Frozen sausage casings

[JuliaBalbilla]

In June 2011 I bought some sheep casings on spools which I kept in the fridge for about a month and have been in the freezer ever since. Would these still be good to use, or should I bin them and buy some more? Thank you

[TJ Buffalo]

You could try using them in a small test batch, but I'm not hopeful about them being good. From what I've read, the quality of the casings can suffer, especially with sheep casings, which have always seemed more fragile to me. I just keep my casings covered in coarse salt in tupperware in the refrigerator, they last for a long time that way.

[Kaiser Soze]

Our local butchers supply store sells casings frozen. Given that casings pretty much last for ever in the fridge (covered in salt - I've kept and used some for 3-4 years) I would imagine that they would last forever in the freezer. As mentioned, they tend to burst a little easier than casings that haven't been frozen, so be gentle.

[JuliaBalbilla]

Thank you for your replies (although not sure what the posting about leather has to do with it!). I got some fresh casings yesterday and will try out the frozen ones as well. Either way, I will end up with some sausages (hopefully)