More Bite to the Taste
Natural casings provide more flavor, better moisture retention
In New York city, a hot dog complete with onions, ketchup and relish is always just a street corner away. The chances are when a pedestrian buys a hot dog from a New York street vendor, it comes in a natural casing.
"When you have a product with a natural casing, you wind up with more flavor, and better moisture retention," says Van Ayvazian, general manager of Boar's Head Provision, a New York-based sausage manufacturer that sells mostly on the East Coast, but also has niche markets throughout the nation.
"A natural casing provides for more snap to the bite," points out Michael Koss, chairman of the International Natural Sausage Casing Association. "The moisture and flavor retention during the cooking of a natural casing hot dog is far superior to an artificial casing or skinless products."
Hog, sheep and beef casings are the major sources of natural casings in the United States.
The price of natural casings is slightly higher than artificial casings. But in the world of technology, natural casing production seems to be an art once lost, but now rediscovered. Koss attributes this to consumer awareness of product quality and an increasing popularity in ethnic foods.
There are several points for processors who are seeking to enter the market for natural casings products. "It is not like handling an artificial casing," a natural casing supplier cautions. "If processors believe natural casings and artificial casings are the same, they will not be successful in the market."
Here is a checklist for dealing with natural casings:
Storage-There are four ways to store natural casings: in dry salt, brine, individually packed hanks in polyethylene bags with brine, and preshirred on plastic tubes.
Preparation-When preparing casings for stuffing, there are four steps: rinse salt from casings with fresh water; soften by soaking in fresh water between 45 minutes and one hour at room temperature; place casings in a bath of fresh water at about 110 degrees F to bring out the natural fat; and preflush casings by allowing water to run through the casing.
Drying and moisturizing-Once the casing has been stuffed and is in the smokehouse, it should be dry to the point of being tacky before smoke is applied. If smoke is applied beforehand, it will penetrate the casing and deposit on the meat surface, giving the sausage a pale, dry look.
Natural casing products permit full flavor in smoking; have a better shelf life and juicier appearance because the casing draws heat from sausage and cools it below the temperature of the surrounding air; and mixes flavors inside and outside of the sausage while it sizzles in the skillet. These are marketing advantages for processors.
"If you have a niche sausage or hot dog product and you want it to stand out, then you should use natural casings," Ayvazian notes. "It is more unique then a mass-produced product."
Everyone agrees educating consumers on the benefits of natural casings so they can differentiate with artificial casing products is important.
Koss points out that is why more than 90 percent of hot dogs sold on New York city streets are made with natural casings
Natural Casings
Sheep casings: The smallest of natural casings, and more tender when cooked than pork casings. The 22 millimeter- to 24 millimeter-size casings are popular sizes for sausage links, and 24 millimeter- to 26 millimeter-size casings are popular sizes for wieners.
Hog casings: The "all-purpose" casings that can be used for fresh, cured, smoked, dried and semi-dried sausage. The 32 millimeter- to 35 millimeter-size and 35 millimeter- to 38 millimeter-size casings are popular sizes for home sausage-making.
There are several other uses for hog casings: 29 millimeter- to 32 millimeter-size casings are used for wieners, as well as Italian and country sausage; 32 millimeter- to 35 millimeter-size casings are used for bratwurst, bockwurst and Italian sausage; 35 millimeter- to 38 millimeter-size casings are used for Polish sausage and knockwurst; and 38 millimeter- to 42 millimeter-size casings are used for large diameter Polish, summer sausage, ring bologna and liverwurst.
Hog middles: A medium-sized, specialty casing used for blood sausage and sopressata. Hog middles have a strong odor and should be thoroughly rinsed before using.
Hog stomachs: A specialty casing used for head cheese and blood sausage.
Beef bungs: About 4 inches to 4.5 inches in diameter, this beef casing will stuff about 10 pounds. It is used for cappicola, large bologna, Lebanon and cooked salami.
Beef rounds: Otherwise known as ring bologna casing, this medium-large casing is used for knockwurst, mettwurst, kiska, Polish kielbasa and holsteiner.