casing question

[clifish]

So in 2022 I bought 29/32mm Hog Casings, SALTED & BAGGED from the craft butcher pantry. Bought them when I got my Kitchenaid and had visions of grandger (spelling?) then. Now that I have a grinder and will probably get a cheap Vevor horizontal stuffer, thinking about if they are still good? I totally forgot I had them and the box was never even opened. I see the salt has crystallized in the box outside of the bags with the casings. Are these still good to use after a good soak?

 

[pc farmer]

Smell ok? I assume they do. I would soak them and use em. Water, a little vinegar. Soak for a week or so changing out the water

 

[clifish]

Smell ok? I assume they do. I would soak them and use em. Water, a little vinegar. Soak for a week or so changing out the water

did not smell the packages but zero smell opening the seal box yesterday. Wow, a week soak....I am glad I asked, I would have done an hour.

 

[clifish]

Smell ok? I assume they do. I would soak them and use em. Water, a little vinegar. Soak for a week or so changing out the water

Thank you for the quick answer PC!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thank you for the quick answer PC!

They should still be fine. No worries.
and don’t forget to add a shake of baking soda when soaking before stuffing.

 

[clifish]

They should still be fine. No worries.
and don’t forget to add a shake of baking soda when soaking before stuffing.

thanks for that tip, never heard that before.

 

[chopsaw]

Smell OK ,, lol . Even if they don't they're fine .
Original bucket from TSM I kept to store mine in . You can read the label .


I store mine wet like in this thread ,

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

I never add anything to the soak . Just rinse what I need and get to stuffing . Storing wet , they are always ready to go .

 

[clifish]

Smell OK ,, lol . Even if they don't they're fine .
Original bucket from TSM I kept to store mine in . You can read the label .

View attachment 703942
I store mine wet like in this thread ,

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

I never add anything to the soak . Just rinse what I need and get to stuffing . Storing wet , they are always ready to go .

Thanks Rich, I know I have been driving you and DougE crazy with my grinder all over the place thoughts

 

[Fueling Around]

Get them in a 4% salt brine and let them hydrate.
I just used the last of my casings from around the 2022 time span. They were still perfect. Next batch was from this winter and I got heavy on the salt. A bit tougher but still stuffed ok.
I used to scoff at the baking soda but after trying it, damn. I toss the unused casings that get the baking soda bath

 

[indaswamp]

Yeah, casings have a naturally unpleasant odor due to the proteins they are made from. If you have ever smelled the inside cavity of a freshly slaughtered mammal, there ya go....that is the smell.

Nothing to be concerned about, it is normal. If it offends you, you can add half a lemon to the soak water and it will cut through the smell....

 

[chopsaw]

with my grinder all over the place thoughts

You're just going through the progression of doing this . That's good .

I bought 29/32mm Hog Casings, SALTED & BAGGED from the craft butcher pantry.

So you have a decent quality casing . That's good too . If you have room in a fridge , I would get them soaking per that thread and store them that way . Really helps with blow outs and more important for me is the mouth feel . Made a HUGE difference for us in the bite .
Some of it will depend on the casings . I had some from TSM that even after 6 months stored wet , they were tough . Something changed in the quality from them . I tossed those and bought from Syracuse casing .

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I'm still learning and I read all of these posts for the nuggets of wisdom that get posted so keep asking Cliff...

 

[DougE]

thanks for that tip, never heard that before.

The baking soda makes them slide off the horn easier.

 

[DougE]

Some of it will depend on the casings . I had some from TSM that even after 6 months stored wet , they were tough .

I had that problem with their home packs, but the hanks have been much better quality, or I got lucky on the latest hank I got from them. lol

 

[chopsaw]

The last batch I got from them was mixed . Most of them were thick and tough . Some were OK .
You go through the work , and the mouth feel is way off . Not worth the 40 bucks , so I tossed them . I stripped the pre tubes off the Syracuse hog , but bought some 22mm sheep pre tubed from them also . Nice casings . The pre tube is worth it on those . I still store them wet . They work great . The 22mm I bought by mistake . Wanted 28's . Those 22's are the perfect size for breakfast sausage .

 

[cptnding]

You're just going through the progression of doing this . That's good .

So you have a decent quality casing . That's good too . If you have room in a fridge , I would get them soaking per that thread and store them that way . Really helps with blow outs and more important for me is the mouth feel . Made a HUGE difference for us in the bite .
Some of it will depend on the casings . I had some from TSM that even after 6 months stored wet , they were tough . Something changed in the quality from them . I tossed those and bought from Syracuse casing .

chopsaw I was planning to order hog casings from Syracuse soon. This will be my first attempt with natural casings.
Since they are a tubed should I store them on the tube following boykjo method or is it best to pull them off for storage? I saw your post that you removed the hog casings from the tube and left the sheep casings on. Just curious which you think would be best for an absolute beginner.
Thanks for all the help!

 

[DougE]

chopsaw I was planning to order hog casings from Syracuse soon. This will be my first attempt with natural casings.
Since they are a tubed should I store them on the tube following boykjo method or is it best to pull them off for storage? I saw your post that you removed the hog casings from the tube and left the sheep casings on. Just curious which you think would be best for an absolute beginner.
Thanks for all the help!

I haven't used sheep casings, but with hog casings, I have found that it is easier to strip them off and load them on the horn as non-pretubed. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I cannot, for the life of me, get the pre-tubed hog casings to go on the horn easily.

 

[chopsaw]

absolute beginner.

Leave them tubed and see how it works for you . Just get a container that will hold the length of the tubes . There will be a lot of volume with those , and off the tube lets you use a smaller container .
Get your hands on it , and don't get discouraged . It's a learning process and once you get it figured out it's pretty easy . Let me know if you need anything .

 

[kelbro]

Vacuum sealed jars with a little salt water keeps casings for a long time in the fridge.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Vacuum sealed jars with a little salt water keeps casings for a long time in the fridge.

No need for vacuum sealing. They keep just fine in a simple container.