My toys have arrived... but I need some help.

With the collagen casings you just slide them dry over the stuffing tube and start stuffing and then smoke. When it comes to eating the product that is in collagen casings I prefer to peel the casing off, personally I don't care for the texture to eat collagen casings.

Oh ya, congrats on the the new toys Smoke_Chef !!!

 

Don't soak them. I know, it seems wierd, but once you accordian them out (slowly and carefully) you will understand more. Also.. DON'T TWIST. It won't work. You must tie.

Yay! Welcome to sausage!!

 

I don't mind eating them if they are cooked "wet" like boiling bratwurst or simmering breakfast sausage. Helps quite a bit.

 

I use collagen casings for snack sticks only.  everything else goes into hog casings.

 

Make sure you keep them absolutely dry.  water and collagen not so good.  I have used them only for snack sticks, but they should hold sausage OK if you want to get going.

 

Congratulations on the acquistions.  Besides  Rytek's text you may want to consider picking up  Charcuterie written by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polycn  It has good information in it also that you can cross reference with Rytek's. Let the fun begin.

 

With most sausage, cured or not it should be eaten in a few days or frozen. One thing the cure does, is it allows you to smoke for a longer time, at a lower temp, or to even make sausage the way Princess did & posted. It's good to get Rytek's book, and do a lot of studying before you use a recipe & make your own. If you're in a hurry, you could get a premix, and do exactly what they say on the package or box. Most of those are pretty much straight forward.

Just my 2 cents,

Bear

 

allot of premix recipes call for the addition of cure also if ytou are going to smoke the sausage

as far as casings, if you have a grocer in your area that makes sausage they usually have extra hanks of casing you can buy, just ask

you can also buy them online at Lem , sausage maker, butcher packer and the likes

for sure get Ryteks book and read, also ask any questions here that you may have there is a wealth of knowledge here for the asking

 

Two things come to mind. I don't want to rain on your parade but, As mentioned collagen cases aren't very good for fresh sausage, they get soggy if pre boiled, you cant link them by twisting. I use natural hog or sheep cases for fresh sausage, I use the collagen for smoked and dreid sausages like pepperoni, or snack stix.

Problem #2 stuffing sausage with a grinder is an exercise in frustration, it can be done but if you get a sausage stuffer you will love making sausage.

The two great mistakes in making sausages are not enough fat in the mix, You need 20-40% fat!!! I prefer 25%, The next mistake is not mixing enough. When mixing in the spices it must be done at just above freezing. When mixed the meat mixture will get gooey and thick. This is the moisin in the meat , fat and water combining to make sausage meat, It only happens at low temps. If the temp is too high you get meat loaf not sausage..

Sorry for the negativity but its good advice enjoy your new hobby. 

 

Yeah... taking veal/pork/beef trim and scraps and grinding up your own meatloaf with spices in... Mmm. That is some good stuff too.

 

 

I have used collegen casings only for smoked snack sticks. But I'm not sure that you can use them for anything else.

 

I stuff my fresh breakfast sausage in 22mm collegen casings too .the ones I use for it are made for the it

I use 17mm for snack sticks and they are a little thicker so they dont break when you hang in the smoker

all my other smoked sausage is stuffed in natural hog casing

 

Well just my 2 cents but you could start simple with a fresh breakfast or Italian sausage and not stuff.  Just prepackage in one pound vac bags if ya got a vac machine.  While I do link my Italian I never link my breadfast sausage.  Remember fresh sausage without cure must be used or frozen promptly.