Edible collagen casings

[okie sawbones]

I have never used collagen casings, only pig and sheep guts. The last batch of Polish sausage I made used 38mm hog casings. Unfortunately they are almost inedible -- very chewy. Are there any downsides with using collagen casings?

 

[driedstick]

Not for sure on that large of casings,,,,, but that is all I use on my snack sticks,,,,, give it a try you never know,,, just don't buy a ton of them,,, look fairly cheap on amzon,,, might want to try out TSM as well see what they have. ,,,,,,,, this is from the sausage maker,,,,,,

• Our Smoked Collagen Casings 38mm are ideal for large caliber sausages such as Kielbasa or Liver sausage. These casings are popular for smoked sausages because they can withstand the smoking process without bursting. The smoking imparts flavor to the casing and the sausage itself. This casing is used for fresh sausage only.

 

[okie sawbones]

Thanks. I see 38mm is not strong enough to hang, but the snack sticks size you can hang.

 

[DougE]

I got a pack of 32mm collagen casings with my LEM stuffer. I found them to be chewy and ended up stripping the casings off after smoking. I much prefer natural casings.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I have never used collagen casings, only pig and sheep guts. The last batch of Polish sausage I made used 38mm hog casings. Unfortunately they are almost inedible -- very chewy. Are there any downsides with using collagen casings?

Try poaching some of those sausages. It will do wonders for those chewy casings.

 

[okie sawbones]

I got a pack of 32mm collagen casings with my LEM stuffer. I found them to be chewy and ended up stripping the casings off after smoking. I much prefer natural casings.

I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. I've never had problems with natural casings before, but this batch is sorry.

 

[geostriata]

I have never used collagen casings, only pig and sheep guts. The last batch of Polish sausage I made used 38mm hog casings. Unfortunately they are almost inedible -- very chewy. Are there any downsides with using collagen casings?

I can't speak as much to collagen vs. natural, as I use mostly collagen casings. However, I primarily use the Devro casings sold by Waltons and I've been really happy with them for my snack sticks. With some care to avoid case hardening (a downside), they work great and even better if you want more snap as you bite in.

However, as a recent experiment, I tried a small batch of the 21mm LEM casings and the difference was remarkable. The LEM casings were tough and totally awful! Maybe it was just not stored properly at Amazon, or whatever, but I'll just be ordering my collagen from Waltons from now on.

So possibly some of the complaints at collagen maybe from improper storage or subpar quality, and possibly not an issue with collagen itself.

I will be trying some Fine-H collagen, for my hot links. Today I learned that not all collagen is made equal. Apparently it's still collagen, but closer to a natural feel mentioned here, so that might be similarly a good avenue to explore for you. That is, maybe standard collagen is better for things like snack sticks, and this other type is better for sausages.

Hope that helps.

 

[DougE]

I have never used collagen casings, only pig and sheep guts. The last batch of Polish sausage I made used 38mm hog casings. Unfortunately they are almost inedible -- very chewy. Are there any downsides with using collagen casings?

It just crossed my mind that there is a third option. Cellulose. They aren't edible and have to be stripped off after smoking your kielbasa. They are smoke permeable and I believe strong enough to hang while smoking.

 

[nlife]

I used to use collagen until I finally decided to try natural casings from the butcher. It was an ordeal to start with, but it's gotten much better. I also find collagen is chewy. I do still use collagen for snack sticks because they're small and not much bite to them.

 

[geostriata]

I used to use collagen until I finally decided to try natural casings from the butcher. It was an ordeal to start with, but it's gotten much better. I also find collagen is chewy. I do still use collagen for snack sticks because they're small and not much bite to them.

It definitely seems that folks appreciate the natural casings more, so it's time I give it a try. Time to take my collagen blinders off and try everything out there under 21mm. I think maybe I'll do a side-by-side with 15mm snack stick collagen, 17mm Fine-T, 19mm natural sheep, and 21mm Fine-H. (they all seem to have a unique minimum size...)

@okie sawbones After researching a bit more, there's also a fine-t collagen type (more sheep like), which is even thinner than Fine-H (more hog like) that might be worth considering if you're going to dabble in collagen at all.

 

[chopsaw]

I was gonna suggest cellulose . They don't come in the larger diameters though , if that's an issue . I think they stop around 30mm . Still works .

I believe strong enough to hang while smoking.

You can hang them as long as you don't stuff to tight , and leave a space between links .
I had them to tight one time , and as the sausage cooked it swelled up and popped the casing where it was hung over the smoke stick .

 

[DougE]

I was gonna suggest cellulose . They don't come in the larger diameters though , if that's an issue . I think they stop around 30mm . Still works .

I have some 31mm. I think they go a little bigger than that, but not much.

 

[chopsaw]

I think they go a little bigger than that, but not much.

All i could find were 31 . If you have a source for bigger let me know .

 

[DougE]

All i could find were 31 . If you have a source for bigger let me know .

Walton's has them up to 34mm