Casings

[GatorAGR]

smoking them is your problem. smoke them till you get a nice color around 130 IT then water bath/poach in 160 F water to finish...it will cook them and keep the casings soft.....or water bath/paoch first and then cold smoke to get your smoke flavor....other wise use fresh sheep casings.

Side note i buy a lot from waltons.... great products but beware, they hide bad reviews ive posted 2 1 star reviews on their patty maker and checked if they made it on the website and they never posted them....very shady if a company pulls shit like that, it was an honest review on a faulty product and they prevented it from being posted

Can you explain more on why smoking is the problem? I've been doing the typical couple hours drying at 100-120 then bumping up temp 15 degrees or so every hour until 170. I pull when IT has been at or above 135 for an hour and a half then ice bath and bloom. How does this affect the "chewyness" of the casing compared to your recommendation?

 

[slavikborisov]

Can you explain more on why smoking is the problem? I've been doing the typical couple hours drying at 100-120 then bumping up temp 15 degrees or so every hour until 170. I pull when IT has been at or above 135 for an hour and a half then ice bath and bloom. How does this affect the "chewyness" of the casing compared to your recommendation?

if your method works keep doing it as its your product....

not an exact scientific answer why but my guess is as you heat/ smoke for longer periods of time the moisture and the casing "tenderness" losing the extra water attribute to the chewy bite, ive tried several methods and poaching seemed to keep the moisture locked in when using the mahogany collagen casings....

Personally anymore i use cellulose casing and everything i do is skinless because its very difficult to get the right tenderness that im used to commercially as i suspect they use a steam cooking cycle to maintain tenderness and nice shape to the meat sticks not the wrinkled look..... if i want a snack stick that has a snap or bite to it im using sheep casings, there no better alternative to sheep casing in my opinion

 

[GatorAGR]

if your method works keep doing it as its your product....

not an exact scientific answer why but my guess is as you heat/ smoke for longer periods of time the moisture and the casing "tenderness" losing the extra water attribute to the chewy bite, ive tried several methods and poaching seemed to keep the moisture locked in when using the mahogany collagen casings....

Personally anymore i use cellulose casing and everything i do is skinless because its very difficult to get the right tenderness that im used to commercially as i suspect they use a steam cooking cycle to maintain tenderness and nice shape to the meat sticks not the wrinkled look..... if i want a snack stick that has a snap or bite to it im using sheep casings, there no better alternative to sheep casing in my opinion

Thanks. My method isn't working which is why I ask. My collagen casings are tough/chewy and don't bind well to the meat so I'm searching for suggestions on how to improve. Seems sheep or possibly improved quality collagen's are my next step. I also prefer the wrinkled look and haven't been able to accomplish this either.

 

[slavikborisov]

Thanks. My method isn't working which is why I ask. My collagen casings are tough/chewy and don't bind well to the meat so I'm searching for suggestions on how to improve. Seems sheep or possibly improved quality collagen's are my next step. I also prefer the wrinkled look and haven't been able to accomplish this either.

Check out G geostriata post on his snack stick expirment he did like 50 some batches and provides a lot of good insights into snap, bite and wrinkle…… casings, cooking method , and moisture have a huge part to play in snack stick

 

[slavikborisov]

Thanks. My method isn't working which is why I ask. My collagen casings are tough/chewy and don't bind well to the meat so I'm searching for suggestions on how to improve. Seems sheep or possibly improved quality collagen's are my next step. I also prefer the wrinkled look and haven't been able to accomplish this either.

Post in thread 'Non-Fermented and Firm/Dry Beef Snack Stick: Any Advice to add "snap" to my sticks?'

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-to-add-snap-to-my-sticks.308029/post-2509478

 

[Davejr7979]

smoking them is your problem. smoke them till you get a nice color around 130 IT then water bath/poach in 160 F water to finish...it will cook them and keep the casings soft.....or water bath/paoch first and then cold smoke to get your smoke flavor....other wise use fresh sheep casings.

Side note i buy a lot from waltons.... great products but beware, they hide bad reviews ive posted 2 1 star reviews on their patty maker and checked if they made it on the website and they never posted them....very shady if a company pulls shit like that, it was an honest review on a faulty product and they prevented it from being posted

Good to know...and at this point in willing to try any method. I did a test run with 3lbs of meat and sheep casings and they came out good... that may be the way to go.... and that is shitty to only post good reviews... something that works for me is necessarily going to work for someone else... I don't read reviews much because some of them are just so far off... thanks for the advise