Sausage stick casings not crunchy. HELP

[jones382]

Brand new at making sausage.

Made a couple small batches to start.

60 percent venison, 40 percent pork fat. Seasoning added as well as the appropriate amount of pink curing salt (1 oz per 25 lbs). Also added a small amount of water

I used collagen casings that were too small for my nozzle so I had to lube it up with oil. Could this have been my problem?

I believe I stuffed them fairly tight, but I’m new so not positive.

I don’t have a smoker so I baked with door open at 185 until internal temp was 160.

I put in a cold bath once done and then cut and into the fridge.

When they cooled all the way the first bite is crunchy like all the other sticks I’ve had in my life and the 2nd bite the meat inside moves from casing leaving excess casing.

Any ideas what I’m doing incorrect? Will using the correct size nozzle/casings fix my problem? Could the oil from lubing the casings on the stuffer cause them not to get crispy?

 

[SmokinEdge]

You cooked them to hot to fast and you had what’s called fat out. This does not allow the casing to set to the sausage because a thin ring of grease is now there, not a huge deal but I would now remove all the casings or skin them, the sausage will still eat good. Next time use a lower temp and never go over about 170f for any extended time. It takes time and low temperature to cook sausage correctly. Peel them and you will be fine

 

[tbern]

Welcome to the forum from Minnesota!
Sounds like you should look around for a smoker that could do the lower temps needed for your sausage making, making it easier for you to do them.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Collagen casing should not be crunchy.

How many pounds did you make?
185 was too high for the oven, if its electric you could have started at 170* with the door open a bit. Gas oven is very hard to regulate this low temps.
IT you would have been good at 152-155*
Oil on the tube would not caused the problem, Tube size was not the issue.

IMHO Dry casing may be the culprit.

Try this next time, cut a small 2" length of casing, rub it on a paper towel, if you have an oil residue on the towel that means the casings are still good. Not residue you have dry casing. You can also condition the casings by putting in a ziplock bag, leave the bag open and put in fridge overnight.

 

[jones382]

Collagen casing should not be crunchy.

How many pounds did you make?
185 was too high for the oven, if its electric you could have started at 170* with the door open a bit. Gas oven is very hard to regulate this low temps.
IT you would have been good at 152-155*
Oil on the tube would not caused the problem, Tube size was not the issue.

IMHO Dry casing may be the culprit.

Try this next time, cut a small 2" length of casing, rub it on a paper towel, if you have an oil residue on the towel that means the casings are still good. Not residue you have dry casing. You can also condition the casings by putting in a ziplock bag, leave the bag open and put in fridge overnight.

What are my other casing options?

I only made about a pound and a half.

 

[chopsaw]

Brand new at making sausage.

You came to the right place , welcome . Great info in post #4 . He's one of the guys I learned from . Follow his lead and read through some of his old threads .

 

[BGKYSmoker]

What are my other casing options?

I only made about a pound and a half.

You didn't add 1oz of cure to that 1.5 lbs did you?

 

[JckDanls 07]

You came to the right place , welcome . Great info in post #4 . He's one of the guys I learned from . Follow his lead and read through some of his old threads .

I agree with this... BGKYSmoker was/is my mentor along with boykjo

 

[jones382]

You came to the right place , welcome . Great info in post #4 . He's one of the guys I learned from . Follow his lead and read through some of his old threads .

Good to hear! Thabks

 

[jones382]

You didn't add 1oz of cure to that 1.5 lbs did you?

No, I did the math based off of 1 oz to 25 lbs.

Where should I buy casings from? I did the paper towel trick and there was no residue left on them.

I don’t have a smoker yet, only a gas oven that goes 170*. Think I can make them in there ? If so how would you recommend

 

[BGKYSmoker]

No, I did the math based off of 1 oz to 25 lbs.

Where should I buy casings from? I did the paper towel trick and there was no residue left on them.

I don’t have a smoker yet, only a gas oven that goes 170*. Think I can make them in there ? If so how would you recommend

Cure 1 is added at 1tsp per every 5 lbs of meat (1 level tsp) so do the math from there down, 25 lbs of meat would be 1/2 tsp, this is around 1/4 tsp per lb of meat. Get a gram scale, zero scale, put cup or whatever on it, zero again then drop 1 level tsp cure on it, look at the gram weight.

Most folks order the collagen on amazon, most are LEM products.
As for your gas oven you're going to need the door open about 2-3", use an oven thermo to watch the temps, you need low to start 130-140 up to 170. It can be done you just gotta watch it.

GL

 

[jones382]

I took your tips on keeping the oven open and using a thermometer trying to start around 130.

Just made another batch that took about 5 hours to get up to temp. First couple bites seem to show that i've fixed my problem. Going to let them fully cool and check again, but i think i figured it out! Thanks for all your help!