Can sausage casings be eaten directly? Why do sausage casings break easily?

We all know that sausage is a kind of food made from pork. It has many flavors, including sweet, spicy, salty, etc. There are many ways to eat it. It can be made into a variety of delicacies and is very popular among people. Many people eat sausages frequently. So can the sausage casing be eaten directly? Let's take a closer look!

What are Cantonese sausage casings made of?

Speaking of Guangdong sausage, it is actually Cantonese sausage. In terms of taste, it is different from Sichuan sausage and the Jianghuai region where the author is located. The taste is mainly sweet, salty, fresh and fragrant, with a strong aroma of wine, and a slightly stronger sweet taste. When it comes to sausage casings, there are currently two main types: one is natural pig casings, and the other is artificially synthesized collagen casings. Natural pig casings are pig intestines. The original method is to wash the pig intestines, scrape off the intestinal oil part little by little with a knife, leaving the thin casing as thin as a cicada's wing, and then wash it. The professional terms for the process are washing, degreasing, sorting, and finally getting the casing for sausage. As for artificial synthetic casings, they are made by adding cowhide collagen to cellulose, and then processed mechanically and chemically. Some are also synthesized with plant protein.

Can sausage casings and sausages be eaten directly?

The quality of the sausage casing only affects the production cost and taste. The production of regular manufacturers is strictly inspected according to national standards. In principle, it can be eaten with confidence. Do not buy particularly cheap sausages or sausages produced by informal merchants. The safety of consumption can be guaranteed.

But one thing I want to emphasize here is that it must be cooked before eating!

Unlike ham, the meat and ingredients in sausage are all raw. In order to extend the shelf life, they are kept raw. If eaten directly, they are not only hard and unpalatable, but also easy to be infected with bacteria, causing gastrointestinal discomfort such as diarrhea and abdominal pain. Therefore, sausage cannot be eaten directly, and must be washed and steamed or boiled before eating.

Why do sausage casings break?

There are several reasons why sausage casings break when cooking:

1. Mistakes during processing. After processing the sausage, you need to pierce some small holes to release the air, but you may forget to do so. During the cooking process, the gas inside the sausage expands and breaks the casing.

2. The quality of the casing is poor.

3. If you start cooking the sausage before it is dried (dried), the casing will break.

Tips: Poke some small holes in the sausage during cooking (poke them evenly) and turn down the heat when cooking. This can effectively prevent the casing from breaking.

Traditional casing making

1. Wash the small intestine with water, then gently tear off the fat on the surface. Be gentle and be careful not to tear the small intestine.

2. Then use the back of the knife to scrape out the substance inside. It looks disgusting!

3. Scrape repeatedly until the casing becomes a thin and transparent color. This process requires scraping about 10 times.

4. After scraping, rinse with warm water several times to clean the mucus inside and outside.

5. I have never calculated how many casings can be produced from one pound of small intestine when making it at home. I just make it based on what I think is a rough estimate each time.

The casings are made, and then you can make sausages of various flavors. It is safer to make your own casings!