to use them

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Yep, read this...

How to handle natural casings

Thought I would post up what I do with natural casings. I use naturals 99.9% of the time when making sausages be it sheep or hog casings. I get compliments about how the casing are very delicate and have a perfect snap when you bite into the sausage. I believe the quality of the casings is part...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Fueling Around]

Yes, good read Joe

My 2 cents, you didn't soak long enough so the casing are still stiff.
Before using I rinse them in warm water. I pinch the downstream side to make the water stretch the casing. It looks for weak spots, too.

 

[nlife]

Thanks for the tips and links everyone. I suspect that I didn't soak them long enough.

I bought these from my local butcher. They were frozen in a salt brine when I got them. They should be in the 29-32mm range as that's what I asked for. A few parts sure looked bigger when I filled them with water the first time, though I didn't fill the entire length of the casing with water, I simply rinsed them. I had issues with them trying to drag the other casings into the mix and tangle up once again.

I've read through the boykjo link and will give it a try. I'm also going to try pinching the end while rinsing the casing to expand it like you suggested Fueling Around .

I've edited the post to include a recipe DanMcG . I was using the same horn I use for the 32mm collagen casings.