The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Sausage Casing Manufacturers

20, May. 2024

 

Ultimate Guide to Sausage Casings: Types, Uses, and Tips for ...

Have you ever wondered what gives sausages their shape and contributes to their unique texture and flavor? The answer lies in the small but mighty sausage casing. Whether you're a home cook or a seasoned sausage maker, understanding the world of sausage casings is essential for crafting the perfect sausage. In this guide, we'll unravel the mysteries of sausage casings, helping you choose the right type for your culinary creations.

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What Are Sausage Casings?

Sausage casings are the materials used to enclose the filling of a sausage. Traditionally made from the intestines of animals like pigs, sheep, and cows, casings have been a part of sausage making since ancient times. Today, they not only determine the sausage's final shape but also contribute to its texture, taste, and how it cooks.

Types of Sausage Casings

  • Natural Casings: Natural casings are made from the submucosa layer of animal intestines, predominantly pigs, sheep, and cattle. They are favored for their ability to permit deep smoke penetration and develop a distinctive 'snap' that connoisseurs love. However, their irregular shape and size can be a challenge for beginners.
  • Collagen Casings: Collagen casings, derived from animal collagen, offer a uniform size and are easier to handle than natural casings. They are ideal for beginner sausage makers and work well for various types of sausages, from breakfast links to snack sticks. While they don't provide the same natural snap, they are versatile and user-friendly.
  • Synthetic Casings: Synthetic casings are made from materials like cellulose, plastic, and even plant-based alternatives. They are non-edible and need to be removed before consumption. Synthetic casings offer durability and strength, making them suitable for a wide range of sausages, especially those requiring extensive processing.

Choosing the Right Casing for Your Sausage

Selecting the right casing is crucial for achieving the desired flavor and texture. Consider the size and type of sausage you want to make, the cooking method you'll be using, and the final presentation. Natural casings are excellent for traditional sausages and those looking for an authentic experience. Collagen casings are perfect for uniformity and ease, while synthetic casings are best for specialized sausages that require strong casing support.


Preparing and Using Casings

Before using natural or collagen casings, they must be soaked in water to ensure flexibility. Synthetic casings, on the other hand, are typically ready to use right out of the package. The key to filling any sausage casing is to avoid air pockets and not to overfill, preventing bursts during the cooking process. Store unused casings in a cool, dry place, ensuring they are well-sealed to maintain their quality.

Where to Buy Quality Sausage Casings

The quality of your sausage casings can make or break your sausage making. That's why our website offers a curated selection of the finest natural, collagen, and synthetic casings to suit all your sausage making needs. We source from reputable suppliers to ensure that you get the best, with consistent caliber and durability.

Conclusion:

Sausage casings are a vital component of sausage making. They influence everything from the sausage's flavor to its appearance. With this guide, you're well on your way to selecting the perfect casing for your homemade sausages. Remember, the best sausages are made with not just the right ingredients but also the right tools and supplies.

Ready to start your sausage making journey? 

Click here to explore our selection of high-quality sausage casings and supplies. With our top-notch products, you'll craft delicious, homemade sausages that will impress!

Sausage Casings 101: A Guide to Choosing the Right ...

Sausage casings are an essential part of making sausage. After all, when we have a look at what sausages are made of, we have, of course, the stuffing with the meat, the sausage seasoning, and the meat casing. After all, a sausage isn't a sausage without something to stuff it in. But sausage casings are also important in ensuring your end product is flavorful, processed evenly, and has great texture.

The type of casing used is typically dictated by tradition but also varies by processing technique, ingredients, and size. Most sausage casings are natural, collagen or fibrous, with a wide array of sizes and applications depending on the type of sausage. 

But what is the casing on sausage? Is the sausage casing edible? What are sausage casings made of? PS Seasoning professional chefs answer all your questions about sausage casings.

What is the Casing on Sausage?

Sausage casing is the material that encases the filling of a sausage. Natural sausage casings are usually made of animal intestines but can also be made from collagen, or cellulose material. 

What are Sausage Casings Made of? 

Generally, sausage casings are made either from beef or sheep intestines, collagen, or cellulose. Though more rare, some sausage casings are made of plastic such as lunch meat and bologna.

Types of Sausage Casings

Natural sausage casings are made from the submucosa of the small intestine, a layer of the intestine that consists of naturally occurring collagen. The use of natural casing goes back centuries ' it's one of the oldest forms of sausage-making, a classic in the sausage tradition. They are the most popular choice today because of the 'snap' they make when bitten. Natural sausage casings are also flexible, tender, easy to stuff, and are durable enough to hold up to smokehouse processing. Natural casings are commonly used for fresh sausage, smoked sausage, snack sticks, brats and more. 

