Salt both sides of left over casing?

[mnbobcat]

I'm making my first sausages tomorrow and expect to have left over natural hog casings.  I read the sticky on caring for natural casings, which talked about salting the outside of the casings before storing, but couldn't help but wonder about the inside of the casings.  Instructions always say to flush the salt out of the inside of the casings before use.  So I'm assuming when we store them the insides should be salted too?  If so, how is that done?  Salt and water brine and then drain off the water?

 

[shannon127]

I put mine in a ziploc bag and cover with Kosher salt, then put in the freezer

 

[boykjo]

No need to salt the inside. The salt is saturated through out the casing when stored...... When storing, remove the casings from the clean bowl of fresh water and place in a sealable bag or I use a mason jar and 1/4 cup of non iodized salt. There will be enough water saturated in the casing so there will be no need to add additional water. Mix and store...... You can add 1 Tbs full of vinegar if so desired.

You should already be washing your casings now changing the water frequently... a good full day of soaking and washing makes for some nice soft silky smooth casings that make a nice snap when you bite into them.....

Joe

 

[mnbobcat]

Well, we made a little over a 100 sausages today.  We used 60 pounds of pork.  We're going to bake some sausages for dinner tonight!

 

[boykjo]

How about some pictures?????????

 

[DanMcG]

Yeah, What Joe Said!

 

[reinhard]

What part of Minnesota are you from? Pictures are alway's nice.  Took me awhile at first to post some on here but once you learn it's easy. Reinhard

 

[mnbobcat]

Hi Reinhard,

I lived in Andover up until 2007 and then moved a little further North.  I'm not far from you.  

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• mnbobcat
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[mnbobcat]

I bought two stainless steel tables from a bakery that went out of business, the 1hp Cabella's grinder and a 15lb stuffer from Northern Tool.  I also bought a couple of 50lb meat lugs.  The meat lug was too small for mixing 60lbs of sausage. Next time I'll need to find a bigger container.  

The worst problem I had was washing the casings and turning them inside out and then back...until my wife figured out the trick and then it was pretty easy!  Note to self...never fill the entire casing with water and then try and feed it into itself to turn it inside out.  She found a small bubble of water was the trick! 

 

[reinhard]

Nice to know you are a neighbor being close.  Love the stainless steel table!!! brings back memories to me being an retired butcher. I'm guessing the rings in the pics are Swedish sausage?  They look great!!  I do have to say that turning the casings inside out is not something i have ever done while still in the business or to this day. A one time rinse through the faucet is all that is needed.. If they come in a salt pac i just make sure all the salt is rinsed off well.  Then i let them sit for an hour or so in water. Then i rinse the inside once through the faucet. Then i let them sit overnight in the fridge to let them soften even more for the stuffing the next day. I just put about 12 inches of water in the casings and then push it through  when i do give them a rinse through the faucet. Thanks for the pics.  Do you have the recipe for those nice lookin rings to share? Reinhard

 

[mnbobcat]

Hi Reinhard,

That's pretty cool that you were a butcher!  I'm hoping to raise a couple of hogs and a steer or two and butcher them myself.  I don't know anything about butchering so I have a lot to learn.  My father in-law used to own a meat packing plant in the area years ago until it burned down and he knew how to butcher.  But unfortunately he passed away and at the time I knew him I didn't have an interest in these things.  I'm really sorry I didn't learn more from him.  Youth is wasted on the young!

The sausages are called jaternice and is an old, old family (my in-laws) recipe.  There are recipes online for it but they are quite different than our recipe.  I was sworn to secrecy and am sorry I can't share it.  

Regarding the casings, its probably overkill the way we washed them but I guess that's the way they always had done it.  I'll have to try it your way.  Anything to cut down on some of the work would be helpful! 

I'm hoping to try making some Swedish sausages soon. 

Can I ask, of all the sausages you've made or eaten in your life, what is your favorite?

 

[palladini]

 
Nice to know you are a neighbor being close.  Love the stainless steel table!!! brings back memories to me being an retired butcher. I'm guessing the rings in the pics are Swedish sausage?  They look great!!  I do have to say that turning the casings inside out is not something i have ever done while still in the business or to this day. A one time rinse through the faucet is all that is needed.. If they come in a salt pac i just make sure all the salt is rinsed off well.  Then i let them sit for an hour or so in water. Then i rinse the inside once through the faucet. Then i let them sit overnight in the fridge to let them soften even more for the stuffing the next day. I just put about 12 inches of water in the casings and then push it through  when i do give them a rinse through the faucet. Thanks for the pics.  Do you have the recipe for those nice lookin rings to share? Reinhard

That is the exact way I do my casings, rinse the salt off, then put in a little water & Vinegar mixture, after getting salt off of several, I will start to run water through them.  But when I do this in my Kitchen sink, it never makes it to the end, so I only put about a 8 to 10 in bubble of water, lift the casing end up to let it flow through to the other end.  Works good.

 

[reinhard]

Ya, MNBobcat save yourself the time. Like Paladini, most do it this way.  My favorite sausage is a great Kielbasa. I'm working on my own recipe [but there are many good one's on here]. Always tweeking stuff and my own worst critic.  I like it course ground.  There used to be a meat market up in Duluth called Fitchners.  I knew the owner before he retired.  He used to have a sausage maker from the old country with a heavy accent. The guy never measured a thing [much like my grandfather in Germany who also owned a meat market].  I would go in his sausage room and he would throw me a chunk of something he made and asked me what it taste like. I started to always tell him it tasted very good.  After a couple of "it tastes very good" he came over to me and looked me in the eye and said "I want the truth and nothing short of that".

Next time he asked me i told him i'd have to have some of that bottle he kept in the swedish sausage brine.  In the old day's we always kept the fresh swedish sausage in salted water ready for sale in the markets [ i started out in a market many years ago and we did this also].  He always had a bottle of vodka or something hanging on a string in that brine barrel.  He just laughed at me.  But he was his worst critic and i liked the sausage he made and still remember his kielbasa and haven't had anything yet that compares.  I've had some close but not exact.  However i realize sometimes you cant get the exact but it's fun trying and i do make small amounts for further adventures at the goal.  A good swedish sausage would be in second place. Sorry for the long post but thinking about that kielbasa brought back a great memory.  Reinhard

 

[boykjo]

Most casings now are already washed when processed so there is no need to turn inside out and wash.....Just squeeze a little water through them to rinse any salt that may be present... Nice looking sausage and nice set up... What did you make? looks like some boudin.........

Joe