Need advice, natural casing

[jetman]

Made up my first batch of English breakfast bangers (recipe from Cougar78) and pretty much ready to stuff into casings. Bought natural sheep casings last week, using 20/22 mm size made by Oversea Casing Co. They come packed in water (maybe brine?) and look ready to use. Looking over their website for instructions, they say: "Soaking is a critical treatment for the preparation of casings. Soaking in warm, fresh water overnight will make your casings tender, flexible and easy to work"

My question is, do I really need to soak them, they seem plenty flexible as they are packed? Package says "Preflushed" what does that mean? Should I flush them?

Did a search about casings but could not find the answers I needed, help please !!

JetMan<<<

 

[diggingdogfarm]

They're packed it brine, you should soak them for a while to remove the saltiness and make them more workable.



~Martin

 

[venture]

Not a Brit here, so all Brits jump in and correct me?

Those casings seem a bit small.

Having said that the meat will be pretty much the same.

I like to rinse my casings thoroughly.  Then soak in one or two tablespoons of distilled vinegar per quart of water for an hour or two.  Then turn inside out which will provide more rinsing.

Whatever you decide to do, I do think you will benefit from the soaking.

If I have leftover casings (meaning ones I did not remove for the original soak) , I be sure they have a good brine (maybe adding a little water and salt) before they go back in the fridge.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[boykjo]

Yes, you need to soak them. I mostly use natural casings packed in a salt solution like yours..... I'll place them in a large bowl with cold water, pull a strand and run some water down into the casing (while in the bowl) and sqwegee the water throught the casing and place it in another bowl of cold water and set it aside to soak for a few hrs. You should see them become silky smooth

 

[DanMcG]

I would soak them too, just to remove the salt.