help

[hoggie]

hi folks, i am quite new to this, i have made a few batches of sausages, but i am having a frigging nightmare. just made another lot of pork sausages, but the casings (hog) stick to the horn, or they seem to, then they burst. i soaked them for a couple of hours, and rinsed them inside. please anybody tell me what i am doing wrong. thanks. john

[Paul Kribs]

hoggie

Thread the casing onto the filler horn/tube of the stuffer using forefinger and thumb. Once the first bit is on it goes very easily. If the casing diameter is a bit tight, do not thread it too far up the tapered filler as this will restrict the filling operation and could cause the casing to burst.
The casing should flow off the filler/horn easily by the action of the meat mix filling it, whereby you control the rate it leaves the horn which in turn dictates how full the casings will be.
If you have a smaller filler tube/horn, use that.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[aris]

Putting a bit of vegetable oil on the horn, and also re-rinsing the inside of the casing just prior to feeding it onto the horn helps. The water acts as a lubricant.

[hoggie]

thanks paul, it's so frustrating, i managed to get some sausages, made the rest into burgers using a plastic burger maker i got on e-bay, really tasted good. it is a tapered horn, could it be that i am putting to much casing on the thing? i'll get there, just needs practice. thanks again paul. john

[Paul Kribs]

hoggie

It sounds like you might be pushing the casing too far along the filler tube/horn. Before you start the filling operation, it might pay to just ease the casings as far forward as possible towards the opening. Sounds like the casing diameter is OK for the size of the filler tube as you are feeding it on alright.



Regards, Paul Kribs

[hoggie]

thanks aris for the advice, like the idea of oil on the horn, will try it next time. paul that is a long horn you have there ( don't know how to put it without sounding funny LOL) mine is a short tapered thing that came with the breville mincer. i was looking on e-bay, and found horns for a kenwood mixer. do you think they would fit the breville. i assume that the horns will be about the same size. they are only a couple of quid so if they don't fit, no loss. thanks again for your help. john.

[Paul Kribs]

hoggie

You could try them. If they don't fit your machine but are OK for the casings you could probably get away with inserting the old filler into the new one. If it fits you could cut it and then rough the surfaces and glue on with a 2 part epoxy ( araldite?)..
Franco sells horns on the sausagemaking. org site shop, it might be worth having a look, �5 - �6 per set, but again, you might have to chop them about.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[welsh wizard]

Hi Hoggie

You might like to try soaking the casings overnight rather than just the two hours. I have found they are a lot more stretchy if you do this. Also I am not sure where you have got your hog casings from but in the past I have ordered hog only to get sheep which are very much smaller.

Good luck and Cheers WW