Smoking plastic sausage casing

NATURAL CASINGS

Natural sausage casings are made from the submucosa of the small intestine, a layer of the intestine that consists of naturally occurring collagen. The use of this type of casing goes back centuries — it’s one of the oldest forms of sausage-making, a classic in the sausage tradition. They are the most popular choice today because of the “snap” they make when bitten. They’re also flexible, tender, easy to stuff, and are durable enough to hold up to smokehouse processing. They can be used for fresh sausage, smoked sausage, snack sticks, hot dogs, brats and more. 

Your natural casings will come either packed in salt or a saline solution. The saline solution is designed for quick use, so once you rinse them off, you can use them within about 30 minutes after soaking in warm water. If salt-packed (in other words, heavily salted), you need to rinse off the salt, soak them in cold water and run cold water through them. After about half an hour of soaking in warm water, they can be used for stuffing. These casings can be repacked in salt and stored in the freezer for up to a year.