Pretreatment

Dry salted natural casing must be desalinated before soaking. It is particularly important to ensure that the water used for this is cold. Cold water washes away the existing salt. Warm water, on the other hand, would immediately dissolve the salt and cause it to stick in the intestine. Subsequent soaking would therefore not take place in soft fresh water, but in hard salt water.

After the adhering salt has been removed, the intestines must be soaked in 35-37 ° C warm water. In the process, the connective tissue fibers of the intestine stretch. Its swelling capacity can be increased by adding a lactic acid preparation to the water. Particular attention should be paid to the soaking time and the size of the soaking vessel. Ready-to-use Saitlinge are also sold in a lactic acid-sorbitol solution.

Vessels that are too small do not leave the intestine enough space to become supple and smooth and can also lead to knotting more easily. E2 boxes are particularly suitable for this purpose. Soaking will also wash out the salt deposits in the fabric. Too short soaking times lead to to a salt rash when drying and maturing raw sausage. A guideline is 12 hours for dry salted natural casings and at least 1 hour soaking time for ready-to-fill casings.

Before pulling it up, the intestine should definitely be floated. Only in this way can it swell optimally on the inside in order to achieve good elasticity and sliding properties. Otherwise it could remain dull and burst when it is filled.

Another important prerequisite for the success of the filling process is the correct ratio of casing caliber to the filling tube. If a holding device is used, the filling tube can be chosen a little narrower. This makes the intestine run off the pipe more easily. Air and water are held back by the casing brake.

Here, the maintenance and cleaning of the casing brake must be paid more attention. Hot water makes the casing brake brittle and hardens it with limescale deposits. If you do not use a casing brake, you have to choose the filling tube a little wider in order to avoid drawing in air and water in advance.

The natural casing should withstand the filling pressure and enclose the filling in a solid form during processing and storage. It should also be easy to tie off and close with clippers.

The ready-to-fill sheep casings are placed in a solution that keeps them swollen and supple and can be filled immediately after rinsing them briefly and soaking them in warm water.

If ready-to-fill casings are not needed immediately, they can be stored in brine in the refrigerator for one to three days without any problems. Intestines that are left over after filling must first be washed with cold water. This cools them down and removes any protein that may be present.

The natural casings can easily be salted again and stored in closed containers protected from light at 6 to 8 ° C for six months to three years, depending on the type of natural casings. Ready-to-fill casings in brine can be kept for at least 4 weeks at a maximum of 10 ° C.