Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage (13 page)

4. 
Wet the entire length of the stuffing tube with water, and slide the wet casing onto the tube. Bunch the casing on the tube so that it looks something like a compressed accordion (see photo). If the casing will not slide on easily, the casing can be elevated so that the puddle of water will flow to the stuffing tube and lubricate it. If the puddle of water in the casing is used up, open the far end of the casing and add a little more water. Raise the far end of the casing so that the water flows to the stuffing tube and lubricates it.

5.
The hog or sheep casing should be slid on the stuffing tube before the sausage paste is loaded into the stuffer. The reason is this: Sliding the entire length of casing on the stuffing tube takes time, especially for those of us who are learning the technique. And, during this time, the sausage paste will gradually become warmer if it has been put in the stuffer in advance; this is not good. Sausage paste should be stuffed in the casing quickly and efficiently while it is cold, and then the stuffed casings should be returned to the refrigerator immediately.

6. 
If you are using a lever-operated stuffer, filling the stuffer
half full
with the seasoned sausage mixture will allow the handle to provide greater force (greater leverage) to the pressure plate. If a gear-operated stuffer is used, the cylinder may be packed with as much sausage as it will hold. No matter which kind of stuffer is being used, it is important to pack the sausage paste in the stuffer a little at a time, using your fist to pound out the air pockets. The fewer the air pockets in the sausage paste, the fewer the air pockets in the sausage links.

7.
Press the stuffer lever handle down (or rotate the gear crank) so that a small amount of sausage begins to emerge from the tube. Slide about 1½ inches (4 cm) of casing off the end of the tube. Force all the air out of the end of the casing, and tie a knot at the end. Alternatively, close the end of the casing by using twine. I find that twine is faster, easier, and wastes less casing, but most people tie a knot in the casing.

8.
If you are right-handed, you will probably be most comfortable if you operate the stuffer handle (or crank) with your right hand. With the thumb and fingers of your left hand, slide the casing off the end of the tube as the sausage paste is being forced out. Keep your left hand cupped under the tube and toward the front of the tube; part of the palm should support the sausage casing as it is being filled. As you can see, your left hand will be very busy.

9.
When the sausage mixture is forced into the casing, the goal is for the stuffed casing to have a uniform diameter and to be rather firm—but not so firm that the casing ruptures when you are twisting the sausage to form links. If an air pocket appears in the casing at any time, prick it right away with a sausage pricker or a large needle. When the stuffer will no longer force sausage paste into the casing, there will be a small amount of sausage remaining in the front of the stuffer body, and the stuffer tube (horn) will be full of sausage paste. Discarding this is wasteful. Remove the stuffing tube from the body of the stuffer and use the handle of a wooden spoon, or use a wooden dowel, to push the remaining paste into the casing. (I made three dowels of wood for this purpose. The three dowels’ diameters match the internal diameters of the three sizes of stuffing tubes. The dowels were coated with polyurethane varnish to make them easy to clean.) Make a patty with sausage remaining in the stuffer, fry it, and treat yourself to a snack.

10.
Links can be made any length. Start from either end of the sausage rope. To make 5-inch (13 cm) links, pinch the sausage 5 inches (13 cm) from the end of the rope with the thumb and index finger of one hand, and 10 inches (26 cm) from the end of the rope with the thumb and index finger of the other hand. Then, twist the link between your hands four or five revolutions clockwise. Pinch the rope again in two places that are located 5 and 10 inches (13 and 26 cm), respectively, from the last twist. Twirl this new link counterclockwise—or clockwise; the direction of the twist is not very important. Continue making links until the other end of the rope is reached. It is best to use some kind of gauge to make sure that the links are the same size; something like a measuring stick, masking tape stuck on the counter, or two marks on a sheet of paper will work well as a gauge. Masking tape works best for me.

Stuffing Collagen Casings

Note: Before stuffing collagen casing sleeves for the first time, it might be helpful to review the section on “Collagen casing” in Chapter 3.

Stuffing collagen casing sleeves is no more difficult than stuffing natural casings, but there are several points that require caution and attention.

• Collagen casings sleeves are stuffed dry; they are never rinsed or soaked in water before using.

• If the collagen sleeve is longer than the stuffing tube, the sleeve must be cut in half, and half the sleeve is stuffed at one time.

• If there is a taper in the stuffing tube that prevents the sleeve from sliding all of the way on the stuffing tube, the sleeve must be cut in half, and half the sleeve is stuffed at one time.

• If collagen casing is twisted into links, the links will unwind easily. It is best to use butcher’s twine to separate the links and to tie the ends of the sausage rope.

• Unlike natural casing, collagen casing is not elastic. Consequently, it is more difficult to stuff the right amount of sausage paste in the casing.

Except for the special considerations listed above, the stuffing of the collagen casing is much like the stuffing of a natural casing. The main difference is that collagen casing is not slid off the end of the tube as it is being stuffed. Instead, the accordion-like pleats near the end of the tube are gradually unfolded by gently pulling the casing as the sausage is being stuffed.

Stuffing Fibrous Casings

The common way to stuff fibrous casings is with the largest horn of the sausage stuffer. First, the fibrous casing is prepared for use by following the manufacturer’s instructions. If the manufacturer’s instructions are not available, soak it in warm water for 30 minutes. Be sure to put some warm water inside the casing.

Slide the casing on the stuffing horn, bunching the casing on the horn so it looks something like a compressed accordion—this is similar to the way natural casings are put on a stuffing horn, but the fibrous casing will be very loose. Initially, the bottom of the casing should be at the end of the stuffing tube.

Hold the casing tightly around the front part of the sausage horn with your left hand (if you are right-handed). Pump the sausage paste into the bottom of the casing, and let the casing slide off the horn as it fills with sausage paste. Take care that air pockets are not trapped inside. When the fibrous casing is almost full, twist the top closed, and seal it with a hog ring or butcher’s twine. (Of course, butcher’s twine must be used if a thermometer probe has been inserted into the top of the casing.)

Using a funnel with a very large diameter spout is another way to stuff fibrous casings—and it is very efficient. (I usually use a funnel because it is faster than using a sausage stuffer and—more importantly—cleanup is very easy.) Slide the casing on the funnel spout in the same way as described above, and pack the sausage into the casing with a large diameter dowel while the casing is held tightly around the spout with the left hand. Suitable funnels are difficult to find, however. Some kitchenware specialty shops stock them. Such funnels are probably intended for loading a container with solid foodstuffs such as dry beans or whole grain.