Dry and tuff casings after smoke

[johndeer]

Need a little advice
I smoked 10# of sausage Sunday that I prepared on Saturday and the hog casings are tuff.
They were a modified Pop's breakfast sausage with cure #1 and pepper flakes ,garlic and onion powder.
The test fry was great tasting.
I started the MES at 120deg and ramped the temp up 10 degrees every hour til I got to 170
And pulled them at 154deg internal temp .
Took a little over 9 hours

 

[crankybuzzard]

How did you prep the casings, what brand were they, and how long did you rest ,prior to smoke?

 

[johndeer]

How did you prep the casings, what brand were they, and how long did you rest ,prior to smoke?

 

[boykjo]

possible causes... Under stuffing, poor quality casings, old casings, improperly prepared casing     

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

hope this helps

boykjo

 

[johndeer]

They were a hank I got from a local butcher and used a few times
They were fine on some fresh sausage about two weeks ago and then stored with plain salt and water in refrigerator
They stuffed fine and rested about 24 hours in refrigerator then in the smoker at 120 Dem for an hour then bumped to 130 with smoke for an hour
They taste OK but not as good as the fry test
Thinking bout boiling the next ones maybe
The meat.was from a Boston Butt ground with a medium plate
Doing this on thee phone is tough
I apologize
Thanks

 

[myownidaho]

That's why I love this forum. A problem has just been solved. I haven't been soaking my casings near long enough. I've been doing an hour in warm water with an internal rinse before using them. They stuff just fine but I often have tough casings with the final product.

 

[johndeer]

possible causes... Under stuffing, poor quality casings, old casings, improperly prepared casing     

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

hope this helps

boykjo

Read you're information on how to prep casings when I first started with this sausage obsession and have followed it to the letter
Maybe I should have stuffed them tighter or they could be old cause I've had them about 3 mouths
I really appreciate the help and advice !

 

[boykjo]

You rested the stuffed sausage in the fridge for 24 hrs. I believe that's your culprit.... The casing dry out and become tough when cooked.. Always stuff then air dry to form a pellicle and go right into the smoker

 

[johndeer]

Makes sense now
So I will mix the spice and cure the night before and then stuff and smoke the next day on the next ones
It's cheep to experiment when pork butts are .98 cents a pound and they sure have to be bad not to eat

 

[DanMcG]

. The casing dry out and become tough when cooked..

Interesting point that i never considered, but then again I do store overnight covered.

One thing also helps is adding some humidity to you smoker. it will keep the sausage moister and decrease the cooking time.
You didn't mention whats size casings you were using , but nine hours is a long time, and the longer they smoke the drier the casings will become.

 

[daveomak]

...  What Dan said...  I have been reading where humidity is important when smoking sausages and stuff....   I'm thinking a "tuna can" with hot water in it would add a reasonable amount of humidity to keep stuff moist....  I wouldn't fill a big pan with water...   I'm going to try a small can on my next smoke, and check out the results.... 

 

[boykjo]

Makes sense now
So I will mix the spice and cure the night before and then stuff and smoke the next day on the next ones
It's cheep to experiment when pork butts are .98 cents a pound and they sure have to be bad not to eat

yep..... or like Dan does. They need to be covered, I would prefer fully covered in saran wrap

 

[johndeer]

I think I will try a small container of water next time.
Just need to find the time to fit them in the smoke schedule
I got 2 MES 40 but one is down for improvement mods so that puts the full load on the only one running at the moment
Those sausages were done about an hour after 2 chuck roast and a boneless pork loin were smoked. The hour was to let it cool off.
I try and keep them going on most weekends.
Someone on here said a full smoker is a happy smoker
I try to keep them happy