Collagen Casings for sausages

[joe_indi]

I have just received a few rolls of collagen  casings.
Bought them online
Till now I was using hog casings and sheep casings.
I did try vegan cellulose casing, which was an messy disaster.
I usually link and hot smoke my sausages before dunking them in hot water.
All these I learned from a very old Farmers Bulletin sent to my father in the early sixties from a fellow Rotarian in USA
Oh, I forgot to mention that I am in India and would be one of the few people here doing home made frankfurters, keilbasa, hot dogs and pepperoni.
Could somebody please give me a few pointers on how to go about using these collagen casings. What is different from using animal casings?
Thanks in advance

[Raider Bill]

I have no idea but I make my own using natural casings and am looking forward to the answer.
Myself I like a "snappy" casing.

[Mooseherder]

Use them as you would any other casing by sliding onto the sausage stuffer tube/ tubes.
Main difference is the Natural casings are refrigerated and wet.  The natural are also soaked in water before use.  That does a couple things.  Makes them more pliable and washes excess curing salt residue.  They also can be stored in that chilled water for a period of time.  Collagen casings should be dry when using and at room temperature. Store them in a cool dry area but doesn't have to be refrigerated.  The only issue you may have is not having right size tube.  You want it snug to tube but not too tight.  Too lose will require someone/something to hold it on tube, too tight results in blown casings.  Not a big deal, just put back in stuffer and restuff.  Post some pictures of end result.
The last couple times I made sausage it was without using casings.  Made patties instead.

[Raider Bill]

Glen, what casing gives you the most "snap" when you bite in it?
Do you suggest drying the made sausage out before freezing? I've been letting them sit in a fridge layered with parchment paper before food saving them.

When I get back from Tenn in a couple weeks I'll be making about 150 pounds of Italian.

[Mooseherder]

Natural Casings, hog or sheep should give you the most snap.  I imagine if you didn't soak them, just wash and rinse might increase snap some but may take longer to put onto tube.  Not impossible but 150 pounds is a lot of Sausage.  That'll take about half of your Hank. You're gonna hate sausage at the end of day. :D   I usually make 2 pork butts at a time and it seems to last forever.  Usually cut my pork into size for grinder, add seasonings and let seasons soak overnight before medium coarse grinding next day.  Then distribute the mix by hand before a second coarse grind. I've been grinding and rolling into cylinders patty diameter size and freezing rolls in gallon ziplock bags using the bag to help shape and roll the cylinder. You can slice the roll into patties after thawing or before completely thawing. Leaving them in the fridge before freezing will help draw moister from outside of casing.  It also doesn't hurt to let sausage ferment some before freezing so sounds like your process is a good one.

[Raider Bill]

Little piggies are coming to Florida from Tenn in a big, cold white box along with his cousin the steer. By the time I give some to Wild Bill and friends I will only have under 100 pounds left.

I season the chunks on sheets, hand mix then use a 3/4 grinder plate. I like chunky sausage.

I press it into the casings or bulk in 1 pound bags.

The casings sausage sin a fridge 24 hours to harden.

The worst part is freezer/food saving it. I have a bit of a system that is limited by my 5 pound casing press and the food saver.

Takes 2 days and a 12 pack of IPA to do it right

I also make a chicken, feta, spinach sausage courtesy of FF member Scargolye but not at the same time nor that amount.

I'd like to try salami and hard sausages sometime.

[Mooseherder]

I've never made Salami style sausages but would like to try some day also.  My sausage intake this past year has been limited to 100% from McDonalds Sausage Egg McMuffin.  Hard to beat that for a breakfast sausage imo.

[WV Sawmiller]

   No input on the casings as I don't stuff mine. I just have a hand grinder and too much work just to grind my deer meat although it gets tempting at times. I grind my venison then add seasonings and add about 1/4 the amount of meat with cheap fatty sausage for the fat and grind and mix again. Then I take an ice cream scoop and make little meatballs. Last I made was about 5.5 meatballs  per pound. We vacuum pack so we put the meatballs (normally 4 to a pack for the 2 of us works well) in the vacuum bags, my wife mashes them down into patties inside the bag then vacuum and seal them. Once frozen we can break the patties apart easily. I do the same thing with burger only I start with bigger meatballs. 

[Bricklayer51]

Joe i stopped using real casings 20+ years ago we use collagen now i buy by the case put in freezer pull out what i need put them in a bowl of warm water slide on the tuber and fill.also happy birthday

[joe_indi]

Mooseh

The above was an unsuccessful message upload from my (not too)smart phone.

Ok, I received my collagen casings on Monday and yesterday I took a trial with a kilo of meat.
Meat+sage+marjoram+black pepper+sea salt+ a couple of slices of bread+a tbsp of Isolated Soya protien

My attempt to link these sausages like I do with natural casings gave some messy disastrous results, so I chose the safer alternative with thread.
Hot smoked for 2 hours, then 15 minutes in water at 70C and then chilled in icy water. Hung up to dry an hour ago.
@Mooseherder, Do you link your sausages in collagen casings?
Some pictures below

[Mooseherder]

They look great. They should twist and hold like Natural casings but will burst if over filled.  That's the key not to overfill with just the right amount.  The more you do it the better one gets.
 

[joe_indi]

Yep, I did make them a bit tight. Will try loose stuffing next time and then linking. But won't loose stuffing create air pockets? These casings don't seem to tolerate pin pricks to release air like animal casings.

[joe_indi]

Mooseherder, followed your advice today.😊
Filled the casing less this time. Like you said they behaved like natural casings. Twisted able and very easy to form links. I also pre- soaked the casings. These are breakfast sausages. Sage, nutmeg and white pepper were the seasonings used