Casing quality: Sausage Maker or Syracuse Casings

[LanceR]

I'm fairly new to sausage making and am still trying different vendors.  Both Sausage Maker and Syracuse Casings are here in New York and I prefer to do business locally or in-state when I can. Both seem to have pretty good reputations.

I'm looking for both hog and sheep casings for several batches of sausage and I would appreciate any advice anyone has who has tried both vendors.

Syracuse Casings has both dry packed tubed and pre-flushed tubed sheep casings and their hog casings come both pre-flushed tubed and hanks and dry packed tubed and hank.  The Sausage Maker casing seem to be dry salt packed.  I expect to keep the unused casings in our extra fridge so any advice on dry packed versus pre-flushed would also be appreciated.

Thanks

Lance

 

[jarhead]

No experience with Syracuse Casings.

But I bought a couple of home packs from Sausage Maker. I hate 1 foot lengths, so about half of each bag went in the trash.

I buy from Butcher and Packer or Southern Indiana Butcher Supply. I end up with 2 to 3 lengths in each bag from either one.
 

 

[LanceR]

Thanks.

I am looking for 100 yards at a pop so I'm hoping to avoid the short lengths and oddball diameters of the smaller packs.

Lance

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Thanks.

I am looking for 100 yards at a pop so I'm hoping to avoid the short lengths and oddball diameters of the smaller packs.

Lance

You may have to go to DeWied Casings or another large casing company.

 

[fpnmf]

I have bought from Syracuse several times and am quite happy with the quality..

I got the flushed, tubed and I just used some that were over a year old and they worked great..

Call them..they are nice to deal with...

 Craig

 

[lnmnmarty]

X2 for syracuse and flushed, tubed

 

[bmudd14474]

I have used WaltonsInc several times and they are great. I have also heard that Sausage Maker is really good too. I will be trying sausage maker next time.

 

[DanMcG]

Like Bmudd, the last hank I got came from Waltons, Very nice thin casing, and I'm very pleased with them.

The last hank I got from Syracuse casing were thick and tuff, and a friend had the same experience. Mind you, they are about a block away from my employers office, so given the choice I'd use them all the time, but I doubt I'll do it again.

 

[fpnmf]

Like Bmudd, the last hank I got came from Waltons, Very nice thin casing, and I'm very pleased with them.

The last hank I got from Syracuse casing were thick and tuff, and a friend had the same experience. Mind you, they are about a block away from my employers office, so given the choice I'd use them all the time, but I doubt I'll do it again.

I think I asked you before..but did you ask the about it or let them know you werent happy????

       Craig

 

[DanMcG]

Yes Craig I did make a call and asked if the out the door hanks were of a less quality as the ones they sold to butchers and online. and was told they are all the same.

 

[daveomak]

No experience with Syracuse Casings.

But I bought a couple of home packs from Sausage Maker. I hate 1 foot lengths, so about half of each bag went in the trash.

I buy from Butcher and Packer or Southern Indiana Butcher Supply. I end up with 2 to 3 lengths in each bag from either one.
 

Jarhead, morning....  Home Pak casings are made up of odds and ends pieces...  small, large, short and long.....  

The pack shown below, from SausageMaker, is long sections, generally 15+ feet each and 300 total feet.. The home pak may be cheaper to buy, but in the long run, throwing away casings ain't good....  In these packs, everything is usable.... nothing to throw away...  I have used them....     Dave



[h5]#21100 29-32mm (1 1/8"-1 1/4") Natural Hog Casings[/h5]
Your Price:  $31.99

 

[chef jimmyj]

Check local Grocery Stores that make their own Sausage and local Butchers. Most buy Casing in sufficient quantities that they will pass saving on when you purchase a Hank. Local store sells Hanks of Hog Casing for $16, half of what many on-line venders want, granted you are limited to anywhere from 32-38mm or what ever size they are using at the time but the $16 savings buys a lot of Pork to fill them Casings...

...JJ

 

[LanceR]

Well, I need the casings soon since I have a lot of venison, beef fat and pork fat in the freezers and a case of boneless butts coming and we're going to spend a couple of days making several varieties of sausage over the next few weeks.  I ordered a 100 yards each of 22-24mm sheep and 32-35mm hog casings from Syracuse Casings, all pre-flushed and tubed.  There was no shipping charge and it came to $83.

I've only ever used the small LEM packs from the local Bass Pro or collagen from Butcher-Packer.  I'll post back my impressions of the pre-flushed tubed casings.  If the pre-flushed and tubed casings are all I hope they are I may stay with them for ease of use.

The sausages I know we'll be making this time around are pork kabanosy, venison kabanosy, hot smoked polish, linked Italian, cold smoked linked maple breakfast and likely some cold smoked linked venison bratwurst since the last batch was made with cheese.

Now I feel the need to find an affordable Hobart Buffalo chopper....

Chef Jimmy, I've checked on the casings locally but even though some of the stores make sausage in house none I've asked so far would sell hanks of casings.  Some sell little cups of casings but from what I'm hearing they are odds and ends-kind of the casing equivalent of floor sweepings....

Thanks for all the help.

Lance

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Some sell little cups of casings but from what I'm hearing they are odds and ends-kind of the casing equivalent of floor sweepings....

Wegman's sells cups of Syracuse casings.
The diameter of the casings and lengths vary, but nothing real short or odd.
They're certainly not floor-sweepings.


~Martin

 

[LanceR]

Martin, I'll have to try them sometime.  I was most likely unfair to folks like Syracuse Casings due to my experiences with LEM who has been very inconsistent in quality.

Lance

 

[DanMcG]

Hope they work out for you.

 

[LanceR]

Well, I sure like the customer service from Syracuse Casings.  I placed the order around noon two days ago and it got delivered today.  I think I'm going to make a few taste test batches tomorrow and see how they taste.

Lance

 

[dward51]

Originally Posted by LanceR  

Now I feel the need to find an affordable Hobart Buffalo chopper....
Lance

Keep a check on Govdeals.com.  Schools will put some up for sale every so often.   It's a crap shoot as to where they are as they could be anywhere in the country.  These are auctions, so prices vary but there are a lot of very good deals to be had if you can find something near you.

http://www.govdeals.com/

They have a Hobart model 84141 Buffalo Chopper in Iowa on there right now (that's the only one I saw today).

http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=234&acctid=3054

 

[LanceR]

Last fall, while visiting family in North Carolina (he's a budding sausage maker too) my eyes about popped out when I spotted a nice modern Hobart Chopper for....wait for it....$170 in the Charlotte CL.  I missed it by an hour or two.

Lance

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Hobart has a big building bout 5 miles from me.