Wrinkled Casings (Why Cold Water?)

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 08:00

Hi folks! One of our members has written a question by email. I'm forwarding it to this part of the forum. Anybody out there want to help him with this question?

Our fellow sausage maker writes:

"I have been doing my readings and I am seeing all of these techniques for cold showering sausages. Sometimes they say to cold shower the sausage immediately, sometimes they say to hot shower it then cold shower it, sometimes they say to let it cool in the air, sometimes they say to cool it, heat it and then re-cool it.

All in the aim of preventing excess wrinkling (aside from safety)

Is there anyway you could please explain this like it was my first day in class. I am having a hard time understanding the physics of it and that is what keeps getting me caught up!

One of the hardest parts of it all for me to comprehend is how plunging something hot into a cold environment wont ENHANCE wrinkling or the product tightening up from the casing. Hell, it's what I do when I jump into a cold lake!"

story28 · Post by **story28** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 22:45

Alright I am going to take a stab at one of the methods after thinking about it today. Maybe the immediate cold shower is to drop temperature to prevent excess moisture from escaping once the proteins are set. Perhaps if that moisture is allowed to escape in the form of steam, it will decrease the mass of the sausage as the proteins compress. That might decrease in mass might be what causes the meat to shrink away from the casing.

As far as the whole cold shower, followed by a hot shower, followed by a cold... I read that in Mr. Marianski's HPQMS book. It said that the that a cold shower then a quick hot shower and another plunge into cold water allows some of the fats to migrate to the surface resulting in a better sheen. That sounds great, but I thought the whole point was keeping those fats intact and away from the surface

BriCan · Post by **BriCan** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 17:51

Doing a cold shower or as I do put into a tank/sink of cold water is to stop the product cooking - no other reason you have taken so much care on your product you do not want to over cook it's as bad as under cook -- once the product is cool [how does one know; hot product floats and cold one sink - very scientific] Once cool/cold hot shower to bring the bloom back - this also takes out the wrinkles. and yes we need to keep the fat away from the surface

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 13:03

My thoughts
I like a little wrinkle in my salami, gives a characteristic appearance. But on the other hand, too much wrinkle can be ugly! I believe it all starts at the beginning of the process. When stuffing is complete, I let them hang too dry, when dry to the touch, put in a low (around 100 - 110 degrees) preheated smoker with dampers half open for the first hour. Then close the dampers and gradually increase to the desired temperature, bumping up the temperature 10 degrees every 30 minutes until the salami reaches the desired temperature. When all said and done, shower the finished product in a steady cool bath until the salami temperature drops around 90 degrees. Then bloom at room temperature for a few hours, and refrigerate before slicing.

I have experimented with this in several different ways. In the winter months when I make sausage/salami after the smoking process, I would drop the finished product into an ice cold bath, I have even buried the finished salami in a fresh snow bank. Wrinkles you say, yeah plenty of wrinkles!
As mentioned above, dry to the touch before the heat and slow increase on temperature, then cool steady shower.

Chow

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 15:04

I think we have a grasp on what to do with these sausages to prevent these wrinkles, but I don't think we know as much about the WHY. It would be interesting to figure out the science behind it all and what makes it all happen. I have had a few correspondences with Michael Ruhlman in the past. He happens to be good friends with Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking, probably one of, if not the best food science books ever made. I'll see if I can get an answer from them.

BriCan · Post by **BriCan** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 18:28

Salamis will always have wrinkles in/on them at some point of drying as it is a natural course of evolution. Salami should always be stuffed tight thus preventing air pockets as far as I know using GDL and such will give the smooth surface that some so long for the only problem is in my book one has not got a salami in the true sense of the word as for cooking a salami

again one has altered the flavour profile and is not needed. Now if people wish to add foreign items to the afore said item and also wish to cook the said sausage that is their prerogative and I will be the last person to tell them that they cannot do it.

The original question was

"I have been doing my readings and I am seeing all of these techniques for cold showering sausages. Sometimes they say to cold shower the sausage immediately, sometimes they say to hot shower it then cold shower it, sometimes they say to let it cool in the air, sometimes they say to cool it, heat it and then re-cool it.

All in the aim of preventing excess wrinkling (aside from safety)

Is there anyway you could please explain this like it was my first day in class. I am having a hard time understanding the physics of it and that is what keeps getting me caught up!

