Homemade Sausage Making

Made some pepper sticks the other day, used 22 mm collagen casings. All went well until I let it sit overnight in frig. Smoked at 140 /150, raised to 160 when sausage was at 140 ish. Came out of smoked and cooled down in a cool water bath, roughly 60 / 70 ish. Let hang for about an hour and then refrigerated. Problem is meat shrunk?? Is it the collagen casing tendency? First time I used collagen. Had 20% fat content, all pork used. Any ideas what happened? Thanks in advance fellas, any help would be appreciated. Fred

Hi Fred - I think the water bath might have been the problem. I use collagen for snack sticks but just let them cool on a rack. They cool quickly since the diameter is so small, and the casings shrink with the meat.

Jeff

Fred,

Jeff is right. Never subject collagen casings to water. They will swell up and lose their bond from the meat paste. The shrinkage is quite normal and the amount of shrinkage depends on how much moisture was in the mixture and the type of binder used.

Gotta agree. Get them to room temp, let them bloom overnight, vac seal and enjoy if they last that long.

Fred,
You wrote "if they last that long" You must be pleased with the outcome though!!!!!
They look great and only will get better.
I never used collagen casings before I actually made snack sticks when CW ran the last training course. I smoked them fairly dark, laid flat on a wire rack and snipped them to length with a pair of scissors.
I learned lot from that session.
Congratulations,
Jan.

If my experience with Kabanosy in collagen is any indication, the "evidence" will be gone in less than a week. ...so be sure to eat your share. ...if sharing is the appropriate word for these goodies. More than likely, there'll be people hovering about your supply like the seagulls in the "Finding Nemo" video, all crying "Mine! Mine!" as the meat sticks disappear.

I Bow, Thank You to All, Very much appreciated,
Fred

Hey, hey Fred. I agree with these top-notch dudes above. Collagen just can't be wet. Also, it will not hold a link. Most folks just snip lengths with a pair of scissors... or in the case of Big Guy, he actually hand-ties each link with twine Geeeeze... his fingers just have to be sore! Hmmmm..... Too much time on his hands, that Big Guy!
You'll be able to salvage the batch if you just allow them to dry out (about 4 days) on an elevated screen. I often spread them out on screens and turn on a couple of fans overnight. Collagen will always wrinkle if it is dried with help. Its just the "smokehouse shrink" taking place with a moisture loss of more than 35%. Hey pard, just wait a few days... your snack sticks will be perfect. Oh, you may get just a bit of white mold. Just wipe it off.
It's very nice looking sausage pal!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon