Beginners FAQ on sausage making, meat curing etc may often be found at the head of each relevant section, but here is the place to ask experienced users for advice if you are still stuck or need more information...we're here to help!
I have tried adding water to the horn, adding bi carb to the casings but the casing sticks to the horn (plastic) at it fills up with air. Any ideas what I can use to keep it lubricated?
An Englishman living in México. There'e not such thing as a stupid question, just a stupid answer!
Try soaking them longer in tepid water, they should feel soft and slippery. Also make sure that the diameter of the casing is larger than the horn used. May sound obvious but one size doesn't necessarily fit all.
"Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." - Sir Winston Churchill
Do you have metal stuffing tubes - if not, they can help, as can spraying the horn with water and allowing a little bit of sausage mix to stick out of the horn as you put the casing on to the horn so that it greases it.
It may not be ideal, but I have also used aerosol cooking spray in the past to help lubricate (although normally water seems to work best). Early on I found that leaving the casing float in a bowl of water and pulling it directly on to the horn from there helped (although it left a huge pool of water on the counter).
Pigs are magical creatures.... they turn vegetables into BACON!!
I have a plastic one that came with the machine. I have been soaking then for at least 2 hours and sometimes overnight. I have been letting the mixture poke though while putting the casing on and I have been spraying the casing with water so it doesn't dry out.
An Englishman living in México. There'e not such thing as a stupid question, just a stupid answer!
I have found out why the casings fill up with air...it is because of the sausage meat and the machine. When I apply pressure to stuff the casing I can hear it filling with air. Could it be that my mixture is too sticky?
An Englishman living in México. There'e not such thing as a stupid question, just a stupid answer!
I am using a Browning #8 Electric Meat Grinder/stuffer. I don't remember having this problem before. Next time I make some sausage I will add post a picture. I dont know why the recipe would make a difference, it has done that with 3 types of sausage. I use a kitchen aid with the paddle attachment to mix the sausage meat.
An Englishman living in México. There'e not such thing as a stupid question, just a stupid answer!
Are you compressing the meat in the stuffer before tightening down the piston onto it?, if there are air pockets you will be hearing the air being expelled?