Tough casings on sausage

[Steve In Pa]

I did sausages yesterday. They were good and smoky but the casings were tough. I smoked for an hour first at 130F, then bumped it up to 300 until they were done on the inside.

I’m thinking the smoking phase dried the casing out. Maybe cook first then smoke as needed is the way to go.

This is on my vertical.

 

[Careff]

I did sausages yesterday. They were good and smoky but the casings were tough. I smoked for an hour first at 130F, then bumped it up to 300 until they were done on the inside.

I’m thinking the smoking phase dried the casing out. Maybe cook first then smoke as needed is the way to go.

This is on my vertical.

There could be a few reasons why your casings are tough. I make diy sausage all the time. First if home made I take them out of the fridge in the morning after blending and let them warm up for an hour at room temperature. If they are cold they will create condensation in the smoker and you will get tough casings. Another reason is cooking to fast or to slow. My temperature usually run 130* for an hour to dry casings, then 130* with water pan for one hour. I then bump temp to 150* for one hour then 180* for one hour. After that 190* for 1 1/2 hours. If i/t didn’t hit 160* I bump it to 200 until done at 160*. It works for me with most sausage.