I have made pepper stick many times without any problems. Received a box of 19MM SMOKE COLLAGEN CASINGS recently and from that time been having major problems. still in original packaging in my cool dry shop. made beef/ pork and duck/ pork, both had there problems. Came out with the casings so loose they literally fall off th meat. they seem to look ok when coming out of smoker and cool down but after refrigortion its all over. Using same process I always have used…any thoughts?
Did you put them in an ice bath or some type of rapid cool down after they came out of the smoker?
Did you use any meat binders such as Sure Gel or Soy Protein? I have found that using the Sure Gel really helps my casings stick to the meat and not come loose and at the same times give the sticks a moist consistent mouth feel.
There is binder in my recipe. These are the processes I’ve used since this problem arose, some new some the same as always . Ice bath, no ice bath, finish in hot water bath then ice water bath, hot water bath to air dry. In all cases the casings did not adhere to sausage. As you would expect, the pep finished in smoker Shrank more then in pep finished in water bath. The casing on the pep finished in smoker looks like a pair of baggy pants where the hot water bath pep is plump tight fitting but comes off with the bit. this problem was non existent until recently.
pignout
I’m going to guess that your smokehouse has no humidity. Do you add a water pan to try and help keep the humidity up?
With a low humidity in the smokehouse, the casings may be drying out too much. And, coupled with what I might guess could be a slightly inadequate meat bind, the meat is not sticking and binding to the casing properly.
So lastly, what is your mixing cycle like, hand mix or meat mixer, and how long do you mix?
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