Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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cab
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Sausage Casings... Which ones?Thus far we've used natural pork casings bought from our butcher. Looking around, there are many other options; collagen ones look easy, sheep ones look fiddly but potentially just the right thing for beef sausages (which where I was brought up were always thin and succulent), and beef runners look like a must for making good, thick chorizo (pork has worked, but thicker would be better).
Any thoughts? Anyone tried collagen? Any advice on casings other than pork?
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judith
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Collagen casings are bobbins, unless they have improved in recent years. They don't seem to mould themselves around the filling properly and don't have the look and feel of a "proper" banger. A complete waste of time IMO.
Pork casings are definitely easiest to use. Sheep casings are slightly more delicate (and seem to be more fiddly to separate), but nothing a rank amateur working with care can't handle.
Never tried ox runners.
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Behemoth
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As part of my research I noticed that about half of the sausage makers at Leeds farmers market use artificial casings. In my view they don't look quite right, a little bit too perfect and don't have the right texture as they cut too easily.
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franco
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Casingseach casing has it's own benefits...
Collagen (made from beef collagen) These are useful if you want a uniform size of sausage as the casings don't expand when stuffed. To make them easier to use oil the filling tube before use and brush the caings with oil as you use them.
For: No need to pre soak, longer shelf life, uniform shape.
Against: They split quite easily, uniform shape!
Hog casings (pork)
These are the casings I use for every day use. They require pre soaking but give an old fashioned and home made look to your sausage.
For: non uniform shape, better bite than collagen,easier to fill,don't split as easily as collagen
Against: requires presoaking, some people don't like the smell,shorter shelf life
Sheep casings
a small bore natural casing that makes a very tender sausage.My favourite
For: tender bite, good shape,makes more sausages than a large bore casing(seems to go further)
Against: fiddly to use due to small bore, can be smelly, requires pre soaking.
Beef runners
These are usually used for cured sausages or ones that require boiling due to their thicker skin ie. black pudding
For:Tough, large bore,
Against:Tough(not really suitable for eating, finished product needs to be peeled), smell  quite costly.
Franco
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Treacodactyl
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What about vegetarian casings? Not just for veggie sausages but if you wish to make game sausages and avoid farmed animal products altogether?
Can you get organic animal casings and is it possible to make any form or sausage without a casing?
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franco
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There is no such thing as a vegetarian casing, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
The soil association allows the use of non organic casings for organic sausages.
Franco
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cab
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Cheers Franco. Seems to be a good summary.
Oh, was it you asking me to let you know how we got on freezing casings once we'd soaked them? Well, whether it was you or not (whoever it was!), that seemed to work just fine. We soaked the pork runners, froze them in small batches, and used them for months with no noticeable deterioration.
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