Are All Hog casings the Same???

[cliff43j]

We used our manual crank, 7 liter capacity, stainless steel, sausage stuffer today for the first time.  The manual stuffer was easy to operate and easy enough to clean.  We really enjoyed it, but the sausage casing was something else.  It was akin to driving in Hill Country.  We had high moments, and then we had other moments when the language got more than a wee bit salty.  Fortunately the women and children were taking a nap :-)

Now for a question or two, or more or less.

When putting the hog casing on the filler tube the first one went on as easily as one could ask for.  The second and 3rd. casings were beasts resulting in splits and salty language.  We used HOME PACK BRAND.HOG SAUSAGE CASINGS, and we had the right size ordered for the right tube;  however, about 40% of the casings that we tried were too small in diameter - even with olive oil on the tube the casings were very difficult to put on, and splits were almost the rule rather than the exception - very frustrating.  Is this common?  Did we buy a dud brand?  Is there a better brand?  I sure can use some help on this one.

We did finish up in spite of the casing.  We are now smoking the fruits of our labor, and it sure does smell wonderful.  We decided to smoke it all - maple breakfast sausage, Italian sausage and andouille.  It's our first sausage smoke - a trial run, if you please. 

Now to figure which meat grinder to buy.  Our KitchenAid Pro is not the way to go for us.  It did a good job, but it is too slow,

Cliff.

 

[worktogthr]

I would say yes, some are far better than others. The first thing that came to mind though are some questions.

How long did you soak then casings for? This is a great post to help you with the casings:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/159729/how-to-handle-natural-casings/90#post_1654824

Soaking them for 24 hours or more definitely makes it a whole lost easier.

Now as far as that brand, they were he first ones I used and had he same frustrations. Not sure why exactly but they are not the same level of quality as the ones you can order from sausagemaker or Syracuse casings. Check those companies out for incredible products. Another thing I disliked about those casings are that they were inconsistent sizes like you mentioned both in diameter and length. Those short pieces drive me crazy. Your best bet is to buy a hank. They last, salted in the fridge, for a long long time. This also might be a helpful post for you.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/255662/best-practices-for-sausage-making/30#post_1656362


Hope this helps and if you have any other questions there are plenty of sausage experts on here that will be along to give you even more specific advice. Looking forward to see the sausage you are making!

-Chris

 

[pc farmer]

Worktogthr posted a great link to how to prepare casings.

I will soak mine for 4-5 days.   Makes them super soft =====   Less blowouts.

Homepak casings are irregulars.  Short casings, different sized casings.  

I buy a hank from sausage maker or butcher packer.

NOW.  I have a homepak from sausage maker to try.   Hoping for the best with them.

 

[ab canuck]

  Never tried that brand, I have not had those kind of issues with csgs. The butchers and suppliers I get mine from are good quality and come in hanks. Easy to use and salt leftovers back into fridge when done> Only way I would go now. 

 

[cliff43j]

Thanks to everyone for your replies - at least I know that I'm not the one screwing up.  It is the casings and the brand.  I shall do exactly as you all recommend

Cliff.

 

[pops6927]

There are casings from different countries, China being one of them.  Their casings are of far less quality.  American casings are the best; i.e.  Syracuse Casing Supply from Syracuse, NY.  And, they have pre-tubed casings too - pull out a center strip and slide the casings on, pull off the tube and you're in

business!  Rarely a blowout, either.

.

makincasings.jpg

• pops6927
• Jan 25, 2017

And, these are hand-pulled casings, done the 'old fashioned' way, not mechanically extracted.

And of course, they will cost you more, too.  But, for the ease and value, not that much more and they do not charge shipping.  Considering that, they are close to the same price as SausgeMaker and Butcher-Packer.:

Sausagemaker (www.sausagemaker.com)

SM offers pre-tubed casings also (I selected the same sized casings for all examples).  Their casings, which I never tried, are the most expensive:

saus1.jpg

• pops6927
• Jan 25, 2017

saus2.jpg

• pops6927
• Jan 25, 2017

They will stuff approx. 50 lbs of meat.

