by After Thursday Blog about Jalapeno Cheddar Bratwurst, I recieved a bunch of emails regarding sausage casings and where to get them. FYI- I started to make my own sausages a couple of months back after receiving the sausage making attachment for my Kitchen Aid Mixer, and also after taking a sausage making class at the local Sur La Table. After learning how to make sausages I wanted to make my own all of the time. The only problem, where does one get natural sausage casings. I had no idea. I searched for hours.
There are two main sources, local sources and internet sources. If you are in a pinch or need casings tomorrow use the local sources. The one caviat is that local sources cost a whole lot more. If you have a couple of days, I would definately order them online.
Local Sources
- Butcher shops that make their own sausages. The butcher will gladly sell you a couple of feet of casings. The one problem is that most mega marts don’t make their own sausages, so you need to call around or find a butcher shop.
- Gander Mountain (if you live in or around a city).
- Bass Proshop (if you live in or around a city).
- Most outdoor and hunting shops sell them too.
Internet Sources
- Syracuse Casing Company – They make their own casings so they are fresh. Plus they put the casings on tubes before salting for easy cleaning and mounting onto your sausage horn.
I recommend the Syracuse Casing Company. They ship fast and provide a fine product. The other companies online might give a better deal, but they are just reselling a product made and packaged by another company. If you want to go cheap here are a list of other sites.
I purchased my casing from One Stop Jerky Shop and they use DeWied casings which in my mind are the best and top quality every time. Their prices are fair and they shipped my order out the next day which was great since I needed them for the weekend sausage fest at my house. I would recommend you check them out as well and they carry all kinds of other meat processing products too, not just jerky making supplies.
Tom – I will have to try them out. I am working on a new batch of red hots to smoke. Gonna need some casings. Thanks for the tip.
I have used the DeWied and the Syracuse, and I don't think there is any comparison. The DeWied are cheaper and serviceable, but from my experience, they are covered with whiskers, vary significantly in opacity (and tend toward the opaque), come in shorter lengths (for better or worse) and break somewhat more than average. That's the home pack at least. The Syracuse product is much more predictable and nearly whiskerless.
Try S & A Casing Co., I bought one 20/22 Sheep casing hank (~100yards) for only $25!
Whisker free and super transparent.. Better yet the shortest strand was no less than 2meter.
They got the real stuff, like sausage factory grade stuff, for very low prices compared to Syracuse.
The only disadvantage is that they don’t pre-tube, but I’m not a factory so a little elbow grease wont kill me (I need the workout). You can get them on ebay!
Sounds pretty good. I will have to look them up. Thanks for the post.