10.2: Natural and Synthetic Casings in Sausage Making

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Marshall Welsh & William R. Thibodeaux
Finch Henry Job Corps Center & Nicholls State University

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Natural and Synthetic Casings in Sausage Making

We shall only use natural casing for the purpose of our beginning foray into charcuterie but let’s discuss what’s available to chefs who want to pursue this line of work. Synthetic casings are made for a variety of food grade materials, some of which are non-edible. Natural casing come from the intestines of sheep, pork, and cattle and should be washed in water and vinegar

Natural casing example - Wikimedia

Synthetic casings can be made from cotton, cellulose, or collagen which comes from the corium layer of split beef hide. Be careful to remove such casings prior to serving to guests.

Synthetic casing examples - Wikimedia Commons

Sheep Casings

Often referred to as “sheep hanks”, these casing provide the smallest of the three intestines used in sausage making. Merguez is traditionally made with sheep hanks for a slender sausage of 24- 26 millimeters up to 30mm

Sheep offal relating to sausage making from INSCA

Refer to course handouts and or recipes provided by your instructor via the LMS (Learning Management System) ex. Moodle®.

Hog Casings

Hog casings are referred to as “Hanks” also and we will use the intestine for many sausage preparations. The intestines are larger than sheep hanks and come threaded on rings and shipped in a salt mixture to fight bacteria. They are washed and threaded into a stuffing tube to be filled. Middles are even larger and used for specialty sausages such as the Saucisson Sec, a dried pork and garlic sausage.

Hog offal relating to sausage making fron INSCA

Beef Runners and Middles

Beef offers the largest size intestine up to 65 millimeters and is best suited for Cajun Andouille Sausage. They are often shipped in plastic buckets in a salt medium and should be washed and threaded onto the largest of the stuffer tubes when making sausage.