Tubed natural hog casings

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buzzy

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
OTBS Member
Feb 11, 2007
875
475
Cumberland Co. PA
Does anybody have first hand experience using these. Sure sounds like they would be a time saver & help with the hassle of untangling u have to deal with sometimes. My question is can leftovers be refrigerated for use later? Can u get all the salt off being on that plastic sleeve? They say to soak for a hour or 2 prior to using. Is this enough time. R they worth the extra money? Thanks for all guidance given.

Duane
 
B, IMHO I find that they go on your tube very easy BUT they don't slide off very easy as I stuff. I end up removing the sleeve and treating them like regular casings with an internal flush before putting them on the tube. Soak overnight is best and they can be salted and put back in the fridge.
 
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I use these since i tried them out with sheep caseings. Like you said soak awhile then rinse under running water then onto the stuffer tube. 2hrs is lots of time for soaking. Where i bought them they said to soak at least 45 mins. No issues with getting the salt off. The ones i use come in a salt brine so it dissipates quick between soaking and rinsing. Anything leftover i put back in the salt brine and i store in the freezer but you have to feed those on the stuffer tube by hand when you use them up. Very convenient and where they really shine is with the sheep caseings.
 
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I use them at work all the time. Yes, they can be put back on the tube and placed back into a refridgerated brine for later use. The stuffer I use has an air release on the plunger. I lift it while retracting the plunger. This causes the stuffer to pull a vacuum and sucks the leftover meat out of the stuffing tube. I then fold the sleeve over and place in the stuffing tube, then just slide the leftover casing back onto the sleeve. Easy- peasy.
We generally soak the casings for as long as possible, often several hours. Usually by placing in a bucket of water and leaving a slow stream of luke warm water running into the bucket and allowing it to over flow in the sink. Luke to slightly warm water temp really seems to make a difference. It also helps to run just a tablespoon or 2 of water down between the casing and the sleeve.
I have put some casings on that didn't get put back on the sleeve. finding the end is no problem but finding and opening the hole in the end can be a challenge. To put them on the tube, it is a huge help to run just a bit of meat out the end of the tube so your not trying to feed casings over the edge of the tube.
I'm not sure the price difference is a deal breaker. I only did the math on one size at sausage maker. The price divided by the weight of meat it will hold will give a cost per pound of meat and the sleeved ones actually worked out 3 cents per pound cheaper. For the convenience of the sleeve, I think I can live with buying casings for 45 lbs at a time instead of 70 lbs at a time.
 
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I have used them several times and didn't really see any advantage, maybe saves a little time. If I could find them in 19mm I would probably use them if only for the sake of getting them on the horn. I soak mine in water overnight changing the water a couple times, then right before stuffing soak in warm water. You will see the casing look real silky, that's when they are the best. To sum it up in my opinion, I'll just stick with un-tubed hog casings.
 
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B, I buy from the Syracuse casing co ,IMHO they are the finest casings on the market. They only come pre-tubed so that is why I use pretubed.
 
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So I buy my skins at the local grocery store by the hank. Never gives size just how much sausage it will make. Here goes a dumb question. What size is recommended for rope sausage?
 
Not a dumb question at all, just lacking in vital information. Sausages are stuffed in all kinds of sizes. From slim jim sized snack sticks to snack sticks the size of store bought hotdogs. Andouille the size of bratwust or as Foamheart often makes them nearly 2 inches. The supplier sites usually make suggestions in the descriptions for each size. None of those account for personal preferences.
I suggest you get familiar with the metric system and find an easy to use metric converter. From there you can make some fairly close guesstimates on the sizes you see in the store bought sausages. Then you can adjust to suit your own preference.
As an aside, most of the kielbasa and smoke sausage I see from major brand names look to be in the 29-32mm range.
 
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So I buy my skins at the local grocery store by the hank. Never gives size just how much sausage it will make. Here goes a dumb question. What size is recommended for rope sausage?
You could go 32/35mm or better yet go 35/38mm for rope sausage.
 
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Been butchering 2 hogs for a few years now an have never been happy with the skins. One time they r bite through perfect. Next time like biting into a latex glove. This all comes from the same hank. Yes my skins r soaked for days prior to but still have this issue that just pi$$es me off. I need to get this
 
Been butchering 2 hogs for a few years now an have never been happy with the skins. One time they r bite through perfect. Next time like biting into a latex glove. This all comes from the same hank. Yes my skins r soaked for days prior to but still have this issue that just pi$$es me off. I need to get this
This texture issue could be due to where each link is smoked in your smoker. Most smokehouses have hot spots, and those link near hot spots will turn out differently than those near a cold spot....
 
The bite through problem is with my fresh rope sausage. We make smoked sausage in muslin bags. Makes it like Jimmy Dean chubs.
 
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