Problem with summer sausage

[duckybud]

I just finished my first batch of summer sausage, and the meat is sticking real bad to the inside.  I used fibrous casings and soaked for 1/2 hour as the package said. Had a good tight stuff with very little shrinkage after smoking to an it of 155* over a period of 7 hours and cooling in an ice bath to an it of 90*.  This was just a trial batch of only 5 lb. and stuffed into 2 1/2 by 20 casings so only had 1 full casing and 1 about 3/4 full.  I used 4 lb venison cut with 1 lb. of 70-30 ground beef.

Anyone had this happen before?  Loved the flavor and texture of the sausage but it is a real pain to peel.  Is there a way to improve this or is it a problem with the casings?  They were Lem casings by the way.

Ducky

 

[daveomak]

It may be the casing manufacturer but fibrous casing can be difficult to remove..... Sounds like you got a very good stuff on them... I'm thinking maybe slicing and removing the thin strip of casing may be the way to go... I have been able to remove a large portion by peeling the log... slice a cut down the log then peel... It's not easy sometimes...


clipped from Walton's
Fibrous Sausage Casings
.
Fibrous Sausage Casings are made from an inedible material and are a popular choice when making summer sausage, pepperoni, salami, and more. Fibrous Casings should be submerged in 80ºF to 100ºF water for 30 minutes prior to stuffing. Need help troubleshooting a problem with fibrous sausage casings? Head on over to the following page and see if we can help troubleshoot your process: Fibrous Sausage Casings Help


PS>>> I looked for the "next page for help" but couldn't find it....

 

[boykjo]

7 hrs for a 2.5 inch x 20 chub seems a little fast. Another possibility is your temp spiked high several times through out the cook and over cooked the outside of the sausage causing it to bind to the casing

Joe

 

[chewmeister]

 
7 hrs for a 2.5 inch x 20 chub seems a little fast. Another possibility is your temp spiked high several times through out the cook and over cooked the outside of the sausage causing it to bind to the casing

Joe

This^^^ I've yet to have any SS get up to finished IT in less than 10-12 hours.

 

[duckybud]

Thanks to all.  Don't think there was a spike in the heat as I kept a close eye on that, never more than a couple of degrees difference.  Started smoking at 120 for 2 hrs, up 10 per hour for 3 hours, 180 till it hit target, was this too quick?  The meat on outside of roll is just as moist as in center, just won't peel

 

[boykjo]

What smoker are you using and has it been tested with a remote therm

 

[duckybud]

Boykjo.

I am using a homemade electric smoker with pid control and watched with remote, all temps agreed the 8 or 10 times that I checked.

 

[boykjo]

We have another member with the same result  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...lling-cut-pieces-apart-and-bland#post_1502027

As Dave said fibrous casings can be difficult to remove but the meat should not pull away, Your fat content may have been too low. I like a total of 10% fat in SS which is a lower fat content than normal. Most SS is 20 to 30% fat content.