What I wrote above in the simplest terms is exactly the answer to the original question now with the extra curve tossed in by story28

I think we have a grasp on what to do with these sausages to prevent these wrinkles, but I don't think we know as much about the WHY.

It seems that we have not yet grasp the what to do as we are still asking the why the why are we getting wrinkles is the most common one made by the novice and the expert alike -- two words; under stuffed.

There are some within this forum who know me, and there are some who have approached me for advice. It is within my best interest to give wherever/whatever I can in information and knowledge accumulated over these long years because as my counterpart said; once you and I have gone there is no hope unless they go back to the old ways.

I think it best if I just read this forum and keep my thoughts and advice to myself.

On that I will leave with this, Landjäger made the old way with just meat and spices and yes I do sell to the general public which means that it conforms to regulations

[/quote]

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 19:13

I think we should quantify what we are trying to discuss. I think everyone would be in agreement that a nice salami or dry aged sausage is going to have some bumps and wrinkes, so I think this is more geared towards cooked sausages.

I agree completely with BriCan that understuffing sausages is more likely to cause wrinkling than the way you shower a sausage, but these two things should be viewed as two separate issues. The method of cold showering is meant as a separate technique to lessen wrinkling in addition to the method of proper stuffing. Because of that, I think that it is worth understanding the ins and outs of how this process works to the same extent that we try to understand the importance of microbial action in the sausage making process.

The wrinkles of the sausage might be more of a cosmetic issue, than a health one, but some say that beauty is only skin deep

DiggingDogFarm · Post by **DiggingDogFarm** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 21:26

As I understand it, from reading several meat science books. The cold water simply keeps the casing adequately hydrated and facilitates even cooling and shrinking of both the meat and casing.

~Martin

story28 · Post by **story28** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 21:28

DiggingDogFarm wrote:As I understand it, from reading several meat science books. The cold water simply keeps the casing adequately hydrated and facilitates even cooling and shrinking of both the meat and casing.

~Martin

But the question still remains: How and Why

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 21:56

Would it be correct to state that all products subjected to a dry heat cooking method (frying, broiling, sauteeing and yes smoking) will lose some amount of weight through moisture loss? That said it's only reasonable that some level of shrinkage and thus wrinkles would be expected as the product will expand when subjected to heat, loose moisture then contract when cooled.

I always struggle with proper stuffing levels and normally err on the side of understuffed to avoid blowouts. I'd rather have a wrinkled smoked sausage than no sausage at all.

DiggingDogFarm · Post by **DiggingDogFarm** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 22:47

story28 wrote:
DiggingDogFarm wrote:As I understand it, from reading several meat science books. The cold water simply keeps the casing adequately hydrated and facilitates even cooling and shrinking of both the meat and casing.

~Martin
But the question still remains: How and Why

Meat and casings have, obviously, different rates of shrinkage...it's water's higher (than air) heat capacity and thermal conductivity that, along with the moistening effect, facilitates more even shrinkage with fewer wrinkles.

~Martin

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 14:59

Meat and casings have, obviously, different rates of shrinkage...it's water's higher (than air) heat capacity and thermal conductivity that, along with the moistening effect, facilitates more even shrinkage with fewer wrinkles.

~Martin[/quote]

I see, so you are thinking that it is much more to do with the casing and less to do with changes in mass of the sausage meat during cooking and cooling? I think you are on the money with the casing hydration. It probably prevents the elastin and collagen from contracting. I sure wish chuckwagon would jump on in. I am sure he has some knowledge on the science going on with this.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 15:19

I have been staying out of this for a gross lack of experience but I have done some cooked sausage in fiberous casing and I can state with assurance that the mince shrinks with cooking. It would be easy to slide a cooked and cased sausage into a fresh casing.

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 15:24

ssorllih wrote:I have been staying out of this for a gross lack of experience but I have done some cooked sausage in fiberous casing and I can state with assurance that the mince shrinks with cooking. It would be easy to slide a cooked and cased sausage into a fresh casing.

I agree with you on that Ross. There is definitely some shrinkage the same way a fillet steak or a fish tightens up when it hits a hot pan. Gentle cooking lessens that effect, but I think it place a part in the potential for wrinkled casings, I just can't full explain it.

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 16:02

Just for grins and giggles I posed the question of wrinkling/shrinkage to the International Natural Sausage Casing Association (INSCA) and will post their reply when received.