Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage Read Online Free PDF

a casing.
    Most certainly, not all the casings listed below will be needed. In fact, it is recommended that only two or three kinds of casings be purchased in the beginning. When a casing is required for any sausage in this book, one of the following two casings will do:
• 29 to 32 mm (about 1⅛ to 1¼ inch) diameter small hog casing
• 2½ or 2inch (about 63.5 to 61 mm) diameter fibrous casing
    There is a third kind of casing to consider: 24 to 26 mm (1 inch to 1  inch) sheep casing. This casing is splendid for stuffing breakfast links, or any sausages such as frankfurters, that are best when stuffed in a small-diameter, tender casing. They are highly recommended for some sausages, but hog casings can be used in their place.
    There are six categories of sausage casings: natural, synthetic (fibrous), collagen, muslin, cellulose, and plastic.
    NATURAL CASING
    The most commonly used natural casings are hog, sheep, and beef casings made from the carefully cleaned small intestines of these animals.
    The inside lining and the outside muscle tissue are removed, and the remaining thin, tubular membrane is used as the casing. The casings are sized, dredged in salt, and then tied into a bundle called a hank. (In the case of hog casings, a hank is 100 yards long—about 91 meters.)
    There are several advantages to using natural casings, especially hog and sheep casings made from the small intestines. Natural casings are fairly easy to obtain; they can be purchased in small quantities (one hank); they are easy to twist into links; and, when making dried or semi-dried sausage, the casings shrink as the meat shrinks.
    You may find ready-to-use casings that are packed in a special clear solution rather than dry salt. These casings must be used within one month, so they are not recommended unless you make a lot of sausage and use them quickly. It is best to buy casings packed in salt. (Some producers pack the casing in saturated brine —brine with a lot of undissolved salt in it. Packing in saturated brine is equal to packing in salt.)
    In addition to the small intestine, other parts of pork and beef innards are traditionally used to stuff special varieties of sausage. In this book, the synthetic fibrous casing (described below) will be substituted.
    HOG CASING
    Hog casings made from the small intestine are normally sold in four sizes (1 inch is equal to 25.4 mm):
• 29 to 32 mm
• 32 to 35 mm
• 35 to 38 mm
• 38 to 42 mm
    They are, of course, edible. One hank of the smallest size will stuff 90 to 100 pounds, and a hank of the largest diameter will stuff up to 135 pounds. In this book, the smallest size is used for many sausages; it varies from about 1 ⅛ inch to 1 ¼ inches (29 to 32 mm). As mentioned above, for home use it is best to purchase casings that have been packed in salt or saturated brine; such casings can be preserved for years under refrigeration.
    Hog casings made from innards other than the small intestine are available: hog middles, hog bungs, and hog stomachs. Certain large sausages are traditionally made with one of these special casings, but fibrous casings are easier to use, are more economical, and do not have an offensive odor.
    SHEEP CASING
    Natural sheep casings are smaller and tenderer than hog casings, but they are more expensive. Depending on the vendor, as many as four sizes are available (25.4 mm equals 1 inch):
• 20 to 22 mm
• 22 to 24 mm
• 24 to 26 mm
• 26 to 28 mm
    Sheep casings packed in either salt or a special preservative solution are available, and they are used in the same way as hog casings. If they are packed in salt (or saturated brine) and stored in the refrigerator, they will keep for many years.
    BEEF CASING
    Beef middles, beef rounds, beef bungs, and beef bladders can be obtained without much difficulty if it is necessary to stuff a certain sausage in its traditional casing. However, large hog casings and fibrous casings can be substituted for less money. Beef casing, by the