casing help

[Boar]

i biught a package of hog casings last night,  i soaked them in water over night and they wer nkt very pliable this morning, i rinsed them good and let the sit for a few for hours, and stil not very pliable. i like to send water thru them and rinse them on the inside, and the water cant run thru them. im figuring old casings. gonna get some new ones and hope. gota get sausage done today. arrrrg! thoughts!!!

[mike89]

leave the casings in the water!!!  then as you need one, pull it out, rinse it, and stuff it!!   should not be any problem then.  letting them set after rinsing I think was the problem, I hope.  good luck Boar!!!

[Boar]

nope yu missunderstood mike, i let them soak overnight in water. never had a problem, then  i would run water thru  them then stuff, even after overnight soak i could not run water thru them, ive stuffed hundreds of lbs and havent had a problem

[mike89]

that is some thing I've never seen or heard and I have seen ton's of meat stuffed from when I was in the locker plants.  not to sure what to think.  hope fully RH might have an answer for you.

[glenn57]

You started from the wrong end!

[Rebel SS]

Boarski, Ya want I should get rid of that squeaking noise on here?   

[Gunner55]

Yeah, where's RH? Figured he'd be all over this.

[Boar]

preciate mike!! but i think i fixed the iser error again, hut it was weired. never had a proble letting the soak overnight in water then rinsing, this time when i had problems i described i had to soak in warm water to make pliable, got en working tho,  thanks!!!!!!
glenn yu were born from the wrong end!

[Boar]

not the best stuffing ive done thats for sure. but i goter done . i like small batches not so time consuming. that right around 13 lbs. i buy the 25 lb kits and mesure out half the ingredients. i have a hlaf batche of owens ring baloney yet todo.  i added 8 kbs bear 2 lbs beef and 2 lbs pork. its  a great mix. they fit nicely in the masterbuilt. but if i had more i could see rotating. for sure

[mike89]

that's great Boar!!  I'm happy for you!!  I'm sure they will taste great!!   

[LPS]

Good job Jeff.  It is great to have a nice stash of sausages that are homemade in the freezer....

[LPS]

I used to love the ring bologna from the stores.  We had one awhile back when we had run out and it was not near as good as I remembered.  This making our own has spoiled me.  Actually tastes like meat, not just a tube of fat like the store bought...

[mike89]

that be the truth LPS

[Boar]

im just a little conserned of the smoker, the rings are light in color on one side,  and nice an dark on the other, closer to the burner. theres alot moister inthe cabinet, maybe open the vent more?

[mike89]

could but watch your temp, also you can try rotate or flip the rings around

[Boar]

yup i flip one rack.

[mike89]

hopefully that will help you, but on the other side when we light colored ones they still tasted good

[Boar]

yeah tru, but i get really persnickity on my sausage. i took 4 temp readings from150 to 160 and pulled those, some are colored.perfect and some creamy color. got a few more that are still in at 140ish.

[mike89]

I understand what you mean

[LPS]

My pellet smoker gets hotter on the side by the chimney I found out.  When I did my last batch of sausages it filled the racks and was barely able to get them on.  The ones on the chimney side got done first so I kept sliding them over to that side.  More putzing around but it worked.  Some even got a little over done but they still taste great.  I just cooked some up and simmered them in water on the stove.  They turned out juicier than grilling them.  That made the casing softer than when I grilled them too.

[Boar]

yup the trials an tribulwtions of the novice smoker. love it tho!!

[Rebel SS]

You guys are making me really hungry....

[Boar]

not to bad.

[mike89]

I'm so hungry now!!!!  good work!!!

[ThunderLund78]

I usually just soak in the fridge overnight as well, but the last pack of Hog Casings I used are ones that I bought from my local butcher shop.  Can't remember the name but their instructions were different - I only had to soak for a few hours but I changed the water three times (I suppose to get the salt and barnyard taste out) and they asked for it to be at specific temperatures for each soak.  I just estimated the temps, but they were the best hog casings I've used - very flexible and easy to work with.  Also had zero taste - which is what you want.  I've had some that despite soaking overnight and washing still taste like pig poo.

[Reinhard]

The rings look great Boar!!!  Wherever the chimney is located is where the most heat is.  If I could build my own smoker I would put the vents across the top with maybe three vents that I can adjust for air flow so I can get as close as possible to even heat flow.  Now if you had a larger smoker [size of a fridge] a fan would be a great tool to have.  Very small fan to just have enough air movement to keep temps uniform.  I used to operate a big commercial smoker when I was working.  It had fans inside for this purpose.  Always had uniform color and never had to rotate.  But we have what we have, and so we have to rotate at times depending on how much sausage we smoke.  good luck.

[mike89]

RH, that is what I have said too.  they need a slow easy fan for these smaller smokers..

[glenn57]

not to bad.

rumor has it boar likes to put his meats in rings................that way he can wear it around his neck so the dog plays with him!!!!!!!!!!!!!! confused-3316.gif

seriously buddy...........looks really good!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Boar]

thanks rieny,im looking to conver my large propane to an electric and add fans eventually. gleen yur parents gave you a potatoe as ur first and only freind, they covienced yiu it was a hamster for 10 years.

[mike89]

thanks rieny,im looking to conver my large propane to an electric and add fans eventually. gleen yur parents gave you a potatoe as ur first and only freind, they covienced yiu it was a hamster for 10 years.