Hot Dogs

[LPS]

Has anyone tried the High Mountain Hot Dog kits?  I see they have collagen casings and say to not overfill them or they will burst.  Well it seems sheep casings are real hard to work with if RH won't use them so I thought maybe this kit would be fun to try. 

[ThunderLund78]

All I know is that collagen casings have no memory so you'd have to tie or crimp every link or they'll simply unwind.  I would think that if you used cellulose with dogs that they instruct you to peel the casing off after smoking as well? (IE skinless wieners) - otherwise you'd essentially have a beef stick on a bun.  I've never tried sheep casings but have heard they're tougher to work with, as well.  I like RH's idea of just going with hog casings and making jumbo dogs.  Let us know what route you take!

[LPS]

  See if this works.  He sure makes it look easy.

[Boar]

barry i uze hog  casings for everything, its just a braut size hotdog that easy to bite thru.

[mike89]

I have used all of those casings, but like boar I'm down to hog casings only.  like he said a bigger hot dog!!!!  and easy to both work with and get purchase.  but in defense of sheep casings they work well but just don't push them

[LPS]

Ya I have just done the hog casings too but I would like to have a hot dog bun sized hot dog.  Also would make them longer so they fill the length of the bun.  Just something different and hopefully fun to try. 

[mike89]

I'd use sheep first, then collagen I think.  say did you ever try that hobo dinner?

[LPS]

We sure did Mike.  Had them with chicken breasts one night and then with burger and lots of bacon the second night as we had lots of food left to cook up.  Even put asparagus in them that we picked along our driveway.  Thanks for the reminder the wife has always liked doing them a few times a year too.   Did you guys see the way they twisted the hot dogs?  Nice technique I thought. 

[Boar]

ive done the sheep casings and got so frustrated i swore never again. maybe 1 more time, idk, same brand as the hogs whho knows

[mike89]

all good ideas LPS!! glad you liked the idea, I was thinking with nothing said about it you did not care for it!!!! 

as for the twisting the hot dogs I did.  As soon as I seen it being done I remember seeing that at a locker plant I was inspecting years ago!!  forgot all about it!!!

[LPS]

I was thinking I would like to smoke the hot dogs too.  They have no cure in them and say must be frozen within 3 days.  I think I will add cure when I make them so I can smoke them.  Will be a week or two till I have time.

[delcecchi]

Hot dogs without cure (even celery juice) aren't hot dogs but gray tubes of salty meat. 

[Reinhard]

Oh ya the sheep casing deal.  No more for me.  The ideal size in sheep casings for the "hot dog" size is 22mm-24mm.  For those you have to have the right size stuffing tube as well which would be smaller in circumference or they will be hard to put on the tube.  If you want a smaller size than "brat" size than you could look for sheep casing in 24mm-26mm size.  You could get these on line.  The only thing I use collogen casings for is beef sticks.  For me it's brat size hog casings for all my sausage varieties.  those will fill up a bun well.  good luck.

[KEN W]

These are the smallest sized hog casings.....under 28 mm. They make excellent hot dogs or any other seasoned sausage you might like and fit in a HD bun. BUT they aren't cheap.

http://www.alliedkenco.com/casing-hog-28mmandunder.aspx

[LPS]

I have always just grabbed a bag of casings off the shelf and have not even looked at the sizes.  I will look closer now. 

[Reinhard]

Great post by Ken W.  I made 25 pounds of old fashion wieners for the grandkids awhile back and used sheep casings.  That's why I don't use them anymore.  they turned out great but way too much work dealing with the small casings for me.  However those 28mm hog casings would be a great option for smaller size dogs.  I may try those myself and make some more old fashion wieners again.  good luck.

[ThunderLund78]

Interesting! Not sure I could justify spending $40 on casings for a batch of dogs though.  Quite a difference in prices between the big ones and small one, I suppose they don't butcher too many small hogs, so they're harder to come by.

[Boar]

I just might. love the braut size but its still nice to have normal sized hot dogs and breakfast sausage.

[KEN W]

Interesting! Not sure I could justify spending $40 on casings for a batch of dogs though.  Quite a difference in prices between the big ones and small one, I suppose they don't butcher too many small hogs, so they're harder to come by.

Yeah they aren't cheap. But they supposedly stuff around 90 pounds.....that's about .40 per pound. At the price of good hot dogs,that's not so bad when you know what's in them.

[LPS]

I just looked at that link again Ken.  I was thinking it said 100 feet but it says 100 yards of intestines.  That is so hard to believe I will look again.  That is a lot of hot dogs. 

[LPS]

Yup I looked again.  100 yards of tubular material.  So if you make 6" hot dogs which would be awesome that would be 600 hot dogs if we are just talking footage.  That makes that an affordable deal if one can preserve them.  So is freezing them going to make them last for a couple of years or more???

[LPS]

So if we talk about footage that is 300 6" hot dogs...   $45 divided by 300 is 15 cents per dog.  That is still quite an added expense per dog but may be worth it. 

[Boar]

i think u should make a 100 yrd hot dog

[LPS]

i think u should make a 100 yrd hot dog

HA HA Good one.  That could be our recreation at the GTG...   

[KEN W]

Yup I looked again.  100 yards of tubular material.  So if you make 6" hot dogs which would be awesome that would be 600 hot dogs if we are just talking footage.  That makes that an affordable deal if one can preserve them.  So is freezing them going to make them last for a couple of years or more???

I never freeze casings. Salt the heck out of them. They have lasted for a couple of years. I don't use them for just hot dogs. I use them for any sausage if you want them to be bun size. Brats,Polish,German, Breakfast, etc. Even good size sticks.

[Reinhard]

ya, I agree with Ken.  Never freeze casings.  Freezing them makes them weak and brittle and they would break easy.  I do like Ken does.  I cover them in a good amount of salt in a plastic container and cover.  Keep them in the fridge.  Then take out what you need and rinse them off and rinse internaly also.  Left over casing put back in the container and more salt.  good luck.

[mike89]

I agree with both Ken and RH on taking care of the casings.  they will last a long time that way.

[LPS]

Thanks for that tip you guys.  I will do that.  Salt the heck out of them and put in the frig then.