How to Prepare Sausages From Natural Sheep Casing

In this blog post you will learn to prepare different types of natural casings - There are four basic scenarios to preparing casings for stuffing.

Preparing the SALTED natural sheep casings:

1. Rinse salt from casings with fresh water.

2. Soften by soaking in fresh water at room temperature (approximately 21°C or 70°F) for 45 minutes to one hour. When hanks are placed in water, gently hand massage them to separate the strands and prevent dry spots which may adversely affect the stuffing process.

3. Take casings to stuffing table. Place in bath of fresh water. This water should be warmer to render a little of the natural fat in the casing. This will help to allow the casing to slide from the stuffing horn more readily.

4. Pre-flush the casings by introducing water into the sheep casings and allow to run through the casing. This will also facilitate getting the casing onto the filling horn and moving the casing smoothly during the filling process.

Preparing sheep casing in PRE-FLUSHED IN SLUSH:

Requires somewhat less labor and time before stuffing, but all four steps should be followed.

PRE-FLUSHED WET PACK:

Goods are packed in brine with lesser amounts of salt. Requires only steps 3 and 4. Pre-tubed goods (casings on plastic tubes to speed production) usually come this way. Tubed goods may require a charge of water after they are on the stuffing horn; this is done using a horn made specifically for that purpose.

PRE-FLUSHED IN SOLUTION:

Requires no soaking time. Only steps 3 and 4 need to be performed. Casings packed this way are more prone to damage in shipping and/or from temperature changes. These casings should be purchased in smaller amounts - usually a 2 to 3 month supply, although they can be kept longer. Barrels should be carefully inspected, with leaking ones used first, employing steps 3 and 4.

Preparing the Tubed casings:

Tubed casings are a labor-saving device for the sausage maker allowing increased speed and efficiency in his production. Because tubed casing can be prepared with multiple strands of the casing, the result is faster handling and stuffing times. Whether on soft or hard tubes, they are still treated with any of the above methods, depending on the requirements of the sausage maker and the type of sausage being made.

Soaking instructions for tubed casings can vary widely depending on the condition of the casings. Many sausage makers soak the tube casings overnight since it can take a lot longer for the water to rehydrate the tub casings compared with normal salted casings.

PREPARING TO STUFF CASINGS

In general, all casings can be handled in essentially the same manner however, there are a few intrinsic variations. For example, Beef Casings being more fleshy can withstand more soaking and warmer water than Sheep Casings.

Preparing Beef Rounds:

Soak overnight in cold water. Then, thirty minutes before use, put the casing

in 38 °C (100 °F) water.

Preparing Hog Casings:

First, rinse with fresh water. Then, soak in 30-32 °C (85-90 °F) water for at least thirty minutes prior to use; soaking overnight is also quite typical.

Preparing Sheep Casings:

First, rinse with fresh water. Then, soak in 30 - 32 °C (85 - 90 °F) water f thirty minutes prior to use.