Hot Dog casings?

[SmokyMose]

OK, I've realized that with the new low sodium requirements for the Mrs. that if we want hot dogs I'm going to have to make them.
I finally broke down and got a food processor so now I can emulsify.
I've looked at a couple of recipes and I never knew that hot dogs were smoked!
Anyway my question is about casings. One recipe calls for 22mm natural or smoked collagen and one calls for 24-26mm sheep.
I really don't care to mess with sheep casings.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. I'm sure there are folks here who've made them....

Dan

(recipes are nice, too....)

 

[rc4u]

24-26 pre tubed sheep is my preferance. and the dogs i make i put in big pot of 175 degree water and check them in ten minutes with thin instant read thermo. i dont emulsify as i borrow my daughters kitchen aid pro. and mix till i think its looks good. i mostly use all beef but have mixed 30 pork to 70 beef. i like both on the grill or fried

 

[rc4u]

oh ive made these few times

 

[SmokyMose]

24-26 pre tubed sheep is my preferance. and the dogs i make i put in big pot of 175 degree water and check them in ten minutes with thin instant read thermo. i dont emulsify as i borrow my daughters kitchen aid pro. and mix till i think its looks good. i mostly use all beef but have mixed 30 pork to 70 beef. i like both on the grill or fried

Thanks. I was leaning toward poaching or sous-vide myself. I don't see any reason for smoking. I also like the idea of all beef.

 

[rc4u]

heres a post with good info also
(2) HOT DOG RECIPE | Smoking Meat Forums - The Best Barbecue Discussion Forum On Earth!

 

[SmokyMose]

heres a post with good info also
(2) HOT DOG RECIPE | Smoking Meat Forums - The Best Barbecue Discussion Forum On Earth!

Thank you for the replies and recipes! I just ordered some 26mm collagen.
I have time now to sort through the recipes and come up with something :-)

 

[chopsaw]

First time I did hot dogs I used a cellulose casing that gets peeled off . I think they are 25mm . No smoke the first time , just SV'd . No emulsify . They were good .

Skinless hot dogs

Did up some hot dogs using wiener sausage seasoning from sausage maker and the peel off plastic casings . To the 5 lb. mix I added 1 1/4 tsp STPP and 1/4 tsp sodium erythorbate . Used the SV to poach them . All stuffed and tied . Stuffed a little different than I'm used to . Some could have...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Second time same casing , but stuffed tighter . Smoked a couple hours then SV'd .


They were good too . I like the peel off casings .

 

[tallbm]

OK, I've realized that with the new low sodium requirements for the Mrs. that if we want hot dogs I'm going to have to make them.
I finally broke down and got a food processor so now I can emulsify.
I've looked at a couple of recipes and I never knew that hot dogs were smoked!
Anyway my question is about casings. One recipe calls for 22mm natural or smoked collagen and one calls for 24-26mm sheep.
I really don't care to mess with sheep casings.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. I'm sure there are folks here who've made them....

Dan

(recipes are nice, too....)

I would skip the sheep casings and go cellulose (plastic) casings.

If you just need 1 pack then Amazon will be less expensive than TheSausageMaker.com due to shipping:

If you are going to buy a number of things like multiple packs (3 different sizes in casings), UMAI bags, and other sausage items then I would buy from the sausage maker site and take the 1 shipping cost hit for all the items at once.

I've used these as well as other sized cellulose casings and they are fine. I've made Franks (aka hot dogs) and other smoked sausages with these and they work like a charm.
You can also get plenty of smoke in them as well so don't fear that the casing will block out too much, plus hot dogs only need like 30-45 min of smoke anyhow so having some extra blockage if you go longer would be a good thing.

Finally, now that you know about these casings the hardest part of your journey is going to be finding a good seasoning flavor profile. I've tried about 4 different seasonings for Franks and nothing comes close to the flavor LEM's Backwoods Cured Franks seasoning.

I estimate that it has about 2-2.3% salt by measurement so if I were in your shoes I would use the LEM's seasoning as a base by cutting it down to the estimated salt % you want . Then I would experiment by doctoring it up with more mustard powder and other seasonings until you found your magical flavor profile.
This way you know you start with a great but bland base and just have to add onto it versus recreating the wheel from scratch or trying one of the many "let down" recipes that you will definitely come across.

I hope this info helps! :)

 

[daveomak]

There are a variety of collagen casings you could try.... Check out the descriptions of each...

https://www.waltonsinc.com/21-mm-fresh-collagen-casings

https://www.waltonsinc.com/21-mm-clear-collagen-casings

https://www.waltonsinc.com/21-mm-smoke-collagen-casings

.......

