Splitting skins

[welsh wizard]

Hi all

I know this question has been asked before but when I make sausages I get a different result from the same mix and I wondered if anyone had any ideas why.

In a nut shell I make a mix for my sausages and pack half of the mix into the more robust hog casing and the other half in the more delicate sheep casing. Once packed and left to bloom I find always fing the Hog cased sausages constantly burst when fryed where as the sheep cased sausages rarely if ever do. However if I cook the same hog cased sausages on the BBQ or in the oven they never split................

I have been making sausages for some time now and I am sure I dont pack the skins too tight, I use rusk @ 7%, liquid ant the same % and mix extremly well.

It was interesing to watch Britians Best Dish last night and see one of the contestants have the same problem with her sausages - she still won though!

Cheers WW

[saucisson]

I wonder if the sheeps are inherently more elastic, so stretch more easily in the frying pan. Alternatively maybe the thicker hogs contract more in the pan and split themselves?

[Batman]

I don't know the answer but it would seem to me that the skins burst because they:
change ie expand/contract faster/slower to bursting than the stuffing, or the heating process degrades the skin to bursting point.

The difference between cooking methods maybe due to frying sitting in fat/liquid, barbecue not, oven same heat all round.

As Dave said, maybe sheeps casings are more elastic or the lesser volume of stuffing does not create the differences mentioned above.
Out of interest where/when do the casings burst? Is it at the bottom or after you turn them in the frying pan? Also does the temperature of the frying make a difference?

Sounds like a topic for a PhD thesis

[welsh wizard]

Thanks both

Ref temprature - no that does not seem to make a difference. However I understand that a direct heat on a small surface of the sausage may induce the skin to split but why dosent this happen with butcher bought sausages?

I do have some sucess, but only some sucess, when cooking them after about three days, when the sausage has dried out a little. Possibly there is too much water retention in the Banger...........

Ref does it split on the side resting on the pan - I dont think so, but I will now look.

Anyway as interested as I am in finding out why this does happen I really dont mind that much becasue I like burnt sausages anyway..........

Cheers WW

[wheels]

WW
I know you have a vast experience of sausage making, so I find it difficult to comment - but how about posting the recipe of the worst offenders.
You've eliminated the usual culprits - so the only thing left must be something in the formulation?

Phil

[welsh wizard]

HI Wheels

As my previous posts show, I am always ready to take advice from anybody.

A simple splitting banger:

Pork - 80/20 Per Kg
7% rusk
7% Water
20g salt
2g black pepper
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp Onion powder

Mix Well - pack into hog casings - fry - BANG!

Possibly overdoing it on the heat so will try cooking slower - however as I said this dosent seem to happen to butcher bought sausages, oven baked, bbq'd or sheep cased ones.

Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?????????/

Cheers WW

[RodinBangkok]

As your not a newbie, you brought up overstuffing, and I think you'd rule out old or improperly processed casings, only other thing I'd say is perhaps your water content is high. I usually use around 3% as a guideline on fresh sausage formulas. The added water could be making a lot of steam and bursting the casing, but just a guess, as I normally don't add rusk to my fresh formulas at that percentage either.

[welsh wizard]

Hi RB

Thanks for the reply

I dont think I am adding too much water in relation to the amount of rusk and I add at that % bscause that is what my customers like rather than what I want to do

In fact I was wondering if I am adding too little water to the rusk and on cooking the fat goes into the rusk which causes the sausage to swell in retrospect and burst the skin..........

Many thanks WW

[wheels]

WW

My thoughts were along the lines of adding more water, say 1½ times the rusk - it may possibly make it worse but could be worth a try?
I always cook hogs casings very gently to avoid the problem. Are your customers complaining or do you warn them?

The only other thing I can think of is air pockets in the mix, these could be caused by too little water giving a dryer sausage mix, maybe?

Regards
Phil

[RodinBangkok]

You might try a little experiment, try monitoring one by placing it in a water bath, then monitor the temp as the water heats and see at what temp the banger pops. Then take one and plunge it in boiling water and see if it pops. What will the results get you...well not sure, but then try some variables to your formula to see if you can replicate, or extend its life so to speak. Why water, well it provides a more stable test environment than one side of a banger in a fry pan.

You might try another experiment, by taking only fresh ground pork, stuffing that, test fry, then start adding in your other ingredients one at a time, and test again to see where the culprit lies, would take some time, but may be worth the effort.

I do fresh sausage sans rusk or water and have never had them pop, for other than the most obvious reasons, overstuffed or casing problems.

[Zulululu]

Hi WW,
Not sure if this is of any help you do seem to have covered all the bases, I usually hang my sausages until the skin is dry (or just about).But have noticed that the first sausage that I fry for a test which is still wet usually split. Allowing the skin to dry allows the meat to bond to the skin and you get a better break when you bite the sausage, you also lose excess moisture from the stuffing.

[welsh wizard]

Thanks evryone for their advice - I will put in place some experiments to see if I can stop the little blighters exploding - i think I will start with the easiest, adding more liquid..........

Cheers WW

[saucisson]

I made some fresh chorizo yesterday, and stuffed the hog skins close to bursting to get them big and fat. I cooked them in the frying pan, but started in a cold pan. No bursting, but there was no rusk or bread in the mix either.

Dave

[Davred]

to see if I can stop the little blighters exploding
Cheers WW

Thats why they call them Bangers.

I grill mine starting with a cold grill, no splitting so far.

[johnc2]

Hi WW,
Not sure if this is of any help you do seem to have covered all the bases, I usually hang my sausages until the skin is dry (or just about).But have noticed that the first sausage that I fry for a test which is still wet usually split. Allowing the skin to dry allows the meat to bond to the skin and you get a better break when you bite the sausage, you also lose excess moisture from the stuffing.

This has been my experience too. If the surface does not "bloom" overnight you have too much water. In extreme cases the sausage may even drip in the fridge. If they take 3 days to dry out you are already reaching the shelf life of the pork content.
Although the sheep casings are more delicate, there is a much smaller cross section of meat mixture inside to expand. They may also be more porous and breathe more easily.
I fixed the issue of water content with hog casings by adding 10% water with the spices and salt on first mix, then leave to rest and absorb into the meat before adding 5% rusk (no more water) on second mix. I still have issues with collagen casings splitting in the pan as they dont breath nor bloom.