Casing Tenderness

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 15:50

I`m fussing over casing tenderness in fresh sausage. I get that you shouldn't use too high a heat when cooking. DeWied International advises that casings can be made more tender by: "Soak casings using a tenderizer. This must be carefully monitored to avoid making the casings too weak to stuff. Use proper moisture levels during smoke cycle." Have any of you tried this?

Post by **redzed** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 17:32

What kind of "tenderizer"?

Devo · Post by **Devo** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 17:39

Here is a whole lot of info on casings

http://www.alliedkenco.com/naturalcasingfaq.aspx

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 17:47

redzed wrote:What kind of "tenderizer"?

All we get is what is between the quotes in my post.

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 17:52

Devo that's pretty much the same info as all casing vendor's fact pages.

Devo · Post by **Devo** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 18:06

So where are you getting your casings from? Have you tried a different supplier?
The kielbasa I just did has a nice snap to it when not cooked.
Last night I pan fried some for dinner and the casings seemed a little tougher but not to the point that I disliked them.

Post by **redzed** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 18:27

Unless you actually are experiencing a tough casing after properly flushing and soaking , I would not start adding any acids or commercial meat tenderizers to the casing. Soak for an hour, flush out the inside and soak overnight in the fridge. Before stuffing let them sit in tepid water for an hour. Some casings will be tough no matter what you do. If you buy the larger diameter hog casings such as the 40+ they will be tougher than the 32s. And if you really want a tender edible casing, buy sheep casings.

dirtymike · Post by **dirtymike** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 14:29

I prefer the wet casings. I find the salted dried casing to be harder to work with and almost chewy. Not only does it require a lot more time preparing and working with them. The end result is not as nice. I dont want a chewy casing.

spud · Post by **spud** » Sat May 28, 2016 08:45

Hi All sorry to bring up an old casing post.
Couldn't resist - I have just completed what turned out to be the worst cooking experience for a long long time.
I was rushing to get some food on the table, quickly defrosted some sausages. They wouldn't brown on skin, when they did they burnt and busted. The ones I tried, were like leather, really tough & chewy. Guessing this was all to do with casings not dried out enough.
Never to be repeated

Spud