 

[rc4u]

for no smoke here are some guidlines. and some people still put cure in even if not smoking gives taste and color

Cooking: 1. You can poach, roast or smoke. You’re looking for an internal temp of around 145°-150°F. That’ll happen in a 170°F smoker in about an hour, in a 200°F oven in about 30 minutes, or, how I like to do them, in a water bath of 160°F for about 30 minutes. Once the sausages are fully poached, you’ll want to toss them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. 2. Since they are fully cooked, you’re only looking to finish them, and that can be done in a few ways. My two favorites are once again poached, in something like sauerkraut, or sliced lengthwise and cooked on a flat cooking surface. 3. For the first method, pour the sauerkraut and its liquid into an aluminum pan, and along with the hot dogs bring to a bubble over direct heat. This should take about five minutes. Slide them over to the cool side of your grill and in about ten minutes, you’ll have perfectly heated, unwrinkly hot dogs! Pop them directly on the grill for a minute or two for a bit of char. 4. The second method is kind of self-explanatory. This will take about five minutes. 5. As for buns, let’s keep things simple here with the old standby — Martin’s potato roll. Save the split tops for your lobster. I don’t love to grill buns as I don’t need any extra crunch. I like them steamed: Place a wire rack over an aluminum tray of water and heat that water over direct heat on your grill. You’ve got steamed buns

 

[crazymoon]

SM, I also use cellulose casings and hot dog seasoning from the Sausage Maker, I'm happy with the results.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Here is a very good basic recipe. From here you can add or adjust seasonings, but this is a solid flavor profile. Emulsion is a PITA, but you can also regrind all meat and spice through an 1/8” plate x3 adding a little crushed ice each time, and this works ok as well. Plus you can control salt. This is a 1.75% total salt, if not smoking you could cut that down maybe a little.

Beef trimmings- 700g
Pork trimmings- 200g
Pork back fat- 100g
( 1kg total or 2.2lbs) meat.
Salt- 15g
Cure #1- 2.5g
White pepper- 2.0g / 1tsp.
Coriander- 1.0g / 1tsp.
Paprika- 1.0g / 1tsp.
Ground mace- 0.5g / 1/4tsp.
Garlic- 3.0g / 1 clove
Cold water- 240ml / 1 cup.

This will get you a solid start on flavor, adjust as needed.

 

[SmokyMose]

for no smoke here are some guidlines. and some people still put cure in even if not smoking gives taste and color

Cooking: 1. You can poach, roast or smoke. You’re looking for an internal temp of around 145°-150°F. That’ll happen in a 170°F smoker in about an hour, in a 200°F oven in about 30 minutes, or, how I like to do them, in a water bath of 160°F for about 30 minutes. Once the sausages are fully poached, you’ll want to toss them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. 2. Since they are fully cooked, you’re only looking to finish them, and that can be done in a few ways. My two favorites are once again poached, in something like sauerkraut, or sliced lengthwise and cooked on a flat cooking surface. 3. For the first method, pour the sauerkraut and its liquid into an aluminum pan, and along with the hot dogs bring to a bubble over direct heat. This should take about five minutes. Slide them over to the cool side of your grill and in about ten minutes, you’ll have perfectly heated, unwrinkly hot dogs! Pop them directly on the grill for a minute or two for a bit of char. 4. The second method is kind of self-explanatory. This will take about five minutes. 5. As for buns, let’s keep things simple here with the old standby — Martin’s potato roll. Save the split tops for your lobster. I don’t love to grill buns as I don’t need any extra crunch. I like them steamed: Place a wire rack over an aluminum tray of water and heat that water over direct heat on your grill. You’ve got steamed buns

Thank you. I've been using cure#1 in all my sausage, smoked or fresh, for 3 or 4 years now.
Leaning towards the Hebrew National "Copy Cat" recipe with a couple of changes. Not decided about the Sugar, Marjoram and Potato Starch.....
We'll see what the weather's like when I stuff as to whether I smoke or not.
The casings are supposed to be here Thursday, but with USPS who really knows....

 

[SmokyMose]

Here is a very good basic recipe. From here you can add or adjust seasonings, but this is a solid flavor profile. Emulsion is a PITA, but you can also regrind all meat and spice through an 1/8” plate x3 adding a little crushed ice each time, and this works ok as well. Plus you can control salt. This is a 1.75% total salt, if not smoking you could cut that down maybe a little.

Beef trimmings- 700g
Pork trimmings- 200g
Pork back fat- 100g
( 1kg total or 2.2lbs) meat.
Salt- 15g
Cure #1- 2.5g
White pepper- 2.0g / 1tsp.
Coriander- 1.0g / 1tsp.
Paprika- 1.0g / 1tsp.
Ground mace- 0.5g / 1/4tsp.
Garlic- 3.0g / 1 clove
Cold water- 240ml / 1 cup.

This will get you a solid start on flavor, adjust as needed.

Thank you.
Of the recipes I've looked at a common theme is White Pepper, Paprika, Mace and Garlic.
I'm all about low/no salt which is why I'm doing hot dogs in the first place :-)
The only real salt will be in the cure. I've used "salt substitute" now in Kielbasa, Italian and Beef "brats" and
we like them.

 

[rc4u]

i cut sugar in half and use cornstarch as is good substitute.