Sausage stuffing - or how I got mad and threw a bunch of junk away.....

[Culinary Otter]

Curious as to why also. Provided you're using the right size horn, it takes no time at all to load loose casings. I can do it faster than jacking around with the pre-tubed ones.

The loading isn't my issue, it's everything else.

 

[cptnding]

The loading isn't my issue, it's everything else.

That makes sense to me. I've seen a couple of videos where guys were pulling one out of a bucket that looked like a tangled mess. They made it look easy.
So do you pull one off the tube then flush and load it?
Sorry if that's a dumb question lol. Trying to figure out how they work. I thought maybe they go from the tube straight to the horn.

 

[indaswamp]

Curious as to why also. Provided you're using the right size horn, it takes no time at all to load loose casings. I can do it faster than jacking around with the pre-tubed ones.

^^^^this...

There are a few tricks of the trade, but once you get a handle of it, you can load a casing fast....and I mean fast.

 

[indaswamp]

I'll say this....it is rare for me to ever have to untangle a casing from out of the bucket. If they are properly salted and hydrated, you'd be surprised how they slide out of a mess of casings even when it looks futile.

 

[Culinary Otter]

I'll say this....it is rare for me to ever have to untangle a casing from out of the bucket. If they are properly salted and hydrated, you'd be surprised how they slide out of a mess of casings even when it looks futile.

Maybe it's just where we get them from. Ours come in a salted vac pack, not a bucket, perhaps that's the difference? We've had some that we literally had to cut to get unbundled. I hydrate them for anywhere between 24-72 hours and they're always finicky to untangle. I can load them no problems, no real problems with blowouts or anything else.

Even if the tangling was resolved, the tubed go back into a vac seal pack much easier IMO, and I can just soak a couple of tubes if I need instead of the whole pack.

 

[indaswamp]

Maybe it's just where we get them from. Ours come in a salted vac pack, not a bucket, perhaps that's the difference? We've had some that we literally had to cut to get unbundled. I hydrate them for anywhere between 24-72 hours and they're always finicky to untangle. I can load them no problems, no real problems with blowouts or anything else.

Even if the tangling was resolved, the tubed go back into a vac seal pack much easier IMO, and I can just soak a couple of tubes if I need instead of the whole pack.

Yeah, salted casings are the worst. Take that pack and soak it for a month....minimum....in salt water. Get those casings rehydrated in a brine solution. They untangle easily once supple and hydrated.

 

[Culinary Otter]

Yeah, salted casings are the worst. Take that pack and soak it for a month....minimum....in salt water. Get those casings rehydrated in a brine solution. They untangle easily once supple and hydrated.

I'm already pushing it with the fiancé on how much room I take up in the fridge(s) for my sausage and curing adventures.

 

[indaswamp]

Hell-I have 4 freezers, 2 fridges, and 2 dry curing chambers!! LOL!!!

 

[02ebz06]

Hell-I have 4 freezers, 2 fridges, and 2 dry curing chambers!! LOL!!!

I'm with ya... 2 freezers, 3 fridges, and drying and curing chambers.
Kicking myself I didn't buy an upright freezer on sale at local food service warehouse.
It was $8xx. Now a lot more.
If I had a good place to put it, I would have bought it.
Wife might frown upon me telling her that her car has to move out of the garage. Haha

 

[Culinary Otter]

Hell-I have 4 freezers, 2 fridges, and 2 dry curing chambers!! LOL!!!

Lol I need to wire the basement before I get anymore. We only have one circuit down there.

She already agreed to a fridge in the broom closet and I'm putting one in the smoke shed when I get that wired

 

[Hijack73]

Ya'll best be keeping those gennies full lol. I am scared snotless of just what I would lose between the side by side in the garage and the side by side in the house if the juice went out. if it does go out, everyone come over because we gonna cook a cauldron of beef stew and bbq an awful lot of pork....

Ordered proper big boy casings. I went with 35-38mm. Looking forward to the next ride :)

 

[indaswamp]

Ya'll best be keeping those gennies full lol. I am scared snotless of just what I would lose between the side by side in the garage and the side by side in the house if the juice went out. if it does go out, everyone come over because we gonna cook a cauldron of beef stew and bbq an awful lot of pork....

Ordered proper big boy casings. I went with 35-38mm. Looking forward to the next ride :)

or a metric truck ton of jerky!!!!

 

[Fueling Around]

Maybe it's just where we get them from. Ours come in a salted vac pack, not a bucket, perhaps that's the difference? We've had some that we literally had to cut to get unbundled. I hydrate them for anywhere between 24-72 hours and they're always finicky to untangle. I can load them no problems, no real problems with blowouts or anything else.

Even if the tangling was resolved, the tubed go back into a vac seal pack much easier IMO, and I can just soak a couple of tubes if I need instead of the whole pack.

see my comments back on #24

Yeah, salted casings are the worst. Take that pack and soak it for a month....minimum....in salt water. Get those casings rehydrated in a brine solution. They untangle easily once supple and hydrated.

The key is to keep the brine concentration around 5%
Change the water every couple of days as the salt leaches out and the water hydrates the casings.
Once hydrated store in 5% brine.
I only stuff about 15-20 pounds of hog casings a year. Purchasing a bucket is too much for me to store for years.

 

[Timber II]

Interesting stuff, as some of you know I went down the same road. Life is easier with a stuffer and real casings that were properly cared for.

 

[Hijack73]

Stuffer showed up. Came from Optics Planet

It's an LEM. Very good deal if anyone needs one.

 

[chopsaw]

Nice . I have the older one . Been through it a couple times , and needs it again . I'd like to have the enclosed gears .
Enjoy .

 

[SmokinEdge]

The key is to keep the brine concentration around 5%
Change the water every couple of days as the salt leaches out and the water hydrates the casings.
Once hydrated store in 5% brine.
I only stuff about 15-20 pounds of hog casings a year. Purchasing a bucket is too much for me to store for years.

I wouldn’t worry too much about keeping the brine at around 5%. While this may work just fine, I keep mine in a 26% brine, meaning solid salt at the bottom of the pale and water around the casings. I take out what I need , put rest back and stir the salt at the bottom. It settles out and the casings rest in water brine. And they are silky. I have some sheep casing over 2 years now as they are an odd size, 25-26mm I use them little by little but they are always good to go stored this way. My hog casings never make it past 6 months.

 

[indaswamp]

...It takes a 10% minimum salt solution to inhibit bacterial growth. But it is way too salty on the palate if you were to try and make charcuterie with salt percentage that high....

I also use a 26% saturated salt solution on my casings.

 

[DougE]

I also use a 26% saturated salt solution on my casings.

I do as well.

 

[boykjo]

Congrats with the new addition to the family..... When using a grinder for stuffing, use the kidney plate and keep the meat cold. My cabelas 1 hp grinder actually has a feed screw inside the stuffing tube to help feed the meat. You went the best route getting a dedicated stuffer. Stuffing sausage with a grinder is a PITA