Syracuse Casing Supply (www.makincasing.com)  are the ones I use and are fair priced:

makincasing1.jpg

• pops6927
• Jan 25, 2017

and they will suff 100 lbs. of meat (vs. 50)

For untubed casings, I have bought, and are satisfied with, Butcher-Packer (http://www.butcher-packer.com/) casings:

bp saus.jpg

• pops6927
• Jan 25, 2017

Now, these do require a shipping charge, approx. $9.75 to me, whereas the other two do not.  They come in a hank of long casings (3' or more) and stuff approx. 100 lbs.

But, 'grocery-store' casings are like what you got, and are the least desirable.

 

[worktogthr]

Pop's has got you covered but I just wanted to throw in that if you have access to a Restaurant Depot or other stores that supply various food businesses they might also carry hanks of both sheep and hog casings.  I have had a great success purchasing them from there as well!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

No not all hog casings are the same. Some are just cleaned and salt packed or salt brine packed. I use Wolfson casing, they are clean and calibrated to size. Do some research there is lots of info out there. Home pack such as you get at Bass Pro, Cabelas and such are random lengths and sizes.

 

[cliff43j]

Thanks to everyone for your help.  You all are great!!! 

Pops, thanks for taking the extra step for me with your post.  My son & I'm were both disabled in different car wrecks - neither one our fault.  He with his family now live with us out of necessity.  Between the 2 of us we just managed to make a batch of sausage yesterday and smoke it - good physical therapy for us.  I've got to say that it was worth all of the "blood, sweat & tears" because the sausage is delicious;  however, I don't necessarily want to have to repeat yesterday ;-)  Your suggestion of the pre-tubed casings should go a long way to making our next sausage making session much more enjoyable.

My next major buy will have to be a meat grinder.  We used my wife's KitchenAid Pro with the meat grinding attachment.  While it did the job, it was too slow to suit me.   From what I've been reading our meat grinding head is a #8.  Right now I'm looking at meat grinders with a #12 head.  One certainly does have to read the fine print in their descriptions.  Some say "all stainless steel" and then in fine print say that the body is aluminum or a carbon steel alloy.  Talk about cagey!  Today I noticed that some are stating that their meat grinder is for "home use", while others state "continuous duty" or something similar and even others have a Pro line, whew!.  One almost needs a lawyer...lol...

 

[atomicsmoke]

Some casings are really bad. I helped a friend once; I don't know where he got them from - despite having them soaking for 48h, washed a few times , they were rigid like you just pulled them out of salt. Never seen anything so bad.

 

[LanceR]

Hello Cliff. 

I'm lucky enough to live a half hour from Syracuse Casings and although they don't normally do walk in sales there have been instances when time is tight they have been willing to let me walk in as opposed to order online.  I don't soak their hog or sheep casings for more than ten minutes and don't have blowouts so the soak 24 or 48 hours bit is foreign to me.  The quality and consistency in length and diameter are head and shoulder above the LEM or Home Pack brands.  Their casing are graded into 2-3mm diameter ranges and they are very consistent within a particular size.

Priority Mail shipping is included in the Syracuse Casings prices.  No surprises at checkout and that evens out the prices a bit. 

So Cliff, where do you live?  I have (I think) four sizes of their sheep and hog casings in the basement fridge.  If you are close by or near any of the routes I travel I'll give you a length or two of each to try.

Lance

 

[cliff43j]

Lance, thank you for your information and generous offer; however Syracuse is a wee bit of a drive for me from Pearland. TX ;-)  I did take a look at their casings and will be placing an order in a few days - they have so many "goodies" that we need! 

Cliff.

 

[pops6927]

So glad we could help!  Many of us have had to find out 'the hard way'.  Makes this forum invaluable!  I had an 'inside guy' however - our meat VP for Great American/Victory Mkts in NY, Joe Cannestra, bought from Syr. Casing and that is all we used in the hundreds of stores with our floor-standing meat grinders and stuffing horns once he came on board.  SO much better than the salted hanks we'd have to sort out and untangle - spent more time doing that instead of making great sausages!