Your natural sausage casings will come either packed in salt or a saline solution. The saline solution is designed for quick use, so once you rinse them off, you can use them within about 30 minutes after soaking in warm water. If salt-packed (in other words, heavily salted), you need to rinse off the salt from the natural casings, soak them in cold water and run cold water through them. After about half an hour of soaking in warm water, they can be used for stuffing sausages. These natural casings can be repacked in salt and stored in the freezer for up to a year.


Hog casings are the traditional choice when making any type of link sausage like bratwurst, Italians, and kielbasa. This type of natural casing is also commonly used for making smoked polish sausages, ring bologna with a small diameter and landjäeger.

29-32 mm  Small Brats

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Link Sausage

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Landjaeger 32-35 mm  Brats

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Italian Sausage

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Rope Sausage 35-38 mm  Polish

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Kielbasa 38-42 mm   Bologna

Sheep casings are the most tender of the natural casings. The smaller diameter of sheep casings makes the perfect for making small link sausages like breakfast sausage and hot dogs, to snack sticks.

20-22 mm  Breakfast Sausage

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Small Snack Sticks 22-24 mm  Breakfast Sausage

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Snack Sticks 24-26 mm  Small Hot Dog

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Wiener 26-28 mm   Large Hot Dog 

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Wiener 

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Landjaeger

Beef rounds get their name from their characteristic round shape. They have minimal fat and are ideal for fresh, cooked or smoked sausage such as Ring Bologna, Polish, Mettwurst, Holsteiner, and Blood Sausage. These beef casings are very heavily salted in order to conserve them, so you need to rinse them in cold water then run warm water through them. The best treatment is to soak the beef casings overnight in cold water and soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes before beginning your sausage stuffing work.

Beef middles are straight long  casings that have a heavier texture wall with some fat. These beef casings are ideal for dry and semi-dry sausages like Salami, Liverwurst, Bologna, or Summer sausage.

Beef Bung Caps

Made from the end of a cow's large intestine, beef bungs are large-diameter sausage casings that are typically used for large bologna, headcheese, souse, capicola, and mortadella.

Shop Natural Casings 

What is a collagen casing? Collagen casings are processed, edible sausage casings produced from the collagen in cow or pig hides, bones, and tendons. While they don't give much of a snap, they're inexpensive and give more uniformity in weight and size compared to their natural counterparts. Collagen casings are packaged in sheets around a tube that can easily be loaded on your stuffing horn, with no soaking required. They come in two varieties based on processing: 

Fresh Collagen Casings

As the name implies, fresh collagen casings are used specifically for fresh sausages like bratwurst and breakfast links. These tend to be more tender casings that are unable to withstand hanging in a smokehouse.

Smoked Collagen Casings

Smoked or processed collagen casing are a bit stronger and thicker than fresh collagen to hold up to the processing schedule in the smokehouse, and can be used for making snack sticks, ring bologna, hot dogs or wieners. Their durability holds up well when hung on smoke sticks during processing. Collagen casings are available in clear and mahogany colors (no taste variation).

19 mm  Smoke Mahogany  Small Snack Sticks 21 mm Fresh Clear  Small Breakfast Sausages 21 mm  Smoke Clear or Mahogany  Snack Sticks 23 mm  Smoke Clear  Large Snack Sticks 

' Small Pepperoni

26 mm Smoke Clear  Hot Dogs

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Wieners 30 mm  Fresh Clear  Brats

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Link Sausage 40 mm Smoke Clear  Ring Bologna 

' Liver Sausage ' Kielbasa

43 mm Smoke  Clear

 Ring Bologna 

' Liver Sausage ' Kielbasa

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Fibrous casings are inedible sausage casings made from a form of cellulose material that peels away easily when cooked. They are also made from a specific tree called the Abaca. The fibers in the Abaca tree are very strong yet easy to work with ' they're very stretchable. Fibrous casings are most commonly used for making pepperonis, summer sausage, bologna, liverwurst, and other fine smoked sausages. Their durability allows tight stuffing, making them ideal for fine or emulsified sausages.

Fibrous casings should be soaked for at least 25-30 minutes in warm water (80-100 F). Lay the sausage casings flat in warm water and submerge completely, with the tied ends lower so that any trapped air can escape. After soaking, squeeze excess water out before stuffing your sausages.

There's two main kinds of fibrous sausage casings ' clear and mahogany. You can also get them printed with a design. The benefit of a mahogany casing is you'll get a consistent color when you are smoking the sausage. 

1"   Thuringer

 

' Pepperoni ' Salami

 

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 Cracker-Sized Sausages 2-2.5"   

Traditional Summer Sausage

4"   Large Summer Sausage 

' Hard Salami 

8"  Olive & Pimento Loaf

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Mortadella

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Deli & Sandwich Meats 

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